close to home

her name is linda and she is 40 years old. she is orginally from south america and i'm not sure how she got here, but she lives in a place barely bigger than she is and her head is kind of flat. it's hard to see her features because her complexion is somewhat spiny and everytime i see her i wonder if she is happy or at least content, and today i found out she is both of those things even though she doesn't smile much.

linda is a turtle. a really big turtle. for more than twenty years i've visited linda at my favorite fish store, and there she is, stuffed in a corner of her very small tank. i asked the guy today why such a small home for dear linda? he said "in the wild, she would only move about 30 - 100 feet per year. she doesn't really need much space."

30 to 100 feet per year? how about if we all tried that -- as little movement as possible. you can move around in place all you want, but in terms of home, find a place that suits you and stick to it. stay near it, stay in it, and don't ever leave it or if you do don't go far. would that feel limiting and confining, or would it just feel safe and perfect? everything you need is right within reach and no need to go off looking for things that, if they aren't right in front of you, maybe you don't need them anyway. of course, the trick is to find a home that suits you perfectly.

perfectly.

having said all that, linda is getting a new home. a 6 x 10 tank that just arrived and they haven't even gotten it out of the box yet. but after 40 years she deserves to stretch out a little, that's what the fishguy said.

stay close to home, but spread out a little.

smart linda.