Tomfoolery at the White House

--President Reagan met Wilfred the Tom Turkey and a gathering of reporters in the Rose Garden, and it was Wilfred who had the last word. The President fended off questions dealing with substantive issues and said: “The only questions I will take today are about the turkey.” Wilfred gobbled loudly, evoking laughter. “I agree with everything you’ve said,” Reagan said solemnly. Wilfred, a 55-pound gift from the National Turkey Federation, is on his way to the Evans Farm in Vienna, Va., where he will join other animals at a children’s zoo. After a last gobble from Wilfred, Reagan returned to the Oval Office on the eve of his departure for a Thanksgiving holiday stay at his California ranch. The President will be taking Lucky with him. The 65-pound black sheep dog has been living in the lap of luxury at the White House, but the President and Mrs. Reagan have decided that “dogs that size love to run and be outdoors,” according to the First Lady’s press secretary, Elaine Crispen, and so Lucky will be leaving with the President for a new life at the mountaintop ranch near Santa Barbara.

--The arrests in Maryland of people accused of spying for the Soviet Union has led Young Republicans to declare the state a “Soviet-Free Zone,” with a tongue-in-cheek threat of tar-and-feathering. “It just gets in our gut. We’re fed up, and we want to make a statement,” Maryland Young Republicans Chairman Brian J. Berry said. A resolution declaring the “Soviet-Free Zone” was adopted at a meeting earlier this month. It was prompted by the arrest in Rockville of John A. Walker Jr., who has pleaded guilty to espionage. Walker, a Norfolk, Va., resident, used Maryland as a drop point to pass on information he had collected for the Soviets. Monday’s arrest in Annapolis of Ronald W. Pelton on espionage charges was further evidence as far as Berry is concerned that Maryland “is becoming a super-hive for spies.” He said spies are being put on notice that if the Young Republicans catch them in Maryland, they will be tarred, feathered and booted into Chesapeake Bay. “Of course, we’ll pull them out,” Berry said. “We’ve even formed the Young Republicans Salvage Service” to rescue them.

--Seven times a bride, Elizabeth Taylor says she is sure she’ll probably walk down the aisle once more, but she won’t rush into anything. “I think maybe I’m finally growing up, and about time,” Taylor, 53, said in an interview published in Vanity Fair. “Being alone doesn’t frighten me.” But after two broken engagements, “I’m being very cautious. I’m sure I will remarry once more, but only once more, and boy, it’s going to be right. I’m taking no chances.”