Today, I met a box turtle.  His name is Lou the Box Turtle.  But the group of people I were with called him Lucky.  Specifically, because on the way to our meeting, one of the guys in the group saw this turtle crossing State Route 122.  So he stopped his car, and retrieved him.

Lou came with his new friend to the meeting.  He sat very politely, on our meeting table, in…. of all things….. a cardboard box.  I didn’t realize the irony until just this moment.

He was a nice turtle.  But mostly I just think he wished to be on his way.  Albeit, on his way….. slowly…..  and not very judiciously around traffic.   But he was probably hoping to get back home.  With the Mrs. or Mr…..  and all the little kid turtles.

Heck… it is Friday.   They were probably going to watch a movie tonight… like something with Shelley Winters in it…. or even Shelley Duval.  And later… have a special snack of Snails and Berries.

To digress.  Now that I think of it…….I was at a fancy restaurant once and had Snails with a Berry Sauce.  I should have asked to see the chef.

At any rate.  Box Turtles live to be 100 years old… in good conditions.  I don’t know how old Lou was… but he was moving pretty good…. even for a turtle.

As I reflect about my afternoon with Lou, I would say that we can probably learn a lot from the  box turtle.

Turtles are methodical.  Persistent.  Measured.  Even paced, resolute, and steady.
When danger comes, the turtle protects itself in a non-threatening way.
They are not on the offense, rather, they advance placidly.
And they are beautiful, in their own very unique way.

Those all seem like pretty good things to me… as we all try to navigate life.

I think tomorrow I’ll try to be more like a turtle.  And less like the hare.

Yeah.  Right.   It sounded good in theory.  But since I won’t take anything like a tranquilizer… it will probably never happen.

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” —J.K. Rowling

“Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.” —Barbara Geraci

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” —Malcolm Forbes