Some Skills Actually do Come in Handy

As kids, we learned a lot of random things, whether from school or all the after-school tv shows we watched, that haven't really came into play as grown-ups. Mostly. And that’s okay. I’m still glad I learned, for instance, that if I ever catch on fire to stop, drop and roll. That's pretty important and hopefully I'll remember it if I ever do catch on fire.

I also learned:

• When stuck in quicksand, lay flat, stay still and wait for someone to throw me a rope... or maybe a long jungle vine they've hacked off with a machete

• Stay far, far away from the Bermuda Triangle

• How to sing songs in a round

So far I haven’t had to use any of that knowledge.

But one skill did come in handy the other night: Morse Code. Well… sort of.

After a fun evening at our house with friends, my husband tucked our daughter into bed while I walked our guests out to their car. I grabbed a flashlight on my way out so I could put the animals in for the night—it was late, and they were well past bedtime.

When I got to the coop, I was horrified to find our giant turkey, Pavo, flat on his back with his legs flailing in the air like an overturned turtle. Fellow Gen Xers may hear a certain phrase echoing in their heads right now: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” That was exactly Pavo’s situation.

I tried to roll him over, but this bird is massive. I couldn’t get a good grip—he was too heavy and struggling too much. Not gonna lie, I was also a little afraid he’d slice me with those wildly flailing claws. It was a desperate situation.

Meanwhile, my friends were backing out of the driveway—too far away to hear me call, too dark to see me flailing my arms like a lunatic. And then, I remembered: Morse Code, baby.

Now, I don’t really know Morse Code. But I do know the international distress signal. And that’s all I needed.

I aimed my flashlight at their car and began flashing it in a frantic attempt at an SOS. Okay, maybe not the classic:

dot dot dot

dash dash dash

dot dot dot

…more like: on-off-on-off-on-off and a silent prayer they’d notice my maniacal behavior and come check on me.

And it worked!

They came running, helped me flip Pavo back over, and got him on his feet. He was wobbly and weak, poor guy—he must’ve been stuck like that for a while. Cue major turkey mama guilt.

But hey, the moral of the story? Some of those random childhood lessons might just come in handy one day. So I feel confident that I ever find myself in quicksand, I'll know just what to do.