Many of you have the following verse of have seen it before.
I thought it was time to run it again. It has appeared in my life many times over the
last several years. The first time was when the Waldorf School of Cape Cod was going
through some very difficult times and then Gin and I decided to move back to Boston.
Miraculously, the Waldorf School in Lexington wanted to hire me just at that moment.
The next time it appeared was when I joined the "College" at the Lexington school.
This year, we at the school, used it often after 9/11. Now it seems fitting again
to be reminded of its message, with what is happening in the world.
Though it is difficult to "trust", what else can we really do?

Now many of you have your favorite pet(s), and although Gin says it is sacrilegious to write about other animals than our beloved Turtle, I must say a little something about our adopted lap-cat. Zebra (or the "Zee-cat" -or sometimes from the old-world- "Zebedee") came to us –not so willingly at first- from our friends Sue, David, Brian & Colin Eggleton. They are building a new house and in the interim staying with various friends who either have dogs or don’t allow cats. So after spending most of the summer nights outside with the raccoons in East Lexington, they thought it might be time to provide a roof over Z’s head and a beautiful carpet for his clawing paws. We have both. And as of September, we have been cat sitting, though it might more aptly be said that Zee is the sitter! His arrival threw us all into a fuss. He had never really traveled before, and let’s just say being in a car inside a cage, driving along Cambridge and Boston’s lovely Storrow Drive, trying to avoid accidents as the yowling in the back seat accelerated by the mile, was not the favorite activity for any of us! It took a few days for the big fur-ball (and I mean BIG), calmed himself and found some favorite boxes to hide in. Within a few weeks he poked his head out of the basement and was ready to explore upstairs, down, outside, and all over. And now it feels like he’s been with us all along.

Zebra is not the cute little Scottish Fold that Simone told us about and about whom she sent us books: going to places like Paris, London, Long Island and such. No. This lazy cat will have no exotic traveling of the like. He prefers to hunker down in good old JP. As a matter of fact he’s got quite a following of lady-cats to keep him well occupied (though some of those other Toms do get in his way!). Zebra used to meow and yowl all hours of the night –his favorite times were about two and five a.m.- to go out to make the rounds with the other cats. And if that didn’t work, he would jump on us and paw our face or shoulder till we woke up. Then of course at six a.m. sharp he wants to be fed. But since I can no longer easily run up and down the stairs at his speed or whim, he seems to be more content to sleep through the night –in our room, on his own chair (in what used to be our rocker). He sits on the floor in front of the bed staring at me in the morning, waiting for me to stumble out of bed–not a peep- or he simply lies next to my arm and comforts me till I wake up. And even when I get up, knowing that I cannot go down the stairs right away –‘til I’m dressed and fully awake, so I don’t fall...he waits patiently. Sometimes he meditates with me as I do my breathing exercises, though often he will make his efforts to wake Gin. (She hasn’t yet earned the sleep-in status I guess! And she just informed me that last night he jumped over me to paw her face so he could go out –2 a.m. again! So I guess occasionally he still gets the uncontrollable urge to mingle with his four-pawed friends.)

One thing we must explain about Lap-cat: not only does that nick-name come from his greeting me after work each day with a short, but affectionate meow-hello, but he insists that I find a comfortable chair to sit in and then joins me for cat-lap-nap. It is wonderfully soothing when I do take the time to enjoin his wise counsel. But the real reason he garnered that name is that he is the only feline beast we‘ve ever known to insist that he drink fresh water from the tap while it runs on top of his head. He prefers a steady trickle coming down from his fur-head, than a slow drip or a fast running stream. He usually stops drinking once the water has cleared form his head, then asks us again to turn the tap on. So it goes. I have never seen him drink out of his bowl. He waits till we are home to drink. I’m not sure what he does when we are gone for a few days!

Zebra has turned out to be one of those angel visitors that Gin and I keep experiencing again and again since all the trouble with my weakness started. It’s not only turtles who remind us to slow down and take in the wisdom of animals, and earth. Zebra stays close by and gives us his gift of love by reminding us to pet him and water him. Maybe he is more like the Turtle than we thought!

More About the Turtle

Andrea Scott, an old, old friend from Racine, WI, says she has collected turtles for five years now and that the turtle has been a long time symbol the Goddess for her. Andrea is a midwife and has her own business in Racine. Here is how her Indian medicine card book describes the turtle:

And from Danny Gadish (who brought us "Yertle Turtle"):

In the folklore of ancient China, Kwei, the dragon turtle, emerged after the world was destroyed. He took charge of the creation of the heavens and the earth. He then passed his life on to a series of guardian turtles, who are there to help mankind pursue truth and wisdom. In another Chinese myth, an immense turtle actually became the world, which is contained within his shell. The bottom, flat part of his shell (the plastron) contained the oceans and the earth's floor. The great, domed upper half (the carapace) formed the heavens, complete with stars and planets.

American Indians probably created the greatest number of folk tales in which the turtle plays an important role. For many tribes, the land on which they lived was the back of a huge "mother turtle," floating in a vast, primal sea.

In Central America, the Mayans gave special status to turtles, which were linked to their astronomical and mathematical systems. The Mayans depended on agriculture for their survival, and they believed that the turtle brought the rains to make their crops grow. Also since the Mayans observed turtles survive forest fires unharmed, they believed that the turtles had a supernatural talent for survival.

In modern times, few people still accord the turtle any special significance. It is still held as sacred among some Asian peoples, however. One of the best-known examples is the turtles living at the Buddhist temple complex known as Wat Po, in Bangkok, Thailand. Many turtles, mostly Hieremys annandalei, a large black emydid turtle live in the waters surrounding the temple. The turtles are symbols of immortality. They are considered to provide a temporary dwelling place for souls making their way through a series of existence on the path to Nirvana.

While suturing a laceration on the hand of a 90-year-old man (he got his hand caught in a gate while working his cattle) a doctor and the old man were discussing Bush's health care reform ideas. The old man said, "Well, ya know, old Bush is a post turtle." So, not knowing what he meant the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was. And he said, "When you're driving down a country road, and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle. You know he didn't get there by himself, he doesn't belong there, he can't get anything done while he's up there, and you just want to help the poor thing down."

Then we talked with Dr. von Zabern at length. He wanted to hear all about what the neurologists found. He was sympathetic to the struggle of getting a diagnosis. He recommended that I be very leery of allowing a spinal tap or biopsies and other invasive tests, as they could complicate or encourage the illness to progress. He said I should ask what specific findings they are looking for and whether they have treatment in mind. Always, there should be treatment for what they are looking for. Also, he suggested to ask for less invasive ways of finding information/doing tests. It gave me moment to pause and reconsider having the biopsies and Spinal tap altogether. If it is to help with research only, I am not willing to do it at this time.

Remedies and treatment: I’m to take two homeopathic remedy injections, arnica and skorodit, twice a week. They and the bee venom are suppose to boost my immune system and help bring about a state of remission for this illness. The bee venom is to be applied once a week or more often as I feel I can take it. One injection twice a week, or two injections once a week or twice a week. I keep increasing the number and frequency of injections until I feel a reaction to my immune system. And then I keep increasing the number of injections as much as I can stand it! -Slow it down if it produces too much activity in me. (Don’t want to boost this turtle out of his shell, totally.) Though he feels that I probably need a lot of it often. I will call him often to talk about the dosage and frequency.

I also continue to take: the arnica by mouth, arnica baths (by using 2 teaspoons of arnica tincture or essence in bath water), hyascamus drops in tablespoon of water (calms the adrenaline production form the solar plexus), magnesium carbonica by mouth (helps muscle cramps), and use arnica massage oil to massage legs and arms (to soothe muscles). There is a special bath with aconitum nerve oil that I should take once a week. 5 cc’s in one liter of water shaken thoroughly and then added to bath water. This softens the water and allows the oil to seep into my skin and blood stream more directly. The water must be just about body temperature (not too hot). The oil then heats up the body from within.

The Trip Home: Jan and I were very hungry by then (after 2:00 p.m.). So we stopped to get a sandwich at the country store that I used to go to when I did my Waldorf training. It was so good to have Jan drive and to be able to sit back and relax after the long day. I was still very tired by the time we reached Jan’s house that I took a nap there. For Jan -a full day of driving and an "injection training", plus she invited me for dinner! These are the kinds of gifts of kindness friends have been giving us a lot lately!

Bob has decided to put off the biopsies and the spinal tap at least for now, until there is more clear information about how it will lead to a specific diagnosis and treatment.

Gin has been terribly busy arranging meetings with realtors, viewing housing possibilities and generally picking up after Bob and doing things for him...(not to mention holding down her more than full-time job). She has recovered form last week’s flu/cold. She regrets not being able to contribute her "Peep from Gin" this week.

(In Place of) The Turtle Joke of the Week:

A few Zen thoughts for those who take life to Seriously...from Jill Gandossi of Atlanta Georgia (formerly, Gin’s roommate in Worcester, MA):

A day without sunshine is like, well, night.
Always try to be modest, and be proud of it!
99% of all lawyers give the rest a bad name.
42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
How do you tell when you are out of invisible ink?
Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she dropped me before we met.
If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

We’ll end with a funny piece, sent to me just in time for publication, found by Aunt Carole in the Chicago area (Turtles don’t have this problem!):

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whispered, "Hello?" Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, "Is your Daddy home?"

"Yes", whispered the small voice.
"May I talk with him?" the man asked. To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No." Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked,
"Is your Mommy there?"
"Yes", came the answer.
"May I talk with her?"
Again the small voice whispered, "No".
Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. "Is there any one there besides you?" the boss asked the child.
"Yes" whispered the child, "A police officer".
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the police officer"?
"No, he's busy", whispered the child.
"Doing what?, asked the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Firefighter," came the whispered answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A hello-copper", answered the whispering voice.
"What is going on there?", asked the boss, now alarmed.
In an awed whispering voice, the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper."
Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated, the boss asked, "Why are they there"?
Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle:
"They're looking for me." (Larry...?)

The Turtle Journal will take a brief respite for next week
and will resume publication the week of April 21.
Thanks again for everyone’s prayers and support