THE GREAT TURTLE CROSSING

    I was working at Sandbridge Beach, which is a small summer resort located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. That particular day I was doing a roof repair at the oceanfront. It was a sunny and warm day with few clouds in the sky. Mr. Snyder’s house was set back about 100 yards from the ocean, and the only protection it had was a metal bulkhead. I was on the roof when I looked down to the beach and saw something along the water’s edge.
   Since my eyesight is not the best, and I did not have my glasses, I decided to take a walk and see what it was. The wind was blowing, but it was more enjoyable than being up on the roof. The tide was receding and the waves were gently breaking on the sand. I looked around the beach to try to find what I had seen from the roof and sure enough — there, it was. Four legs stretched out, neck and head lying gently upon the sand, not much movement; in fact, there was no movement at all. As I got closer, I noticed that there was a bright white star upon its back, looking old and ragged, as though it had traveled many miles.
   To my astonishment, it was a turtle. I sat down on the beach next to the turtle and was amazed by the sight in front of me. I have spent many years walking, swimming, and shell collecting on the beach and had never seen a turtle, especially not one with a white star upon its back. I felt sorry for it and wished that there were something I could do. All of a sudden, his head started to rise from the sand and to my disbelieving eyes—and not to mention my ears—the turtle looked at me and said, “I have had a long journey and I am very tired. I hope that you will be able to help me go home.”
  This was like listening to a cartoon show on television, where animals and fish actually do talk. I was quite startled and looked around to see if someone was playing a trick on me or if I was being filmed on Candid Camera, but as I glanced around, there was not a soul in sight, only a long stretch of beach with just sand, water, broken-down bulkheads, seagulls—and this turtle with a white star on its back, and me. I shook my head and looked down at this turtle with disbelief, but as I looked at him, I could see the sadness on his face. He was hungry, tired, and lacking the strength to carry on.
   Call me crazy but I truly believed that was really happening to me. Ten minutes ago, I had been up repairing a roof, and now, I was sitting on the beach, thinking that a turtle with a star on its back had just spoken to me.
At that moment, while he held his head still barely above the sand, the turtle spoke. “If you have some time, I will tell you of my life and my travels; it seems that I have been away from home for a long time and I am very tired.”
   Yeah, I am sitting on the beach, thinking that the turtle is talking to me. Okay, why not? I thought. I looked at the turtle and said, “I do have some time, and I am not sure whether or not I am going crazy, but I will listen to your story. Go ahead.”
   The turtle began: “My name is Star, and it is a name of which my family and I are very proud of. Once, Virginia Beach was just farmland and open meadows, with birds and wildlife running about freely, and without asphalt roads and bridges; these are the memories that my family enjoys. My father, mother, and all their generations grew up in this stream and were very happy. Then my father told us, things are changing, and now you will have to become more alert to everything.
I was just a young and foolish turtle at that time. Turtlet was what the older turtles called the young turtles. Right above the stream was a farm with cows, chickens, and all the other things that go along with farms. One day, the little boy who lived there came down to the stream to play. I was quite intrigued by this human, since it was the first one I had ever seen. I popped my head above the water, looked at this boy, and asked him what his name was. He looked at me and said, ‘My name is Michael—and how come you can talk? Well, I don’t know, I told him. And how come you can talk?
At that moment, the little boy reached down and grabbed me from the stream and carried me to his home. I was quite frightened, but as it turned out, Michael and I became friends for a short period. He was the one who named me Star and engraved the star on my back so that he would always be able to recognize me. As it turned out, Michael’s father was a woodworker and knew a special technique of marking so that it would not hurt me at all. As time went by, Michael and I became good friends and would play around the stream all day. As I grew, the star upon my back also grew. It remained brilliant white and everybody started to call me Star.
“Michael and his family eventually moved, after selling their farmland to a developer. I guess I know why my father said that we would have to be more careful, because more and more children were coming down to the stream, and the water was getting much dirtier because of all the rubbish that was being thrown there. We all moved farther down the stream to get away from all this new commotion. We found a new home, quiet again, with the old ways that we were used to. I met many more turtles and turtlets, and life was just fine once again. I remember one time there was a big storm and the water in the stream rose higher and higher, and the sun did not come out for days. Well, the storm ended and things got back to normal, except for a new addition to our quiet surroundings.
I had never seen a snake before, so I wasn’t sure how to approach it. One day, I was near the edge of the stream and popped my head above the water near an old tree stump, and lo and behold! I was face to face with this creature they call a snake. Being the energetic teenage turtlet that I was, I looked him square in the face and said, ‘What is your name? He looked me back square in the face and said, ‘Itchy. My name is Itchy Sullivan, and I will be your friend, but do not tell anyone. I am a mean snake, but nobody believes me because I guess I don’t know how to be mean.
   Itch’s problem was that he was too nice to be mean, but for some reason, he felt he had to be mean. Nobody really paid any attention to him so after a short period of time, Itchy moved on. Well, by now, years had gone by and the developments kept growing and growing. More houses, bridges, and people, and less tranquility for all of us. I stayed with my family and friends in the stream that I had come to know as home. Because of my star and the size that I had grown into, the turtle clan started looking at me as the leader. I was asked for my advice concerning everyday situations and how they should be solved. A bridge and road were built over our stream, and this certainly changed the direction of our lives. Cars would drive by, day and night, throwing all sorts of trash down into our once-beautiful home.
   Our lives were changing once again, and it was time for us to find a new home. But where should we go? We needed to cross under the bridge, but that was almost impossible because of all the trash—and a new sort of enemy that somehow emerged from the development of Virginia Beach. Over the years, we had become accustomed to the ducks that would share our streams and ponds. We all lived quite nicely together. But these were not just ducks; they were some sort of a cross between a mallard duck and a seagull—ugly and very bossy. It got to the point where these so-called ducks would pick up coins off the street, boldly march to the local human stores, and actually purchase food. We had heard these stories and believed them because of their unpredictable behavior. They were not our friends. Ducks are our friends, but these creatures made our life very difficult.
   We had two options: the first was to cross under the bridge, and the second was to climb up the stream’s bank, over the asphalt curve, and cross the street. Everyone looked at me to make this decision. For the first time in my life, I felt that all the other turtles and turtlets were depending upon me to make the best decision. It was a difficult decision, but based on our options, there was really only one choice. We would all have to join forces and begin the Great Turtle Crossing. Since I was given the leadership role, I started planning right away.
The first step was to go for a test run to find out what obstacles lay ahead of us. Climbing up the embankment was the first step. I reached the top and came to the asphalt curve, but it was a difficult task, trying to get my front feet up to the top of the curve and not get my underside stuck. With some work, I was over the curve and crossed the street. I was startled by the number of cars that passed by, but I knew what I had to do! I returned to the stream and gathered all the turtles and turtlets. I spoke to them and told them about the dangers that they were about to face, but as a team, we would be successful. I led the pack—there were fifteen of us—and we were all aware of the risks. We climbed up the embankment and all gathered in front of the asphalt curve. I gave the final instructions as to how they should cross the curve. I knew that crossing the street would be a time-consuming event, but I had already planned for it, although I had not informed the others. At that point, I gave the final directions and quickly climbed over the curve.
   As fast as I could, I walked to the middle of the street, rolled to my side, and pushed my back straight into the air in the hope that my bright star would stop the oncoming traffic. The rest of the turtles crossed the street and climbed over the curve, down to the stream. It was a success! In addition, I rolled back over and started to cross the street, when all of a sudden from behind, I was picked up off the ground by four my archenemies. I found myself flying through the air with these things, but I knew the others were safe, because I could see them entering the water. It seemed that I was in the air forever when I was suddenly dropped into a fast-moving stream. All my strength was gone as I tried to swim to the bank of the stream, but the water was rushing too fast.
As I drifted farther down the stream, it seemed that it was getting wider and wider, and the water was moving faster and faster. I passed out, and the next thing that I saw was you, kneeling beside me.
   That is my story of how I ended up here, and now I ask you: will you help me return to my family?
   I looked at Star and understood the hardships that he had gone through. I told him that it would be my pleasure to help him find his family. I stood up and looked down at Star, and at that point, the rain started to fall. I looked back at the roof I’d been working on and realized that it was time to find a new career, because we all know that turtles can’t talk — or can they?         

The End

       **** All Rights Reserved. James W. Horne. July 2, 2008. ****

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