Those who know me know that I love Turtles, I used to always have them as pets as a child. We'd go in the woods behind my house and find them. The ones that ate and were sociable, we kept around. If they didn't we released them. Turtles somehow have the reputation of being peaceful and mellow, and that's really not true. They are pocket dinosaurs, primitive, crude and have a violent streak. They don't really like their owners, but I love them anyway.
Around 1998 I did something I never did before. I had just returned from Mexico in the dead of the Portland winter and sunk into a deep depression. I must have wanted to connect with my childhood so I drove to Southeast Portland and bought 2 three toed box turtles, Bitty (deceased) and Babar (pictured). When Bitty died I bought Bindi and she and Babar lived together for the next 7 years. Now having box turtles, well, they can be pretty low maintenance so long as you feed them right, and hibernate them for the winter. The only health problems I ever had was when they stopped eating their greens (they get addicted to meat just like we do! babar once ate a whole dead baby bird!) and became vitamin A deficient. I has to give them a course of A vitamins by hypodermic needle. that sucked. They hated me even more! Every day for 10 days I had to inflict pain on them to keep them alive. But that time passed and they did well.
Their lives are pretty simple. Eat, sleep and re-produce. You can learn so much about your own nature from other earthlings such as these. They have no obvious expression, but you can see joy and sadness through their eyes. Look at Babar! look at that joy in his eyes! this photo was taken the day he was freed. He was probably farm raised and never had such a vast place to explore. Being a reptile, the brain is wired for mere survival and yet still, I know there are feelings taking place. As humans, the most powerful part of our brain is the reptilian. It's that rather insane voice keeping us alive and out of trouble, talking us out of ever trying anything great, that voice that says "you can't do that, you'll fail!" Or, at least this is what I was led to believe.
I spent most of 2010 in Los Angeles. When I first arrived I stayed at my friends place in Beverly hills, beautiful spot on a vineyard. His house is one of the most positive energy spots I've seen and feel blessed to have been a guest. this is where I met Dave Cousin, someone who has really helped me see this world differently. Dave has a love for animals. He noticed I had unloaded this plastic sweater bin with my turtles in it. He couldn't stand the thought of them living in there so within a few days he built an apartment for them. Beautiful house with plexiglass walls and plenty of plants! I felt so happy for him and my pets there was no way I would move them to my apartment, they had all that good California sun to bask in and fresh air, and yes, in that part of town the air is so nice.
Every once in a while Dave would call me worried about the turtles. "They are not eating" he'd say. I'd drive up, check their weight and their eyes and determine that they are eating something, i had never seen them so energetic. Then one day in October I got the call. "jef, I can't find the turtle". He sounded so alarmed and sad. I drove up but took my time, I knew Bindi, the female was gone. When i arrived we walked out to look for her, but I knew that was pointless. Dave said "i just can't figure out how she got out". He was bummed. I said, "Dave, no worries. She's been getting up at the asscrack of dawn and timing you every day, figuring out your patterns. She's been sizing up her apartment and figuring out how to escape since the first minute and she would never give up until she figured it out." Persistence. Bindi has always been the smarter of the 2, the more sociable and the most persistent. She was free at last! About 2 days later I decided to let go my fears for Babars survival and let him go too. Turtles have strong pheromones and tend to find each other. But I figured even with the raccoons, coyotes, dogs, and bobcats, they are better off figuring life out without my constant protection.
In the end, I figure, if Bindi the Boxturtle could figure out how to get out of the box, so can I and so can any one of us! It's a matter of never giving up until you have achieved what you are after. If it's freedom from your oppressor, in this case, me, you just have to continue to keep a positive mind and make positive action until you've hit the promised land. And for them, a vineyard in Beverly Hills? They hit the jackpot!
xojb
Every once in a while Dave would call me worried about the turtles. "They are not eating" he'd say. I'd drive up, check their weight and their eyes and determine that they are eating something, i had never seen them so energetic. Then one day in October I got the call. "jef, I can't find the turtle". He sounded so alarmed and sad. I drove up but took my time, I knew Bindi, the female was gone. When i arrived we walked out to look for her, but I knew that was pointless. Dave said "i just can't figure out how she got out". He was bummed. I said, "Dave, no worries. She's been getting up at the asscrack of dawn and timing you every day, figuring out your patterns. She's been sizing up her apartment and figuring out how to escape since the first minute and she would never give up until she figured it out." Persistence. Bindi has always been the smarter of the 2, the more sociable and the most persistent. She was free at last! About 2 days later I decided to let go my fears for Babars survival and let him go too. Turtles have strong pheromones and tend to find each other. But I figured even with the raccoons, coyotes, dogs, and bobcats, they are better off figuring life out without my constant protection.
In the end, I figure, if Bindi the Boxturtle could figure out how to get out of the box, so can I and so can any one of us! It's a matter of never giving up until you have achieved what you are after. If it's freedom from your oppressor, in this case, me, you just have to continue to keep a positive mind and make positive action until you've hit the promised land. And for them, a vineyard in Beverly Hills? They hit the jackpot!
I remember when Jef and his brother Mitch had 14 turtles, all of which were kept in their bathtub. They couldn't shower in their bathroom, so they had to use mine. I remember only three of the turtles, really -- a box named Sunshine and one named Haydn (because he was always 'hiding', and a water turtle, which was the fastest turtle I'd ever see run. He won the turtle race at school twice, I think. What they had in common was that none of the 14 really wanted to be with us. They were captives for human amusement, but also to teach us humans a bit about ourselves. If there was a way for them to climb out the tub, they would have done it for sure. Not that they were always kept there -- we were humane, of course. We did let them wander outside the house, but small doses are almost never quite enough. We limited them, just as we often limit ourselves. We kept them confined, just as we confine ourselves. They are wild animals, whereas we -- like the ant -- are simply primitive. We and the ants are the only creatures on earth that create wars. Happy to hear that the turtles you have are now free. Now to free the human psyche. Diane Brown
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