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June 3, 2008 Blog
By the time I got married, I had owned 38 cars, and only two of them fell into the "pregnant turtle" category. One was a 1950 Mercury and other a 1950 Packard. That must have been a good year for turtles. A High School buddy owned a 1950 Hudson of the same caliber. I made fun of those oval-shaped bulky cars and vowed I would never own one. It turned out differently.
Coming from a large family, I had almost no financial help from home to cover college expenses. I gathered small bits of soap in the shower room and pressed them onto my cake of soap so it lasted all year. I worked summers and during Christmas vacations in the family construction business. I held various jobs both on and off campus during the school year. I picked broken umbrellas out of the trash or "Lost and Found", repaired them and sold them when it rained. I bought cheap (rusty) cars in New Jersey, patched and painted them, and drove them to college in South Carolina to sell. For the return trip, I bought rust-free collectible cars in South Carolina and sold them in New Jersey. One of them was the above mentioned 1950 Mercury.
After graduation I stayed at the college to work in the Art Gallery to pay off my school debts while my future wife was finishing her studies. When Verna graduated in January of 1963, it was time to buy another car for the trip back to New Jersey. I had three paying passengers lined up so I wouldn't have to pay for gas, but I desperately needed a car that would make the trip - and I only had $50. That was just enough for an injured pregnant turtle.
Our pregnant turtle served us for our honeymoon and during the time Verna was looking more like the car with each passing month. After she gave birth to our first child, the Packard was sold for $10 profit. My brother worked at the local Volkswagen dealership and called to say there was a nice '50 Olds 88 for sale cheap. I was at work and told Verna to buy it.
Fortunately, turtles can live for many decades, but most of them never hatch. The few places along the lake that are not built up and landscaped are open to the public. And there are young people out there who don't particularly care about pregnant turtles. They drive 4-wheel drive pick-up trucks with powerful engines and big wheels. It is now fashionable to have a truck splattered with mud, so the owners of these vehicles look for dirty and wet places to get their trucks messy. They drive them around in circles, spinning their wheels to make certain the truck is totally covered with dirt. And then they leave to show off the results to their peers. Kids being kids, the peers ask, "Where did you get that cool mud job?" Soon other trucks are roaring around the back beach at Malaga Lake.
We take our daily walk through the woods and along the sandy beach. In May, we see the trails made by pregnant turtles, which laid their eggs on the beach. A day or two later, the eggs are smashed. Another year with no young painted turtles. Like the Detroit variety of turtles, the few survivors of the painted turtle may someday become valuable enough to conserve and preserve. If turtles are to survive for the next generation to enjoy, they must be kept in garages or zoos.
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| RVHarvey.com |
An art professor had pampered his 1950 Packard but it was no match for a large tree, which fell on it, caving the roof down to the back of the seats. His insurance called it a total loss, so he sold it to me for $50. I crawled inside, laid on the seat and kicked out the roof. I rented a U-Haul trailer, packed it and the Packard with all our luggage and found room inside for my three paying passengers, Verna and myself. Except for fixing a leaky radiator, buying tire chains to get through a blizzard and running out of gas in the same, our trip was uneventful. One of the passengers disclosed that he had no money and would send me a check. He still owes me the money, but if he contacts me, I will gladly forgive him the debt and be satisfied with collecting the interest. 
Right now I am concerned about the troubles of pregnant painted turtles in Malaga Lake. I am assuming that the problem is not confined to our local lake. There are many large painted turtles in Malaga Lake. Both male and female turtles share some problems - they can get caught by a fisherman or attempt to cross Route 40 and get run over by cars bent on supporting the Atlantic City casinos. Female turtles have an additional problem. When they get pregnant, they have to crawl out of the lake onto a sandy or muddy beach to lay their eggs. The warm sun incubates the eggs until they hatch. The newborn turtles make a dash for the lake, hoping to escape hungry birds.