Mama Diaries

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Turtle Incident

We've had a lot of contractors buzzing around our house, remodeling things for our big move.  Of course my son, Bubba, had to befriend them.  Naturally, they all liked Bubba.

"Hey, Bubba," one of the guys said.  "Do you want to see something?"

Bubba looked at me.  "Can I, Mama?"

I nodded.  "Sure."  I couldn't wait to see what they had.

We went outside.  And what do you think we saw?  A giant snapping turtle.  It was crawling across my front yard.

"What is that thing doing here?" I asked.

"It crawled out of the back of my pickup truck," the man drawled in his thick Kentucky accent.

"Oh yeah?" I asked.  "And what was it doing in the back of your pickup truck?"

"It was on the side of the road when I was driving here this morning, so I picked it up and tossed it in."

I looked at that guy. "Okay.  So how did it get out of your pickup truck?"

The guy shrugged.  "Beats me.  All I know is he was crawlin' over to your neighbor's bushes.  I had to drag him out by the tail. Like this."  He picked up the turtle by his tail and let it hang.

Bubba giggled.  "Can I try that?"

"Absolutely not!" I said.

"Ya wanna see what else he can do, Bubba?" the guy asked.

"Yeah.  What else can he do?'

The man put the turtle down and stuck his big foot in front of its mouth.  And guess what happened?  The turtle bit the guy's work boot - hard!

I looked at the guy and shook my head.  "I hope those boots have steel toes, otherwise when you take your boot off, you might be missing a few of your own!"

The guy laughed.

Bubba grinned.    "Can we keep it as a pet?"

"NO!!!!!!" 

I asked the man to take that reptile back to whatever swamp it came out of. 

"Yes, ma'am," he said and picked the thing up by its tail and tossed him back into the pickup truck.

Oy gewalt!


43 comments:

  1. Geez, how mean to the poor turtle. He might give Schultz a run for his money though haha

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    1. I'm sure that turtle could bite off Schultz's nose!

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  2. Thanks for sharing this, Sherry, and another lovely story about Bubba. When I was a little girl a tortoise wandered down our path. It had escaped from a neighbour's garden. I remember I wasn't keen on it at all and my grandmother took it home. I'm glad it wasn't a turtle!

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    1. Tortoises are okay. Snapping turtles are quite another story!

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  3. You don't want one of those around or everyone in the neighborhood will be missing fingers.

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  4. Those snapping turtles can surely snap off a digit or two, so you were right in insisting he take him back. What a sight to see up close, though!

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    1. I couldn't believe that guy actually let it bite his boot!

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  5. I hope he didn't make a soup out of the poor turtle :(

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    1. No. It got returned to the area it came from.

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  6. But I'm glad Bubba had the experience of seeing one!

    Nas

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    1. We've seen them at my dad's house, but this was a little different. This one was in action!

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  7. I'd love to live near you, I'm sure I would be laughing much more than I do.

    Yvonne.

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  8. lol - That's too funny. And yes, turtles bite very hard. Nice that Bubba got to see one up close like that:)

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  9. Those things are dangerous. He should not have brought that turtle to your house. And what a fool he was to stick his foot in its mouth. I don't care what kind of boots he wore. Oy gewalt indeed!

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I think he was thinking that he was Wildman having an encounter with a wild thing. Definitely not smart!

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  10. I feel bad for the poor turtle! :)

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    1. You have a kind heart. I just wanted that thing out of my yard!

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  11. I'm still trying to work out why he picked it up and threw it in his truck! Maybe he had a hankering for turtle soup. Whatever the reason, it was kinda irresponsible of him to stick his boot in it's mouth, especially in front of an impressionable youngster. :)

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    1. Irresponsible indeed! I don't get how some people think sometimes.

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  12. LOL! You always have the most amusing stories. My sister totally would've taken that turtle home as a pet if she had come across it... XD

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  13. Ha! Of course your little guy wanted to keep it! What little boy wouldn't?!

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    1. I could see a red eared slider or box turtle. But a snapping turtle?

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  14. Poor turtle. I wish people would leave wildlife alone.

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  16. Sounds like the turtle was trying to make a break for it, but he got re-caught by the worker dude.

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  17. Poor turtle. I had two pet turtles when I was a kid, I named them hamburger and cheeseburger. Never been bitten by them. My Mom later gave them away. Wow Sherry, this is it. All the best to your big move. XX

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  18. Wow, what an adventure! My husband's nephew had a habit of kissing all kinds of animals when he was little so he kissed a snapping turtle and got bitten on the lip! Poor little guy had to have stitches. Glad that didn't happen to Bubba.

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  19. But...but...why does that guy want that turtle? Is he planning to make turtle soup out of him? Was he going to let him go? I'm surprised Bubba didn't ask him--LOL! ;)

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    1. Who knows? Perhaps he just wanted to show Bubba.

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  20. LOL. Crazy woman. I love turtles--granted they're too stinky to keep as pets, but they're still cool. In fact, they lay eggs in my back yard. ;)

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    1. That IS cool! And then you have little baby turtles!

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  21. I wonder if that turtle ended up back in the swamp or on the dinner table... I hope your son learned that wild animals can be dangerous and to enjoy watching them from a distance. Good luck with the upcoming move.

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  22. LOL! Omg too crazy. Snapping turtle? I love it.

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