Quirky turkey brings Reading community together

READING, Mass. — A quirky turkey that has been wreaking havoc on traffic has become the unofficial mascot of Reading. Limpy the Turkey, as he is affectionately called because he has a little more wobble than gobble, has been weaving between cars and pecking at tires for weeks.

Residents and fans have been uploading pictures and videos of Limpy incidents on a Facebook page dedicated to the turkey. Dozens have even pinned locations of Limpy sightings on a Google map.

In his most popular stunt yet, a woman captured the bird sitting on top of a mail truck, hitching a wild ride through an intersection as passersby shriek.

Another woman recorded an MBTA bus driver flapping his arms, attempting to scare the fearless bird away. Yet more residents and drivers have captured the bird tailing a UPS truck and strutting his stuff beside a police cruiser.

Despite his fowl attitude on the road, Limpy is doing good in the town he seems to have no plan of migrating from.

Local business Cupcake City pledged 10 percent of its Limpy-themed cupcakes to the Reading Food Pantry, but after selling more than 200 of the sweets, the owner decided to donate more, handing over a check for $175.

Related: Turkey smashes through fifth-floor window at office building in Maynard

Johnny Medina has been donating $5 from the sale of every shirt and hoodie printed with a Limpy logo. Medina currently has hundreds of orders from Limpy fans.

Graphic Solution in Wakefield has sold 250 Limpy magnets, with another 250 on the way. Proceeds are also going toward the 150 families in need that the food pantry serves.

Local exercise studio Simply Fit & Fun is holding special classes with all proceeds benefiting the food pantry.

And Limpymania is so strong that residents are getting Limpy manicures with turkey-themed Colorstreet nail polish, a portion of the proceeds also going toward hungry families in town.

Charlotte Harlan, the cofounder of the Reading Food Pantry, is delighted by the surge in donations. While families in need rely on the food pantry for canned goods and more, they also receive gift cards around the holidays.

"We're giving extras for Thanksgiving and Christmas because of donations that we get. So it does make a big difference," Harlan said. "We're all rooting for (Limpy). And I think the more he's with us, the more people are going to be contributing in one way or another."

Cox Media Group