All of us are more alike than different

I recently received a new picture of my grandson, Jacob. He was holding a snake. Luckily it was a small one. I assume he knew all about what kind it was, what it liked to eat and any and all assorted information he could find out about it. The amount of knowledge that boy has amazes me.

The next picture showed him holding a turtle after prying it from the ground. It clearly did not want to be held. The turtle reminded me of the time I went to visit my mom and the first thing I was told was to not go under the television.

My first thought was, why would I want to go under the television? When I looked, I saw a rather large snapping turtle sitting there. It did not look happy. It looked even more upset when they stuck a pencil near it and it bit the pencil in half.

Twin Creek ran through the pasture at my grandmother's farm and was the source of many of the creatures that my brother Michael brought home. Mom and her family lived in what we referred to as the little house. It was just down the unpaved road from the farm.

For those of you who can’t figure out why and how a turtle would fit under a television, I will say that things have changed. Televisions and radios used to be massive pieces of furniture. They often took up most of a wall and had feet to elevate them enough for a vacuum cleaner to get under them or to hide a large snapping turtle.

As to why the animal was in the living room, all I know is that it was something that Michael found and decided to bring it home. This was not unusual. He was happiest poking around outside and sharing his findings with the rest of us. More than once Mom had to make him remove whatever critters that were swimming in the wash tubs so that she could do laundry.

There are no wash tubs or console televisions at my daughter’s house. The rule is that any wildlife caught must be released at sunset. The turtle was taken to the creek just down the street. I am sure that it will be much happier there.

Sometimes I am surprised at how many similarities there are between my brother and my grandson. They have never had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together. In fact, I think the only time they ever met was at Mom’s funeral.

They come from different parts of the country. Texas and Ohio are miles apart both in distance and beliefs. Michael looks like my grandmother's family members while Jacob favors his father’s side. Michael has red hair and freckles; Jacob has brown hair and no freckles.They share a love of the outdoors. Both of them have hearts of gold.

The reason I am telling you about turtles and such is to illustrate that we are more alike than different. Every family has their own stories. Something as simple as a picture of a boy holding a turtle can trigger a memory. That leads to yet another telling of a tale that has been told many times. Those simple tales are what make us who we are.

Plus the turtle has its own tale of being abducted by giants and stuffed under a television.