LJ Idol Season 8, week 34, Turtles all the way down
Some of the best memories of my childhood are those involving the animals I grew up with. We always had animals, and they were some of my best friends.
We had two turtles named Max and Maggie. Max was my brothers and Maggie was mine. They lived in a tank on the bookcase. They were fun to hold because when they stuck out their little legs to walk it tickled your hand. They were tiny little turtles.
One day we had an earthquake, it was California after all. The water sloshed out of the tank and onto the floor, turtles and all. We tried rescuing them, after finding them stunned on the floor, by putting them back into the tank of water. They were never the same though and they died shortly after. I was heartbroken. I always got upset when any of our animals died, even the fish.
Soon after the demise of Max and Maggie, my brother brought home a snake. My mother was not at all impressed, but I was in love at first sight. I carried the snake everywhere with me in my clothes or around my neck or arm. He was a lovely little king snake. Unfortunately we didn’t have him for very long, maybe two years, when he sadly died hitting his head on the wall of the tank while shedding his skin, or at least I think that is how he died.
We had our share of cats, usually making them indoor outdoor cats. Since we lived on a busy street they often got hit by cars. After a while of that we started keeping the cats indoors. We had a cat named Max and a cat named Maggie, so somebody must have had those as favorite names, because after the first max cat died we got another max cat when we were much older that looked like the first. I don’t know why the naming wasn’t more original. When I had a say in the matter I liked hippie child names like Sundance the cat that got hit by a car, flame who disappeared after we had rescued him as a stray. Then I got into rabbits. There were Rose bud, Moon Beam, Lily May, Summer Breeze and so on.
Later I progressed to chickens which I would bring in the house to watch TV with me. Ducks, turkeys, you name it, I had it or wanted it. Slowly the animals got bigger and bigger, dogs, goats, a calf, a miniature horse, a full sized horse. There was no stopping me. From the turtles on I was hooked.
I still am. Now I share my life with only one dog, Fargo, but I wish I could have more animals. There were so many good times with them. When my parents were fighting I’d talk to the animals and it’d calm me down. When kids at school made fun of me I had the animals for friends. When I went off to college and had trouble making friends or didn’t receive the grade I wanted on an exam, I had the animals to cheer me. Not so long ago, my therapist asked me if I thought I’d be depressed if I was still surrounded by a bunch of animals, and I didn’t really know how to answer her.
I’ve learned so much from animals; how to love, responsibility, gentleness, dependability, patience, and loyalty. It’s never always easy when animals are involved because I’ve attended my share of euthanasias, and nail biting hours waiting over surgery results, or impending births. It’s all time I don’t regret spending though. I can’t stop and say to myself that I wish I had lived my life differently. In fact, animals are such a part of it, that most photos of me growing up have an animal in them. Just the way I wanted it.
So when I think of the topic turtles all the way down, I think of it being animals all the way back. As long as I can remember animals were there for comfort, intrigue, as teachers, and as companions. I can only think fondly about the years to come, and what they’ll bring.
We had two turtles named Max and Maggie. Max was my brothers and Maggie was mine. They lived in a tank on the bookcase. They were fun to hold because when they stuck out their little legs to walk it tickled your hand. They were tiny little turtles.
One day we had an earthquake, it was California after all. The water sloshed out of the tank and onto the floor, turtles and all. We tried rescuing them, after finding them stunned on the floor, by putting them back into the tank of water. They were never the same though and they died shortly after. I was heartbroken. I always got upset when any of our animals died, even the fish.
Soon after the demise of Max and Maggie, my brother brought home a snake. My mother was not at all impressed, but I was in love at first sight. I carried the snake everywhere with me in my clothes or around my neck or arm. He was a lovely little king snake. Unfortunately we didn’t have him for very long, maybe two years, when he sadly died hitting his head on the wall of the tank while shedding his skin, or at least I think that is how he died.
We had our share of cats, usually making them indoor outdoor cats. Since we lived on a busy street they often got hit by cars. After a while of that we started keeping the cats indoors. We had a cat named Max and a cat named Maggie, so somebody must have had those as favorite names, because after the first max cat died we got another max cat when we were much older that looked like the first. I don’t know why the naming wasn’t more original. When I had a say in the matter I liked hippie child names like Sundance the cat that got hit by a car, flame who disappeared after we had rescued him as a stray. Then I got into rabbits. There were Rose bud, Moon Beam, Lily May, Summer Breeze and so on.
Later I progressed to chickens which I would bring in the house to watch TV with me. Ducks, turkeys, you name it, I had it or wanted it. Slowly the animals got bigger and bigger, dogs, goats, a calf, a miniature horse, a full sized horse. There was no stopping me. From the turtles on I was hooked.
I still am. Now I share my life with only one dog, Fargo, but I wish I could have more animals. There were so many good times with them. When my parents were fighting I’d talk to the animals and it’d calm me down. When kids at school made fun of me I had the animals for friends. When I went off to college and had trouble making friends or didn’t receive the grade I wanted on an exam, I had the animals to cheer me. Not so long ago, my therapist asked me if I thought I’d be depressed if I was still surrounded by a bunch of animals, and I didn’t really know how to answer her.
I’ve learned so much from animals; how to love, responsibility, gentleness, dependability, patience, and loyalty. It’s never always easy when animals are involved because I’ve attended my share of euthanasias, and nail biting hours waiting over surgery results, or impending births. It’s all time I don’t regret spending though. I can’t stop and say to myself that I wish I had lived my life differently. In fact, animals are such a part of it, that most photos of me growing up have an animal in them. Just the way I wanted it.
So when I think of the topic turtles all the way down, I think of it being animals all the way back. As long as I can remember animals were there for comfort, intrigue, as teachers, and as companions. I can only think fondly about the years to come, and what they’ll bring.