The Weird Bug and Turtle Guy

On my walk back Saturday morning from the farmer's market and the Rodin exhibit at the art museum, I was approached by a man who appeared to be of the "homeless" ilk: unshaven, messy hair, ill-fitting mismatched, out of season clothes (who else wears a ski vest in the summer?). He was so proud that he had caught a grasshopper for his pet turtle that he just had to show the first person who came along. In fact, he seemed prouder that he had figured out what his turtle likes to eat (he had tried giving it some fruit) and then repeatedly described how his turtle creeps along very slowly (duh, it's a turtle!) then suddenly reaches out its neck and snaps up a grasshopper.

Being terminally shy, and ever-mindful of my mother's admonition not to talk to strangers, I felt quite uncomfortable with this encounter. (Run away! Run away!) As such, I did not offer him the two bits of advice I thought of while he was speaking to me. First, the grasshoppers might be easier to catch earlier in the morning, when it is cooler and they are moving more slowly. Second, buddy, if you hope to catch more than two for your turtle (one in each hand), you're going to have to have something to carry them in.