Turtles...

I like turtles... As a matter of fact I will rarely pass a turtle who is making a valiant however foolishly slow attempt at crossing the road. But do you know what I wonder? Sometimes I think, what makes me think I knew what way the turtle was going? Perhaps I just set him back two hours by taking him where he just came from? At which point I no longer am a turtle helper I'm way more of a turtle really making late guy. Perhaps all this time I am not very good at helping turtles but really good at pissing them off. DUDE! I was just here, thanks a lot there genius! Which makes me think of how often humans tend to act like they know better when it comes to animals. I'm thinking no. I mean yeah, I'm most likely only delaying the inevitable when it comes to my turtle rescue program, but shouldn't we at times take a look outside of ourselves and maybe learn something about who we're trying to help? Take for example a friend of mine, let's call her... oh I don't know... Dee. Dee recently told me about her turtle "rescue." And this really got me thinking. See Dee found a turtle as the climate was changing and thought, he needs my help. So she brought him home. (!) Yes, home. Not to his home, mind you, but hers. Now I'm not in any way questioning the wholesome intentions of Dee and her kids. I'm even applauding them. But what then? Well, she put him a tub. And I guess put in some things that she feels a turtle would like. You know to recreate nature in this TUB! So maybe a stick, a rock and some water. So I asked her, what do you feed the turtle. I was expecting some sort of pet store brand turtle food. Yeah, not so much. She's feeding him fruit. Not just any fruit mind you but the kind of fruit cocktail that comes in little cups. Oh, yeah he likes it. Wouldn't you? But I'm thinking, what happens when she let's him go in springtime. He's gonna chomp down on a grasshopper or whatever and spit that sucker right back out! Somebody who eats bugs and little fish probably should never acquire a taste for fruit in a light sugary syrup. Kinda makes the lesser tasty stuff pale in comparison. He's gonna be looking for the Sweet & Low and its not gonna be there. And that's just plain sad. Another thing I thought of with this is what if this turtle was almost to his spot he was going? What if he was like 2 feet away when they found him. Man, so close yet so far away. She would be one terrible taxi driver. Take me to the airport. You got it pal... Here we are. This isn't the airport. Yeah, but its better this is a movie theater. You can catch another cab to the airport when the movie is over. But I don't want to see movie I need to catch a flight. Well, I'll take you to the airport in the spring. Bye. It'd be like you trying to get home but people kept driving you to the mall. What is it with us? Humans that is. What makes us so smart? What gives us the right to decide for other species what is good and what is not? But we do it though don't we? Our track record is full of introducing one species of this to control that or to feed this and eat that. I'm pretty sure that the japanese beetles that eat my grapevine every year didn't catch a flight out of Newark. I guess that's one thing that is uniquely human, the overwhelming desire to fix, but never knowing how to hit the undo button. No wisdom here folks, just keep moving...