A Thousand Distant Gobbles: Turkey Tales from the Heart

Hardcover, 239 Pages.

Southern storytelling at its best, A Thousand Distant Gobbles is a celebration of turkey hunting through the eyes of some unforgettable and passionate characters who live for opening day of turkey season. Heartwarming, powerful, compelling – the eight short stories and eight turkey vignettes found inside these pages will warm your heart and take you on an unforgettable adventure into the spring turkey woods. 

A Tale of Two Turkeys is a compelling narrative about two fatherless brothers who at a young age are taught the rites of turkey hunting by their beloved uncle. But much to the chagrin of their uncle and distraught mother, trouble arises when two young personalities clash and jealousy overrides good judgment. Although constant fighting and bickering seems to earmark the boys’ early teenage years, an unforeseen tragedy and the quest for an old gobbler named Sweeper brings them together and offers what may be their only chance for redemption.

In The South Shall Rise Again, three state-of-the-art decoys fondly named for prominent civil war figures set the stage for the undoing of an “impossible” gobbler known as the Gray Ghost. A tale about an old single-shot shotgun found in a pawn shop sends its new owner on a life-changing journey of discovery. Three Feet from Heaven is an absorbing tale that delves into the frustrations and ethics of being a dedicated turkey guide. 

Each of the sketches found inside A Thousand Distant Gobbles is filled with tenderness, wisdom, humor, and considerable insight into human nature guaranteed to leave you with a warm glow inside. Some will make you laugh, some might bring a tear to your eye and others might leave you shaking your head in disbelief and awe because of the strange and  unforeseen twists often seen in the turkey woods. Each tale will leave you rooting for the underdog and feeling better off for having shared the experience.

A Thousand Distant Gobbles will make you glad and proud you’re a turkey hunter. So open your ears, listen carefully and you might just rejoice in that distant, heart pounding gobble echoing across the valley...

Excerpt Below:

The huge turkey walked all the way around the decoy, strutting and puffing as he went. When he had almost completed his circle, he again turned his back to Clay. Clay quickly shifted his body and came to full draw in one silent, sweeping motion. The Ghost was 15 yards away and you could hear a pin drop. The big bird slowly pivoted around, facing Clay at a slight angle, looking regal with his great tail feathers opened in a perfect fan. Then he stopped and raised his blue head straight up in the air. For a split second, he appeared to zero-in on the man with the bow, but it was too late. The arrow was on its way. –Excerpted from “The Ghost Gobbler of Nacoochee Mound”