If You Can't Trust a Turtle who Can you Trust?

So, after I made all those disparaging comments about squids last week, I thought I should write a positive blog post about animals. Because, generally, I really like animals. Anyway, I decided to write about the turtle because, if you can't trust a turtle, who can you trust?

To begin with, allow me to say that I have tremendous respect for the turtle. I mean, who else can grow their own home and carry it around with them all the time? Snails? Snails don't even have a tongues (they have radulas, which are barbed tongues of weirdness)! Not only does the turtle have a shell, but it has a real mouth and tongue and eyes and can bite things! I think the turtle is pretty much the only animal who has all those things and the ability to grow a shell.

I had first hand experience of turtle awesomeness when I went to the New England Aquarium in Boston. They had big sea turtles there and I watched them for life a solid hour. I even made a video about my turtle experiences (well, there are other fish in it too, but I'm mostly concerned with the turtle).   One of the curators at the aquarium was talking about how New England sailors used to catch sea turtles in their nets. When they caught them, they would lay them on their backs on the decks of their ships and they would still be alive when they got into port and then the sailors would butcher them and sell them for turtle soup and other concoctions of turtle disrespect. Who could possibly be cruel enough to do something like that? I mean, have some respect for the turtle; It grew it's own shell!

I even got a really cool turtle keychain at the aquarium. The picture isn't very good, but you can kind of see that it's a turtle with a little bubble of water where the shell should be and inside there are two little turtles floating around. I'm sure if that's supposed to symbolize something about symbiotic relationships or anything, but it sure is lovely sentiment. And really, the turtle is a great example of why the oceans should be protected. The turtle is a lovely creature!

I mean, everywhere you look you see proof of the awesomeness of the turtle. I mean, according to the Iroquois myth the whole world started on the back of a turtle. I mean, that seems pretty plausible to me considering that turtles are such majestic and generous and awesome. It would be somewhat like that space whale in Doctor Who. Speaking of turtle generosity, who was it that helped Marlin find Nemo in Finding Nemo? Oh yeah, it was Crush the Turtle. Why don't you think about that for a moment. If it wasn't for Crush, Nemo might still be lost.

I think everyone needs to sit for a moment and consider the debt of gratitude owed to the turtles of the world.

Just sayin'