Today as I was driving to work, down the deserted rural road
that I live on, a turtle (or terrapin) was crossing the street. I know very little about wildlife in
general but I did recognize this terrapin as one of the endangered species of
our area from my time working at the local Boy Scout camp. I stopped my car, grabbed a shirt from
my trunk and picked it up and placed it on the other side where it was
headed. I have never encountered
another car on the road traveling in the same direction but on this occasion
there was. The person in the car
was so inconvenienced by my car, pulled to the side of the road and stopped
with flashers on, that he parked his big truck, got out of it and stomped on
the turtle. He broke the turtle’s
shell, which for the uninitiated, is where his backbone is.
While I was doing this I thought of my patron saint and guardian angel, Suburban Island, who with her son once valiantly saved some baby squirrels who later bit her husband and gave him rabies. I thought of all the good things that she does and how she tries to better the world around her and make people’s days brighter. I was doing this for me but I can’t help but think that in trying to do this terrapin a favor I ended his life because someone else is psychotic. Do Saint Suburban Island’s good deeds go so tragically awry?
I called Chaos Bean, gave her his license plate number (Kentucky 108 GVK) and continued on my way because had I gotten out of the car again I would have probably be in jail right now. I’d like to consider myself progressive or liberal in my politics but I didn’t realize that I was so into animals. If you are a Christian or into “the circle of life” or even an “evangelical” like this person (he had Calvin praying to a little cross and a sticker for Little Flock Baptist Church on the back of his truck), you should have respect for God’s creation or the delicate ecosystem that we’ve made our planet into.
I despise snakes and they scare me to death but I leave even them alone because I know they serve a purpose in the ecosystem and are a part of God’s plan for the planet. I’m strongly considering going to Little Flock Baptist Church and calling this disgusting excuse for a human out. Someone suggested to me that he was crazy and Chaos Bean pointed out that the man has a pretty severe psychotic episode to have attempted to kill an animal like that in full view of the public. I’ll match your crazy, and raise you. It was uncalled for and upsetting.
Chaos Bean went to check on the terrapin for me to see what happened. She reports that she walked down to where the terrapin was and men from the water company, who corroborated my story, had the turtle and were taking it to the zoo where a person who works with turtles, terrapins, and tortoises and can help them when their shells are broken. She also informed PETA. Chaos Bean is above all else a good sister and she may have lied to me about all that to make me feel better but if there is something she loves more than me it’s animals with shells on their backs so I’m pretty sure she did all she could to save that poor little terrapin and make the person who hurt it suffer.
This is kind of ironic because normally I am the one who is staid and she is the one who is emotional. Today I was the mess and she was more reserved although upset herself. I told everyone who would listen and interrupted those who did not and made him or her listen. When I spoke to Chaos Bean I was very irate and used all kinds of slurs and insults to describe the foul creature who did this thing – the only one fit for print being, “Wal Mart shopper.” I am still upset.
I can’t help but think that there is a special place in hell for the man who did this; down there with Judas, Brutus and those of you who litter.
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