He was too old and too large to be cute.  So the pet store gave him to
Suzy to be a classroom pet.  He did well.  The children found him
entertaining, if not friendly.  Suzy took him home for the summer, back
to school in the fall, home for the Holidays and back to school again.
Eventually, school was secondary, his real occupation was family pet.

He developed strange ailments and she would converse with vets and then
with experts at the zoo.  He would recover.  At some point roles were
reversed and the zoo would call Suzy about their turtles' ailments.

He wasn't unfriendly, he just didn't want to be touched.  He did not
object to being hand fed, but it was risky to the feeder.  His eyesight
and accuracy were wanting.  He loved grapes and mango and had become a
vegetarian, as is the norm for older turtles.

He made the trip from Pennsylvania to Minnesota in the back of the
4-Runner with the Hedgehog, the two cats, the dog and the kids.  It was
quite a scene when we unloaded the car for the night in the motel.

He's out of his tank now.  He's resting in a basket Suzy made, one that
seemed just the right size and color.  Patrick and I will carry him
across the creek this morning.  We will set him free.  And we will
transplant sunflowers and pumpkin to mark the place.  And we will
pronounce that he was a good turtle.

-jc

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