Last Saturday while I was at the library, some of my other family members decided to take the little ones to the Ft. Wayne Children’s Zoo. When they returned, the highlight seemed to be seeing two rather enormous turtles “going at it.” Apparently, the spectacle drew quite a crowd. My four-year-old niece commented that she watched them wrestle. Following the spectacle, one of the animals could be heard letting out a great sigh (of relief?).
This story made me recall one of the most hilarious yet apropos movie reviews I have ever read or heard. The 1980 movie The Blue Lagoon tells the coming-of-age tale of an eight-year old boy and girl who were shipwrecked on a desert island following a shipwreck. As they age, the two (Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields) make all kinds of “discoveries.”
In 1991, Return to the Blue Lagoon was released which brings me to the review. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert must have thought very highly of both films. Mr. Ebert recalled that the best thing about the original was “two turtles mating.” The scene must have been a wonder to behold! Unfortunately, the Return featured no such memorable scenes. Funny how the glowing reports have still kept me away from seeing either film. And where, oh where have the two stars gone oh where oh where can they be?
Blockbuster.com
Crazy! We were at the same zoo on Sunday, and the tortoises were snuggling heads, and I thought they might replay what I had seen them do a few years ago when I took Taylor there – apparently the same thing your family witnessed. It does become quite a spectacle because they are Galapagos Tortoises, so they are HUGE! Their shells make loud noises as they slide together, and the male does let out some rather loud grunts and sighs – it’s fascinating. FYI – Tortoises are land based whereas turtles are water based with webbed feet. Tortoises are MUCH cuter in my opinion – they are high on my list of pets to acquire someday… probably not the huge Galapagos variety though!
Oh yeah, and Brooke Shields is now a mommy of 2 who overcame postpartum depression with the help of meds (much to the chagrin of one Tom Cruise) to make toothpaste commercials.
That used to happen every time we went to the zoo when the kids were younger. Tortoises, leopards, hippos, monkeys, birds of all sort, snakes, gorillas, chimps, and many other species. My wife told me I had a gift. Some animals would start as soon as I walked up to the display. It was fun trying to tell the young daughters about all this animal activity.
Alyssa’s take on the situation was priceless…. they were wrestling.
Maybe they WERE wrestling…
Well, keep in mind turtles lay eggs, so they weren’t doing that…
Ok… so maybe they were wrestling afterall.