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Chickens in the Road and Fairytale Town
My office is always running some kind of “togetherness” team-building promotional event for its real estate agents, but expecting this Sacramento REALTOR to dress up like a chicken should not be one of them. To be fair, this did not happen in real life but it is what I dreamed last night, and let’s face it, sometimes dreams turn into reality; at least mine often do.
They styled my hair into a chicken comb — btw, am I the only person in the world to google: what is the name of the thing on top of a chicken’s head — and dressed me in white skinny-leg pants, paired with a yellow top and painted scary looking chicken toes on my feet. It was some sort of Mardi Gras party and there was me, dressed like a chicken. You know, I can see the reason I had that dream. But it’s not what you are probably thinking.
When I was in Molokai earlier this month, one thing you can’t help but notice is all of the red hens and roosters –chickens, running in the wild. You see them everywhere on the island, pecking in the grass, sprinting through the trees along side the road. If you ask Don, who looks like he’s been driving Midnight Taxi for decades, he’ll tell you it’s because the plantation guys brought in chickens around the turn of the 20th Century for cockfights. He’ll also groan about the guy on Kamehameha Highway who won’t share his mangoes with anybody, even if you politely ask.
On top of that, I spotted a chicken yesterday walking around the parking lot outside of Fairytale Town. I suppose they can fly. Or maybe some careless kid left a gate open. It was strutting back and forth, wondering why it had black tar under its feet instead of sand, I imagine, or maybe it was enjoying exploration beyond the fence and sending text messages back to the other chickens: nope nothing here in the parking lot except for some Sacramento REALTOR pounding on her cellphone and blowing up Ingress portals.
I felt the need to stop at Fairytale Town on my way home to Land Park after shooting photos of a new listing in Freeport Park, just across the road from Hollywood Park. The portals beckoned. For more info, call Elizabeth Weintraub, 916.233.6759. There are a ton of Ingress portals at Fairytale Town. And that one chicken running loose.
Feral Chickens and Chickens in Fair Oaks
Feral chickens and chickens in Fair Oaks; speaking of chickens, one of my mother’s first jobs as a teenager, besides serving ice cream at Bridgemann’s, was that of a chicken plucker at a chicken factory in Saint Paul. The chickens would come down the assembly line with their broken necks and feet still attached, while factory workers would grab them and furiously pull out their down and feathers—total yuck.
I have no idea how it is done today, and I imagine the chicken factories are completely automated now if they are even still in business. My mother’s chicken plucking days were in the 1940s.
We have many chickens running around in Fair Oaks, California, but nobody tries to grab them and shove the birds into a deep fryer. At least not that I know about. However, the feral chickens who live in Fair Oaks are nowhere near the number of wild chickens in places like Molokai.
You can read more in my personal blog today and find out why there is a stray chicken wandering around the parking lot at Fairytale Town: Chickens in the Road and Fairytale Town
. Elizabeth Weintraub.
Elizabeth’s blog, Feral Chickens and Chickens in Fair Oaks, held a familiar ring. I wanted to add I also worked in a turkey plant in Turlock, California, when I was 16. The turkeys were on an assembly line, all plucked and hosed clean, then hung up on a hook. We each had a specific cut using a very sharp boning knife. There were about 20 workers on the line, all-female. By the time the turkey made its way to the end of the conveyor belt, it was fully boned. Of course, the plant thought I was 18. Elizabeth’s mom and I shared something in common, we both worked in poultry as teenagers.
I have eight chickens currently. In my youth, I would raise and butcher my chickens. Yes, I plucked all the feathers too. My chickens today are 100% pets and provide fresh eggs. When I want chicken for dinner, I go to the grocery store and buy it.
I drove through old Fair Oaks recently, and sure enough, the feral chickens were strutting about.
If you are interested in buying or selling a Real Estate property, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Weintraub and Wallace Realtors. Elizabeth Weintraub & JaCi Wallace/ RE/MAX Gold. You can reach us at 916-233-6759.
~~JaCi Wallace
