Old Fools Journal: The Hazards of Sharing the Road With Cars or This turtle's race is over.

Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

I found this guy in the ditch on the way to the library the other day, made a mental note and went back for it the next day.  I knew it would still be there because it has no value to the city folk riding by sealed up in their automobiles. This sort of thing is precious to this oldfool and has been since I was a boyfool.
This critter is no baby as it is 8 by 10 inches (20 by 25cm) so it is not young. There is no telling how old he/she is or how many times it has crossed this road in its life.  Obviously it did it one to many times and was smashed. Some drivers aim at them but most are afraid one this size will damage their precious car.  Preciousness of life is not considered.  Most are probably hit by texting or other brainlessness.

I see hundreds of smashed turtles every year.  It really bums me out as these simple long living creatures have a right to natural life and natural death. This is where they have done that since long before the white man was invented. Then they only had being eaten occasionally as a problem. Then the white man invented the automobile and asphalt.  Few agree with me as "you can't stand in the way of progress" you know.  Progress my ass.  Giant turtles running over cars and smashing them would be progress.  It would make a good movie for the turtle's cinema too.

I sat and conversed with him/her for a while but it was very one sided. I apologized for the mindlessness of humans and some of our other faults as well.
As a child I was told that animals don't feel pain like we humans do but I know that is pure bullshit. This creature lived long enough after being smashed to want to be dead I'm sure.








This one lives in our backyard. I call him Churchy La Femme after Churchhill La Femme in Pogo. One of one sometimes one of three other times.  They kind of come and go.  It is about half the size of that empty shell. It is hard to compare right now as this one is molting. He/she has escaped but returned. Apparently it likes domestication and is going through the change of life. Until recently it was carnivorous but has now changed to being a vegetarian. We are told that is a sign they have come of age. I have to get it registered to vote. That shouldn't be too hard as dead people sometimes vote here as do others that are not near as smart or aware as this guy.

I have been informed by SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) that it loves celery but doesn't care for apples.

Life is cheap these days. Drivers don't mind running over a mere animal of any kind. A pedestrian or a bicycle is something that most make no special effort to avoid so a turtle, alligator or snake is no problem as there is no penalty. If they exploded once in a while it would probably be another story.

The broken shell will be put in the garden as a monument to the turtle that made it. It is more "art" than anything I can do.

so it goes.-Kurt Vonnegut