An unsolved mystery

When you're raised to believe that things happen for a reason, then there is no such thing as a coincidence. The people you meet, the things you see, and the events that occur all fit together in some order over which you have no control. You may not understand them at the time, if ever, but if you can piece together the puzzle, then perhaps your life will make more sense. Or not. Time marches on regardless, but I believe the more you can figure out what the world is trying to tell you, the better your chances of leading a full and rich life. That's the way my mind works anyway.

Several events have occurred at the 7MSN over the past few days...and years...which, when added together, seem to be telling me something. I don't have a freakin' clue what that is yet, but I sure am having fun trying to figure it all out.

This all started the day I moved to the 7MSN. My friend Kim was helping me move and arrived first in the convoy of vehicles. She spotted a large turtle in the driveway and moved it out of harm’s way before he got run over.

Not quite three years later, in June 2008, I saw the turtle again and wrote about it here. A dear friend had recently passed away, and I named the turtle Steve in his honor.

A year later, while my sister was visiting, we spotted Turtle Steve while out on a walk with Smooch. That was the last time I saw him...until this past Saturday. Carolynn and I were walking Smooch down the road about a half mile from the house when I looked down and there he was! Or so I thought.

Post processing: 1. PW's Define and Sharpen action; 2. PW's Quick Edge Burn action at 13%


I was absolutely thrilled to see Steve again, but could only wonder why he timed his appearances to coincide with the arrival of house guests.


After the requisite photo shoot, we set him back on the ground and sent him on his merry way.



The next morning, we were just out the front gate and there he was again! I couldn't resist the temptation to pick him up and relocate him to my garden.

The girls extended him a warm welcome...

...and wondered, as did I , if he would stick around.

But then I realized that the turtle in the garden was not the turtle I had spotted the day before out on the road – the coloring on their legs was very different. I dug up an old picture of Steve to compare it to my garden turtle.


After an exhaustive forensic analysis, I can confidently say that the garden turtle is indeed Steve. He didn't stick around, but he now knows where he can get a free handout and I'm certain he'll be back.

But what about the other turtle? What's his story? And why did two turtles suddenly appear this weekend out of nowhere? And why do they show up only when I have house guests? What does it all mean? And why do I keep humming the theme to "Twilight Zone"? I have a feeling this story is far from over.