TURTLE by Hearty
Last year I went on a
surfing trip to the big Island of Hawaii. One day I went snorkeling. Have you
ever been snorkeling before? Well then, you might know that snorkeling is when
you wear a snorkel, which is like a straw, to breathe, and you wear a mask to
see under the water, and you swim along the surface looking at all the beautiful
colors of fish and coral down below. A few years ago I went snorkeling on the
Big Island of Hawaii. The water was incredibly clean and clear and as I swam
along kicking with my flippers and breathing through my snorkel, I could see
everything through my mask. There were small and big fish and coral and beautiful
colors when all of a sudden I felt something near me. I looked around, and there
was a giant sea turtle right next to me! I looked at the turtle, and the turtle
looked at me. And I looked at the turtle, and the turtle looked at me. Then
it swam off. It swam a little ways, and them looked back at me. It waved its
flipper, as if it wanted me to follow it, and swam on. Well, I decided to follow
it, and we swam along together, farther and farther out, until I was deeper
out than I had ever been before. All of a sudden the turtle dove down, down
down all the way to the bottom, and looked back up at me. Well, I had never
dived down that far before, but I took a deep breath and I dived down down down
I almost made it to the bottom but I needed air and I swam up up up to the surface,
spat the water out of my snorkel, and took a few deep breaths. When I was down
there, I thought I had seen something shiny, like a sea treasure. I had to go
back down there and see what it was. So I took a deep breath, and let it out,
and took another deep breath, and let it out, and I took one more deep breath
and swam down down down I made it to the bottom, there was something shiny down
there! And I reached out to grab it and it was…A Pepsi can! I swam up
up up to the surface and spat out my water, tucked that Pepsi can into my wetsuit
so that I could recycle it later, looked down for the turtle, and it was gone.
Now I figure that turtle took me all the way out there because she really wanted
me to clean up that trash! figure that turtle took me all the way out there
because she really wanted me to clean up that trash!
OTTO THE OTTER by
Hearty
I want to tell you a story about where we live. Lissin and I are incredibly lucky because we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. You see 20 years ago a big mudslide washed away the road to our house so we get to hike to home along a beautiful trail that overlooks the ocean. We sometimes see whales from our porch and our house is built on stilts so that when the waves are huge the ocean can go right under it. When I first moved into this amazing place called Shelter Cove, I met a friend who I named Otto. You see I really am a surfer and I have been surfing since I was 7 so moving to the beach was a dream come true and I surfed every day. We often see seals when were surfing but one day I saw an Otter floating on his back eating a big old crab. The next day that same Otter was there and I said hello but kept my distance like I do with the seals. On the third day, after I paddled out and was waiting to catch a wave this Otter suddenly popped out of the water right in front of my board and I was surprised but he seemed so friendly and I said Hi Otto. Day after day Otto was there floating on his back breaking abalone shells and having a feast. I asked a neighbor if it was common to see Otters here and they said that he was the first. You see not long ago California Sea Otters were endangered of becoming extinct which means there were almost no sea otters left. Luckily some smart people who care did something about it and now they are protected and there are lots of them in the Monterey Bay. Otto was one of the first to make it this far North. We became buddies and it got to the point where I would call out “Hey Otto!” and he would come over and pop his head up in front of my board then swim under me and pop his head up in back then swim off to eat some more. One Day in July I stood in the sand on the edge of the shore and put on my leash, which is the safety cord that goes from my ankle to the board. I walked into about waist deep water and Otto popped up right in front of my face! I said hey Otto, great to see you but uh your kind of close. Then he dove between my legs and got all tangled up in my leash. I jumped onto my board and started paddling out to the break. I saw my buddy Ron looking at me and laughing his head up. I turned around and Otto was swimming right behind me. Well I made it out and a big wave came so I paddled for it. I felt the power of the wave start to take over and right when I stood up I got yanked back off the wave and when I turned around Ron was falling off his board laughing and Otto had my leash in his mouth keeping me from moving. Sometimes I would take off on a big wave and look down and see Otto right in front of me at the bottom of a wave and I would yell Watch Out Otto! And he would effortlessly dive down just in time and disappear. It was sometime in August when the water gets warmer which makes for lots of sea vegetation and lots of little fish which bring lots of bigger fish like salmon which brings lots of fishermen, fisherwomyn and fishing Seals. Now Seals are great but they are also very territorial which means that they protect their turf. Well Otto was the only Otter around and one day those seals bullied him right out of the Cove. The next day when I was surfing I saw a huge seal come right up to Otto and flap his powerful flipper right at him. I watched the seal chase Otto right through the rocks and out of Shelter Cove for good. I have not seen him since but when I see trash on the beach I think about him and clean up what I can because I know that pollution makes it really hard for the Otters and the Seals and Salmon to survive. In fact I think about him often and before he left I wrote this song for him…
OTTO THE OTTER song
I've
got a friend named Otto whose tummy grows so slow
Though he eats crabs
all day while floating on his back
Now Otto the Otter he
loves clean water
So it’s up to you and
me to not pollute the sea...
Don’t pour those nasties
down the drain
Just refrain yeah use
your brain…
THINK!
Cuz oil spoils Otto's
lunch and paint ain't no fun to munch
So let's give Otto a
fair chance to live.
Because that very same
water that's loved by Otto
Will soon become the
rain
That falls upon your
windowpane and
Then it pours down into
a storm drain
From there into the
sea where Otto lives so free.
Now we live here with
Otto in a paradise called Shelter Cove
Nearly every day we
play in the waves.
Yes Otto the Otter he
loves clean water
So it's up to you and
me
To not pollute the Sea
click
on me to learn more about Sea Otters
click
on me to learn more about Sea Turtles
JUGGLE OFF THAT TICKET By Hearty
Back in 1997 I was driving on Interstate 95 near Washington D.C. on my way from New Jersey to Tennessee and I had to go to the bathroom BIG TIME! I was speeding in the left lanes when the exit came up fast and I couldn’t get over in time. It was several miles to the next exit so I started flying in the fast lane. Next thing I know I hear sirens and look in the rear view to see lights flashing and a cop waving me over into the shoulder on the left. I pull over unsure if I am going to be able to hold it in. When he gets to the window I have my license and registration waiting and I say “ Officer I know I was speeding and I am so sorry but I have to go to the bathroom in a big way!” He just looks at me with a “how many times have I heard that one “ expression and I say “I know it sounds like a lame excuse but I swear I am telling the truth.” Then he says, “So what do you juggle?” I say “HUH?” “Son I said what do you juggle, your license tag says JUGGLE so get out here and work off your ticket.” A bit stunned I hop out onto the shoulder of a 5-lane highway with cars whizzing by and hold up 5 balls. “You can really keep all 5 of them in the air?” Without answering I act like I am in deep concentration preparing to juggle then throw all 5 into the air and let them come crashing onto my head. The cop actually chuckles and I start kicking them up one by one until I am juggling all 5 and he actually starts clapping. I catch the last one on my neck and he looks at me, shakes his head and starts writing the ticket. “What are you doing I thought we had a…?” he laughs and says “Don’t worry it’s just a warning, you are pretty darn good at that do you juggle chain…” I cut him off and say, “officer I don’t mean to be rude but I wasn’t kidding about having to get to a bathroom!” He hands me the warning and tells me to keep to the speed limit and to have a nice day. Before I take off I ask him what I need to do with the warning paper. He laughs and says “I don’t really care in fact you can use it when you go to the can.”