Sunday Dinner

Chicken with roasted root vegetables ready for the oven.  Wifey did an outstanding job of putting this meal together, don't you think?

Back in the day dad would drive the family out to his sister's ranch.   Uncle Ed would get his hatchet, grab the nearest couple of hens and cut their heads off.  With half awe and half horror we watched the headless chickens run around the barnyard which seemed to be an endless amount of time. 

Later that afternoon everyone feasted on fried chicken.   We never gave the race of the headless chickens a thought as we downed a tasty meal of freshly baked rolls, corn on the cob, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Fried chicken doesn't fit into a politically correct diet these days nor does raising and "harvesting" your chicken dinner.   I guess that would be the good news.  It's nearly a lost art . . . the beheading and feather plucking in the name of a Sunday dinner.  In the name of demonstrating what used to be in America can you imagine a teacher demonstrating to their students the nearly lost art of beheading a chicken?  The teacher would probably make the headlines of the newspaper, parents would be up in arms, the principal would have to bring in grief counselors for the  traumatized children and the teacher would be without a job.  How times have changed. 

Chickens today can mostly be found without their heads, stuffed into "body bags", refrigerated and found in the meat case of your friendly neighborhood supermarket.  Pretty sanitary.  No fuss.  No muss.  No trauma.  No more wondering why the chicken crossed the road....to get away from the hatchet wielding farmer, that's why....