The end of the Sabbatical

This August last, we were faced with a conundrum of a variety which we could not have previously imagined. We received a cease and desist order from a fledgling fast food corporation which intended to call itself "McDonnells." The conflict isn't obvious at first sight because, as you can tell, McDonnell is a far cry from Birdonnell, our old and well-revered surname. However, the McDonnell corporation intended to release a line of sandwiches which conflicted with our beloved appellation. Their listed sandwiches were going to include the likes of The Ribdonnell, the Beefdonnell, the Pigdonnell, and the Mega Pigdonnell, you get the idea. Simply awful names for what were surely to be a line of grotesque comestibles.

Obviously, as you by this time have undoubtedly surmised, they were looking to corner the market on the name "Birdonnell" for their newest sandwich. Andrew asked them why they didn't just call it a Chickdonnell. This seemed more appetizing and catchier. The problem, however, is that the sandwich wasn't made of chicken. The McDonnell Corporation, instead of falling back onto the traditional fast food bird of choice had chosen to blaze trails, both edibly and zoologically. Their team of Perdue-trained biologists had created what they called simply "The Bird." It would possess the greatest and most delicious traits of a variety of birds and provide the new meat for their sandwich.

















Above: The Churkeycock in its unnatural habitat.

The bird pictured above, tentatively called the Churkeycock, was specially engineered to provide the turkey's dashing waddle, the rooster's magnificent crest, the peacock's splendid plumage, and the succulent taste of all three birds.

Now, the McDonnell Corporation's letter detailed much of this information, and we discovered the rest through a bit of investigation. Though we were determined to maintain the frequency of our posts on the blog, we were in no position to wage a legal battle at that point, financially or emotionally. As a result, the blogs have been a bit dry over the last year or so as our family representative, Lori, haggled with the McDonnell Corporation for the right to maintain our web site and family name as we see fit, blah blah blah etc bally hoo and hooly bah. You know that old rigmarole. In any event, the battles are over and the folding tent of war has been collapsed and stored under the deck for some other day to be determined as our family foe has withdrawn with its industrial wang tucked between its legs, yelping and limping back to its Grandparent Corporation. The Birdonnell Family has carried the day and shall reign: Evermore.