Coming home from work one day recently, I saw a turtle crossing the road in front of my car. Behind me, a large garbage truck had stopped to pick up the trash at a house. I had to be quick! Instantly, I pulled over and got out of my car. I gently picked up the turtle and walked with it (in the same direction that the turtle had been traveling) and placed him down on the grass. By this time, the garbage truck was barreling down the road, and passed me. The truck would have run right over that turtle, I am sure of it.
Can't seem to be much help in this world today but I did save that turtle...
Have you heard this song by Tom Petty? It was on his last album. It is worth a listen and I have the lyrics for you too. (That is Anthony Hopkins in the video, if you are wondering.) This song makes me cry.
Let him graze awhile
Take my horse down to the water
Let him graze awhile
I have not been down these roads since I was a child
I ain't broke and I ain't hungry but I'm close enough to care
I ain't broke and I ain't hungry but I'm close enough to care
Send my things to my niece Laura
She'll keep 'em over there
I forgive it all, I forgive it all
With her, I forgive it all
There ain't no money in this deal, I just tag along
There ain't no money in this deal, I just tag along
Some things I feel right, somebody else thinks wrong
I forgive it all, I forgive it all
With her, I forgive it all
People are what people make em' that ain't gonna change
People are what people make 'em, that ain't gonna change
There ain't nothing you can do, nothing you could rearrange
But I forgive it all, I forgive it all
With her, I forgive it all
You're just like my husband he's always stopping the car to rescue an animal in the road, particularly turtles.
ReplyDeleteMight not be much but you have to make up your mind to help those who cross your path, on 4 legs or on 2!
DeleteThe Eastern Box turtle is one of my favorite animals.
ReplyDeleteThanks for saving it.
Thanks, John. I also asked Richard to take a photo from behind, showing his little tail, so cute!
DeleteThe lyrics are so full of felling. Good song.
ReplyDeleteIt is really about his childhood. Tom Petty had a rough one apparently, and the fact that he wrote this..."I Forgive It All", just shows what kind of person he was.
DeleteYou were brave for saving the turtle, but glad you did!
ReplyDeleteNot really brave, it was on a quiet neighborhood street, but it just happened I was there at the precise moment that I was needed.
DeleteI love that you saved that turtle, Kay! Such a kind act. Poor little critters are constantly in danger.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great tune. It has a lot of feeling in it. It makes me very emotional.
You would have done the same thing, I know you would. x
DeleteAlso, glad you liked the song, I find it very moving.
Thank you for saving the turtle, i have done the same. Sweetie stops traffic for the ducks, too, when he's on campus and they are trying to cross.
ReplyDeleteI love to think of the image of your Sweetie stopping traffic for the ducks! That's great. x
DeleteYay! I'm so glad you were able to save that lucky turtle. That sounds like such a sad song.
ReplyDeleteHey Kay! Yes, I think that when possible, it is best to try to help wildlife as much as possible.
DeleteThe song is sad but hopeful too.
No turtles on the roads here, but if I see a cat crossing the road (or, as cats sometimes do, stop in the middle of it to have a good grooming session!!), I wait to see whether I need to jump in, just in case a car comes speeding along.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes rescue snails (the ones with the "houses" on) from the pavement and put them in the garden where they probably came out of.
I remember some huge snails in England, you must have the same kind in Germany!
DeleteThe cats here dart across the roads, they know how fast the cars go, I guess!
Hi Kay - well done re the turtle ... so much wildlife is destroyed by our vehicles ... musicians can teach us so much about life through their songs and poems ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHello Hilary!
DeleteThat is it, isn't it? We can relate to something in life from music or lyrics to a song. I love songwriters!
Quite a juxtaposition today Kay. The happiness of the turtle being saved, and the pure emotion of Tom Petty. That was a great song. Thanks for sharing, and thank you for saving that poor turtle!
ReplyDeleteHey Mark,
DeleteIt might seem that they don't go together at all, but I think that Tom Petty might have been rescued by music. It was what kept him going in life, so to speak.
"That light we see is burning in my hall. How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world."
ReplyDeleteI had not heard that song. So powerful.
Thank you, I love that quote!
DeleteGlad you like the song too. xx
That is a great song and I will listen to it again when I have time to savor every word.
ReplyDeleteWe saw box turtles around our unit when we stayed in FL this past winter. The kids were quite taken with them. xo Diana
Next time you go to Florida, just blow your horn as you pass through the Atlanta area, and I will say, "Well, there goes Diana and her bunch!"
DeleteI like that you saved the turtle.
ReplyDeleteI saw on CBS Sunday Morning that Tom Petty (who I am mourning) had a terrible childhood and so often his song lyrics reflect the fighting back he was forced to do ("I won't back down"), but that this song "I Forgive it All" is a sort of letting it all go.
Yes, from all I have read and heard about Tom Petty, he had a very sad childhood. I also read that he met Elvis Presley and shook his hand. After that, all he ever wanted to do was to make music and I think that music was his rescue. x
DeleteWell, you certainly made that turtle's day! Its descendants will all thank you some day, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteHa! I will have a long line of turtle descendants praising my name, I will take it! :-)
DeleteWell done saving the turtle. Liked the song and the video .. though a bit baffled by the ending. If he has a big car why is he living in a small room... (mission?)Did he donate car to homeless by leaving keys in it? ... or did he steal it perhaps if he's living there himself,... or did he buy it?... or was it given to him?
ReplyDeleteThese are the things I want to know :o)
I read that the video was directed by Sean Penn and I suppose he had to make it a bit "edgy" for the times today. I always think that I could edit things and make them better but trouble is, no one ever asks me to!
DeleteI read that the video is of a man going back to his childhood neighborhood, but that is all I know about it!
Haunting sad lyrics.
ReplyDeleteThey are and yet...I truly love the line "I Forgive It All".
DeleteAny song about forgiveness is very unusual but I think very much needed.