Most of Tom’s life was spent in incarceration, but now he was sentenced to death by guillotine. The date of his execution was set for November 19. As he sat on death row, he could do nothing but wait.

From his jail cell, he could see others awaiting a similar fate. Tom knew nothing of their reasons for being there, whether they were innocent or guilty, but Tom was absolutely innocent. As the old saying goes, “everyone on death row is innocent.” One by one he watched as they were led away never to return. Shortly after their cells were vacated, other prisoners took their place in a seemingly never-ending cycle.

Finally, his day had come. He spoke not a word as he was led out of his jail cell and onto the platform. The only thing that could save Tom now would be a last-minute reprieve, but it had never happened to someone under Tom’s circumstances. There was little hope.

Tom’s time had come. From the platform which had been set up in such a way as to give the public a good view, Tom looked out at the crowd as they looked back at him. Rather than a somber occasion, the crowd was relaxed and seemed almost cheerful.

The crowd knew something that Tom did not.

A man stood next to Tom and begin to speak to the crowd. Like the crowd, the speaker was smiling and cheerful as he spoke. Tom watched the crowd in silence. During his speech, the man told the crowd that he was commuting Tom’s death sentence to life in prison. Tom was saved from the guillotine.

After some brief remarks, a quick photo, and a few questions from reporters, the speaker gave the sign and John was whisked away from the podium. He was transported back to his cell at the Keithley McPherrin turkey breeding farms in Sunnymead, California.

Tom, a white 55-pound turkey, was the first turkey in history to receive a pardon from the President of the United States.

Although other presidents had saved various turkeys from dinner tables throughout the years, the pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey did not become an annual tradition until Thanksgiving 1989 when George H.W. Bush said at a Thanksgiving Day Proclamation ceremony, while animal rights activists picketed nearby, “let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy—he’s presented a Presidential pardon as of right now—and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here.”

As we gather together with family and friends this Thanksgiving, we should remember to be thankful for everything and, more importantly, everyone we have. We should be thankful for every moment we have on this earth because none of us know how much time we have.

You see, the first turkey to receive a presidential pardon was by President John F. Kennedy. Kenndy planned to spend that Thanksgiving with his family in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, but first he had to do a short political tour. On November 22, 1963, three days after pardoning Tom, John F. Kennedy was riding in a convertible in Dallas…