A Man and a Turtle

(John is in San Francisco taking part in the ReVision Dallas design competition. Look for his posts on the results and his thoughts upon his return. This piece and others that may appear on his blog were written prior to his leaving. Enjoy!)

Driving home yesterday afternoon, I saw a car stopped in the right lane, emergency blinkers on. I slowed down and pulled to the left. When I passed I looked out the window to see what the problem might be.

A man, dressed for the office, was marching solemnly down the embankment through the muddy grass towards the Jackson Branch. His elbows were held out to the side and in his hands, held well away from his body, was an enormous turtle—at least the size of a dinner platter.

An entire story sprang to mind. The man is driving home from work when he sees an enormous turtle in his lane. He slows, then stops and puts the blinkers on so he won’t be rear ended. Now he has a decision to make. He looks at the turtle, then at the muddy bank, then ruefully at his shoes.

Decision made he unbuckles his seatbelt and walks around to the front of his car. Again he looks at the turtle. Then he carefully picks the turtle up wondering whether turtles bite and watchful of his clothes.

Watching him there was enormous ceremony to his steps. This well-dressed man had decided that a turtle was worth both his time and muddy shoes.