I Did A Trick!

Beaming son Grant.  He would soon announce, "I did a trick!".

Some 19 years ago, the young man shown above was tucked into his crib in his upstairs room on warm Spring evening.  As a vigilant young parent, I sat and watched him for awhile until I felt I could tip toe from the room without raising alarm from my 2 year old son.  I made it downstairs and settled into some grown up task in the living room, when his mother and I heard a clatter, a rattle and a serious thump [apparently he nailed the landing!].  The next sound was a triumphant and very pleased voice announcing to the world; "I did a trick!".

We jogged back up the stairs to find Grant standing on the floor, beaming.  He had just earned the right to take us shopping for a "big boy bed".  The crib was history.  Those baby crib bars could not hold him any longer. Indeed, he had done a trick.

Desert Tortoise cooling off in the kitchen
after "doing a trick".

The comparisons between my son and my two Desert Tortoises is limited - but in this one case I do see a similarity.  The end of July finds a multitude of things on Sue's to-do list, yet only a single item on Chomper's to-do list.  For Sue, one of the items is to get the 2003 Toyota Camry spiffed up and detailed and ready to sell.  For Chomper, the only item is to prowl the perimeter of the backyard iron picket fence and look for a loose picket or weak spot and make it to the outside.  Freedom!

We had recently swapped cars with son Grant, attending the University of Missouri.  He got Mom's 2009 Camry. Mom chose to keep and drive the 2006 Hyundai Azera (picked up at a good price by my Dad).  I swung by MIzzou driving the 2009 Camry after attending the wedding of Sue's cousin in Nashville, TN.  I drove the older 2003 Camry back to Texas with plans to sell it.  While Sue was toiling away in the drive way to remove the deposits of desiccated french fries and numerous soda stains on the seats - a testament to who knows what Spring Break adventures that took this Camry from Missouri to Florida and back, along with a couple of roommates the past two years.  AS Sue toiled on the interior of the car, Chomper was toiling away at a loose fence picket near the gate.

Sue watched him for a while and thought, "Mark needs to make sure that part of the fence is secure."  But, she felt confident that Chomper's shell was wider than the space between the 2 secure pickets.  It is a surprising but true fact about Desert Tortoises: They love to climb, and will go out of their way to mount and todder atop objects such as stacks of lumber left in the yard.  Also, they are quite curious creatures and can be persistent.  Even though Chomper, and his brother Isaac, are but plodding reptiles, these tort traits should not be underestimated.  In fact, we did underestimate Chomper's persistence and will to go beyond the wire.

Shortly after arriving home for the evening, Sue confronted me with the fear that Chomper had escaped.  I did not believe it.  I search the usual hiding spots in the yard, and did a second loop.  No Chomper.  Sue told me about her observations of his efforts to push aside the picket that afternoon.  I then had to agree with her fears after finding the broken weld at the base of the picket.  Chomper had found a loose picket, confirmed to his satisfaction that this was a viable escape route, managed to hook his front legs through the opening and pull himself up and over the 18" of hog wire I had placed at the base of the fence to prevent just such shenanigans.  He had to turn himself 90 degrees on edge in order to fit his shell through the open space and land onto the drive way and mosey his way across the alley and stroll between two houses.

Realizing we had a runner, Sue and I split up in the twilight to hunt for Chomper.  I was sickened at the idea of loosing him.  I crossed paths with out neighbors behind us and told 7-year old Jayden that Chomper had escaped and we were looking for him.  Jayden immediately began calling out, "Chomper!  Chomper!"  His mother (a native of Germany) tried to reason with her son Jayden; "Da, Chomper ost just un toor-tell, he does not haave eears like un dog.  A toor-tell well not come to your voice Jayden".  Jayden persisted.  They saw an AC repair man working next door and told him they were looking for a big turtle.  The AC guy said, "I saw a big turtle right over there about a half hour ago - I was thinking of taking him home myself."  Jayden checked under some nearby bushes and found the wayward tort.  

When I returned from my search, empty handed and heavy hearted, Angie said that they had found Chomper, and had him in the back yard.  I thanked them profusely and asked for the details of the hunt.  Jayden spelled it all out for me, and then asked, "Do I get a reward?"  I though, yeah, you sure do.  I pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to the kid.  His mother was mortified, but I reasoned with her, that when Jayen is my age, he will still remember the night that he successfully hunted down the wandering tortoise and got 20 bucks for the effort.  Well worth it, all around.

I quickly quadruple wrapped electrical tape around the base of the loose picked and with a song in my grateful heart.  I returned the tortoise back into his rightful pasture.  But I have to admit; man did he ever do a trick.