funeral for a friend

love lies bleeding in my hands

when I was a kid I had a pet turtle...I forgot his name but he was a cool turtle..lived in a little paradise I made for him with water and dirt and I'd come home everyday and feed him...in his little glass house...he was a green turtle....occasionally I'd get some polywogs and feed those to my turtle....

well one day I came home and found my turtle dead...I was sad very sad so I gathered all my little friends and we planned a burial and memorial service....we got a little box and put grass in it so my dead turtle could RIP comfortably...then we all met on a Saturday morning and went out to my back yard and buried the turtle....

now while I was planning the interment of the turtle, my father was curious as to WTF I was doing....I told him my turtle died and I'm gonna bury him..he looked at me like I was not his son and said something like maybe I was over-reacting and all I needed to do was throw the turtle somewhere and not go through a big procession...I told my father that I intended to bury the turtle with my friends....now even at that age, I knew I was doing all this to get some attention..after all, I got all my friends together, got my father a little concerned and felt....well a sense of power at how easily  I could manipulate people and use my turtle's death for my own entertainment! it was a little psychological experiment before I even knew what psychology was...but of course my father was right..I was way over doing it....

now we have story about the hunters who killed Billy the Dog on a back country trail...they didn't mean to but they did....I saw pictures of the dog and he looked pretty freaky and mangy..altho I wouldn't have shot it under normal circumstances, I think if I was up there on the trail on mescaline I would have...

but now we have some issues where the owner is going to hold a memorial for his dog and take him to the back country and bury his ashes-from the Independent :

Over the Weekend Ian and a close friend hiked up to Montecito Peak to bury Billy’s ashes. "It was a hike that Billy and I had done many times …. that’s where he was the happiest. They found a secluded spot not too far from the top of the peak, dug a two-foot-deep hole and buried Billy in a small wooden box..On Groundhog Day, Ian and his family will make the trek back up once again with family and friends to celebrate Billy’s life. They invite you to come along and share in the memories of those of you who have hiked the trails with your dogs.

when I read about Billy the Dog in the Independent, I thought back to my turtle and how as a young kid, I over-reacted to this death....and how I got some much needed attention..

and I learned a lesson...thank Dog my father was there to impart some perspective into my little mind....but I'll never forget that little turtle..and all the attention I got