Happy Thanksgiving: Let Us (Not) Flip the Bird

"Birds of America" book is a treasure worth visiting in the University of Michigan Hatcher Library Audubon Room

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Flipping the bird to someone on Thanksgiving Day would be rude. Unless you’re the University of Michigan Library. When the library flips the bird, it is an occasion to give thanks.

Birds of America

Screenshot of University of Michigan website on Nov. 28, 2013.

By way of very brief background, the Audubon Room at the UM Hatcher Library is named after the first book of any kind – special or otherwise – acquired by UM in 1838: “Birds of America,” illustrated by John James Audubon.

It is not a tradition at Thanksgiving to turn the page of the book on display to the page that shows a turkey. I’m a little disappointed about that. But a few years ago the stars aligned, and the routine flipping of pages in the book allowed the happy coincidence of Thanksgiving and a turkey page in Audubon’s book.

If the stars align again sometime in the future, that will make it all the more special to have the turkey page displayed on Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, this year library staff have given a nod to the turkey page by including a plug for the book on its website as a part of the library’s Thanksgiving message. And I am thankful for that.

I am also thankful to our readers. So here’s wishing all of you and everyone you care about a Happy Thanksgiving!