4.21.2011

Tall Tale From Little Men

This story is a recollection of a Thanksgiving adventure of Peter and a neighborhood friend Joey -- both 8 years old. Pete's sister Pat recalls:



With Thanksgiving a few days away, Nettie had to start preparing for the feast.  She asked Pete & his friend Joey to run down to the store to pick up a 25-lb frozen turkey; it needed time to thaw with Thanksgiving only days away. 

So the two 8 yr old boys sauntered to the store 4 blocks away & picked out a good one.  Joey, being probably half the height and heft of Pete, had a bit of a problem trying to hold up his end of the paper shopping bag on the way home, and of course the bag ripped. 

Then they tried carrying it in their arms together, but it was too cold to handle so after a couple of steps it dropped on the ground. 

Next they each took an end of the plastic mesh covering to try to carry it that way; but with their unequal heights, Joey ended up with most of the turkey weight falling on him. After another block, Joey needed to sit down.  

It was the last block to home when we saw Pete pulling the frozen turkey by its mesh cover along the concrete sidewalk with the tired & worn-out Joey riding on top of the turkey. 

I don't have to tell you what Nettie said to Pete when he got home with a dirt covered bird, but the rest of us thought Pete's story was hysterical.

That's Peter, Always the  Considerate, Kind, Ironman in Training.

18 comments:

  1. This is a great story about Pete. That's a little amazing the height of Pete at 8, very tall... But his heart was very tall too.

    Thanks for sharing this.

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  2. oh bless his heart, what a sweet kid. The image of Peter dragging bot friend and frozen fowl across the pavement just made me laugh out loud. Too funny. I wonder which neighbourhood canine profited from this little incident. Thanks for sharing Pat, that is a delightful story.

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  3. Great tale Pat...I think Peter would argue that he was told to bring home the turkey - and he did so.

    - Sean P.

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  4. That was hilarious! I can just picture it. Oh I bet Nettie wanted to rip their little heads off. ROFL!!

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  5. There's something historical (and hysterical) about young boys being asked to bring home turkeys... it all started with the boy from "A Christmas Carol", I think. Scrooge wakes up Christmas morning and asks the young boy outside his window to run and fetch the prize turkey hanging in the butcher's shop...

    Thanks for this great turkey-day memory from Pete's life! A good lesson here, too: A little dirt never hurt anyone. 8-)

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  6. What a cute story ! thanks for sharing those beautiful memories with us !

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  7. mission accomplished! lol
    -erik-

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  8. I went to high school with Pete. I am sorry to hear of his passing.

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  9. Ya know, I'm not at all surprized:) he did what he was told to do and assisted his exhausted from home in the process :) what a total sweetie:) he was a gift to the world and ya know, if I would have asked my kids to do any such thing at 8 years olds they would have looked at me like I had two heads! Lol. Gotta give him an A for effort for sure! Lol:)

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  10. Oh that poor bird. What a funny story! Thank you.

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  11. Peter looks so innocent in this photo! Thank you for sharing this story. It shows that even as a child, Peter had a huge heart and willingness to help others. The world lost an angel but he lives on in our hearts and through his beautiful music.

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  12. that is the funniest story. thank you for sharing these kinds of stories. it's always wonderful to hear about peter the person not only the musician

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  13. Awesome story and I love this blog. Great place.

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  14. Peter always in my heart..awesome story! :) THX..

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  15. Awwww, interesting and yet very sweet thank you for sharing :) ...Windy

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  16. Had to come back and re-read this story. Cant believe I didnt comment on it....must have been laughing too much. This is the funniest and my favourite story. I have told so many people this story and have had people crying they were laughing so much. As usual Peter always helping someone else (Joey riding while Peter is pulling him along).

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