A venerable turtle making his way to a glacial kettle full of deep, cool, clean, water at the same time I was driving my daughter to school one rainy morning became a small-town celebrity for, oh, fifteen minutes this week. Though we didn't have our cameras this particular morning, we found ourselves among the paparazzi--eight others who stopped their cars to ensure this fellow's safe passage to the pond.
I stopped when a woman at the nearby stop sign flashed her lights; the next duo stopped when I flashed my lights to them before I pulled over. A third vehicle stopped when he saw all our parked cars. Like excited kids at a petting zoo for the first time, we were all standing in the road in an instant, though the turtle wasn't in any kind of hurry.
"If I hadn't not have come with you, I would have missed this," said one older lady who was travelling with her daughter. Out came the camera, and the older woman snapped away. The flash caused the turtle to hunker down a moment and wait until she was done. She picked up on the body language and pocketed the camera. And he was off--ever so slowly.
My daughter and I took a few steps toward him to get a closer look at his wrinked, bumpy skin the color of earth, the protective ridges along the tail, the loose skin around the neck,and the thick shell that looked as heavy as the rock it was meant to look like. He hunkered down again; we backed off. He made great strides under the weight of his body, and we were close enough to see his claws as he stretched a leg and gripped the pavement and then the earth.
"These are ancient beings, and they deserve to live...." Watching this turtle from beside my car in the soft rain, I heard the voice from years and years ago of a German woman who had parked on a precarious curve on Route 53 where it winds through the Saugatuck Reservoir in Connecticut. Her voice had trailed off and she gestured with open hands to a turtle in the road. I pulled over beside her. Foolishly young and fearless, I lifted that turtle by the shell at a distance I hoped was beyond the reach of his mouth and brought him to safety. Neither of us was any the worse for wear.
A few decades later in another Connecticut town, three generations of men, women, and children stood guard for another such ancient being. Strangers all, we shared the belief that he deserved to live.Nobody moved on until the turtle was safe in the tall grass.
Perhaps the secret of the turtles is that they slow down and stop as necessary and stay on the road they know.
(Click here for a poem inspired by a turtle long ago.)
More about Blog Your Blessings here
I stopped when a woman at the nearby stop sign flashed her lights; the next duo stopped when I flashed my lights to them before I pulled over. A third vehicle stopped when he saw all our parked cars. Like excited kids at a petting zoo for the first time, we were all standing in the road in an instant, though the turtle wasn't in any kind of hurry.
"If I hadn't not have come with you, I would have missed this," said one older lady who was travelling with her daughter. Out came the camera, and the older woman snapped away. The flash caused the turtle to hunker down a moment and wait until she was done. She picked up on the body language and pocketed the camera. And he was off--ever so slowly.
My daughter and I took a few steps toward him to get a closer look at his wrinked, bumpy skin the color of earth, the protective ridges along the tail, the loose skin around the neck,and the thick shell that looked as heavy as the rock it was meant to look like. He hunkered down again; we backed off. He made great strides under the weight of his body, and we were close enough to see his claws as he stretched a leg and gripped the pavement and then the earth.
"These are ancient beings, and they deserve to live...." Watching this turtle from beside my car in the soft rain, I heard the voice from years and years ago of a German woman who had parked on a precarious curve on Route 53 where it winds through the Saugatuck Reservoir in Connecticut. Her voice had trailed off and she gestured with open hands to a turtle in the road. I pulled over beside her. Foolishly young and fearless, I lifted that turtle by the shell at a distance I hoped was beyond the reach of his mouth and brought him to safety. Neither of us was any the worse for wear.
A few decades later in another Connecticut town, three generations of men, women, and children stood guard for another such ancient being. Strangers all, we shared the belief that he deserved to live.Nobody moved on until the turtle was safe in the tall grass.
Perhaps the secret of the turtles is that they slow down and stop as necessary and stay on the road they know.
(Click here for a poem inspired by a turtle long ago.)
More about Blog Your Blessings here
18 Comments
a man yesteday with a walker as trying to cross the street crossing he was slow and going clicty clack 3 car went around him in the stree because he was slow to crooss the next car stopped as well as the car coming the other way.
ReplyDeletesome of us do not share time with man or beast. but others do. thankyou by your examples to your children may we share respect fotr all living things.
Sandy
ReplyDeleteDespite the difficulty with the language, I like to translate and read what you write. Their messages are always of peace, of hope, peace.
The turtle, like all beings, deserve to live free and at peace.
Greetings from Brazil
Marcos Santos
Strangers all, we shared the belief that he deserved to live.>>> every creature deserve to live. but since we were given enough capacity and privilege sometimes we get to abuse these things.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. I've moved a couple of turtles from the road in the past two weeks. Yesterday I did see one that had been run over by a car and it really made me feel bad. They do look prehistoric in many ways.
ReplyDeleteHi! Turtles are nice animals. I remember when my 3rd son had a small inflatable pool in his room and he had a couple of turtles. Soon there were babies. Then more babies. It got to the point that taking care off them was no longer easy. My son gave some away and then found young couple near by breeding turtles for sale. He gave them all the turtles and were happy to have them. My son had fun with his turles but time to move on. College life was busy.
ReplyDelete`Tornado here very close
ReplyDeleteTurtles are interesting. It is good to slow down and appreciate even a turtle.
ReplyDeleteThere is something almost mystical about turtles and their longevity... a wonderful and evocative post... reminded me of this story http://tinyurl.com/46h5w4 while reading it...
ReplyDeleteLovely post Sandy, and yes we can learn from this wonderful creature. Slow and steady wins the race :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this Sandy! A great story! And a great lesson! :D
ReplyDelete"Perhaps the secret of the turtles is that they slow down and stop as necessary and stay on the road they know."
ReplyDeleteA blessing to be reminded to do these three things also!
Come and read about mine.
Your posting made me think about whether other creatures deserve life or whether they deserve a life without our meddling.
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for the post.
Great post, Sandy! Thanks for reminding us that life is not all about speeding fast but sometimes we really have to stand by and make way for others. Take care :)
ReplyDeleteSuperb post Sandy!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, a thought provoking post. Maybe we should sometimes follow the example of the turtle--Slow down and enjoy life.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I admire how you stopped to ensure the safe passage of that turtle.
ReplyDeleteIt's really funny, we saw a huge turtle crossing the road Saturday near the Ice Age trail. :) Then I saw another huge one yesterday near the Little Plover River. They are so cool! Great shot!
ReplyDeleteAren't turtles great? That one may have been the one from your youth, continuing his original quest. The question "Are we there yet?" applies.
ReplyDeleteSimilar experience here in hot Florida today. Elderly lady looked to be ready to walk across the busy entrance to the shopping center after my lunch. I was tempted to take her arm and escort her to the cars, but I remembered the story of the young Boy Scout. He did the same thing, taking the arm of an elderly lady and crossing the street with her. As they stepped onto the sidewalk at the oppostie side of the street, and he went on his way, a man noticed she was crying. He asked what's wrong, and she said that she couldn't tell the Scout, but she didn't want to cross the street.
Thanks for being here.