Chickens

Okay...Now I think I've heard it all. This morning the DJ of my favorite radio station announced that today is International Respect For Chickens Day.

Come again?

I am as much of an animal lover as the next person but a respect the chickens day? I don't get that. I did a little research and sure enough today was the day. It was started by some poultry company someplace and is meant to bring an awareness to how much chickens bring to our lives. I was a little glad to read that because I was worried it was another one of those PETA holidays. I loathe PETA. Not because I am against treating animals with kindness but because the PETA folks are fanatical about it. They once announced that they were going to stand outside KFC restaurants all over the country and give buckets of bloody chicken parts to children who were going inside with their parents. This spurred me to action and I emailed PETA stating that I would personally call the police on anyone I saw doing such a thing. I meant it too. I am a peaceful person but that infuriated me.

I am not a vegetarian. I don't want to be a vegetarian. I see no real health benefits from that lifestyle and while I have no problems with anyone who is, I just don't want to do without my meat and I don't like having that kind of rhetoric shoved down my throat. I know several people who are Seventh Day Adventists and they choose to be vegetarian because they believe there are healthy consequences from it. I applaud anyone who believes enough in something to live their lives by it. I do the same thing with several issues in my own life. Just not vegetarianism. I enjoy eating meat. Beef, poultry, fish, a little pork all along, lamb. I enjoy it all. I also see nothing wrong with the consumption of any of it. I don't gorge myself on meat. I enjoy vegetables as well and I am known for eating a lot of salad. Breads...oh my goodness! Yes, that too. I guess it goes without saying that I like to eat but I am disciplined about it.

I just think that some people go overboard with many things and declaring an internation day to respect chickens is something I view as going to extremes. I appreciate chickens. I think they're delicious. I don't like to be around them when they're alive because a chicken coop isn't a very pleasant thing to visit. They squawk and the roosters can be mean. Chickens serve a purpose in the world but I can't see giving them a day of their own. Nobody gives clams or oysters or lobsters a day. If we're going to do something nice for the chickens, then lets be fair and give all animals a day.

So what did I do for International Respect For Chickens Day? I had a chicken sandwich for lunch which I ate very reverently. I don't even think I burped afterward. That was my part of the celebration. What was yours?

And this is my sole focus for today.