Stopping for turtles

My daughter-in-law apologized for arriving late to pick me up and immediately launched into a description of everything she’d been doing for the last four hours. At the same time, the grandkids in the back seat were clamoring for my attention.

All I remember is the tale of the turtle. Or more likely, tortoise. My DIL had finally gotten through all the delays and broken free of all the traffic snarls, but then, on the road in front of her, she saw a turtle trying to cross. She passed it, looking for a safe place to stop. The frightened turtle was changing direction every time a car passed and without help, his life was sure to end any moment.

As it turned out, by the time my DIL got back to the turtle, another driver had also stopped and carried it to safety.

I was reminded of my childhood, and the time when my dad, forever my hero, interrupted our family’s Sunday afternoon drive to stop and rescue a turtle in the road. I’ve never forgotten that my dad was that kind of man, the kind that would stop everything for a mere turtle. It was heart-warming to hear that my daughter-in-law also is that kind of person and that my grandchildren were there to see it.

The world needs more people willing to stop for turtles.