In this post: Musings into why Mr. Baldwin wrote this story in the first place, a cute little Thanksgiving tale.
Category: Fast Fiction + Short Story Collection
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes. It's such a short read, there's no harm.
As I usually do, I start these posts off by describing what happens in the story. We find ourselves following Young Man Johnson as he is trying to buy a turkey for his family. Due to short staffing, the butcher isn't able to lend a man to deliver Johnson's turkey to him, so the butcher recommends Johnson carried it home himself. Considering himself too highly, Johnson responds "Who do you think I am?" and will not carry his own turkey.
An unknown old man offers to carry Johnson's turkey for him since it's on the old man's way. Once delivered, Johnson goes back to the shop to ask who carried his turkey. The butcher tells him it was none other than Chief Justice John Marshall, and they all wonder why the Chief Justice carried the turkey: to teach Johnson a lesson or just from the kindness of his heart.
It was a cute, albeit puzzling, little tale. It left me most wondering what the point of the story was.
Was it to show the price of hubris (looking like a fool) when one doesn't want to carry their own purchases? Was it meant to serve as an ode to John Marshall? I'm not sure.
This was a different vibe from The Fire Next Time completely, which is not a bad thing.
Read it for yourself here and let me know what you think.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ramiah Reflects
(nothing this time, folks!)
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to get into the festive spirit of Thanksgiving
You want to learn a little about John Marshall
You want to enjoy reading about a character making a fool of themselves
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
