It is the day before Thanksgiving, in a busy grocery store bustling with customers. A homeless man, Joseph, observes the mad rush of shoppers from outside the store while digging through the trash. Collecting the expired food in the store, we meet Jim, a young store assistant, whose interaction with Joseph will eventually lead him to a greater understanding of his potential and his ability to connect with others. 

Joseph and Jim meet for the first time outside the back entrance of the store as Jim is throwing out the expired food. Their interaction is quickly cut short by the arrival of Mr. Able, a sour and overbearing manager, who promptly reprimands Jim and chases Joseph away. 

Wandering through the parking area, Joseph sits down to rest for a while. Surprisingly, a woman who encounters him seated near her SUV, embarrassed by her own guilty conscience, gives Joseph one of the turkeys she bought for her family dinner. She leaves the dazzled drifter to figure out what to do with the huge package of frozen meat.

Joseph, eager to get some food into his howling stomach, sets out on a desperate journey to cook the turkey. His often-comedic odyssey takes him into the grocery store, where he tries to get a cash return on the turkey without a receipt; to a hotdog stand, and through a home improvement store, where he attempts in vain to saw the turkey into pieces so that he can fit it into one of the microwaves on display in the store.

As the day goes on, Joseph runs into a friend, Bryce, who promises to help, but then steals the bird. Life works in mysterious ways. As the devious friend tries to make his escape across the road, Mr. Able and Jim are in a car headed straight towards him.

Bryce is almost run over by Mr. Able’s car and the turkey is marvelously catapulted back into Joseph’s lap. Joseph’s perilous day seems to have reached the height of disheartenment - mocked by charity and betrayed by friendship. Stepping out of the car, Jim meets Joseph once more. With the backdrop of Mr. Able denying any responsibility for Bryce’s feigned injuries, Jim considers what his own responsibility is to help. If he doesn’t actively participate, who will?

Jim and Joseph go in search of a shelter, chatting and learning more about each other as they walk. They finally reach a shelter that, although full, permits Joseph to spend the night after he offers to share his turkey. At the end of a long day, Joseph watches as his turkey is cooked to perfection. As it is being taken out of the oven, its delicious scent wafting into the hungry man’s nostrils, Joseph is asked to take out a bag of trash. He complies and, while standing by the dumpster, he hears an ominous click as the door to the shelter closes. He is accidentally locked out. Despite pounding on the door, no one notices his absence. Through the kitchen window he sees his turkey slowly disappear in the laughter and enjoyment of others. Joseph watches contemplatively and then smiles, warmed by the thought that he has provided a measure of happiness to others who needed it. He turns to walk down the alley and around the corner, out of sight.

Turkey Day encourages us to question our consciences and to reexamine our notions of giving. We are reminded that we are not isolated or alone. Rather, we are members of a community in which it is ultimately in our own benefit to actively participate. In Turkey Day, we are humbly asked to consider: “What is Thanksgiving? Do we really celebrate the act of sharing or are we afraid of it? What makes us human?”

Turkey Day has the potential to become not only a wonderfully funny and enlightening short-film, but also an educational tool of inspiration, ideal for screenings in schools, homeless shelters, charitable organizations, as well as other civil and arts organizations.