A SILENT CHILDHOOD ADVENTURE
Sandwich, MA, Shawme Pond, 1956, age 12
My childhood friend Peter just died at the age of 76.
He and his sister Shawnee, who survives him, have been my oldest friends.
When I was 12 and Peter was 10, we had many adventures. This was one of them.
When I was 12 and Peter was 10, we had many adventures. This was one of them.
Most stories about child adventures
are about running away
or being scared or making noise
But this story is different
it is about stillness
When the surface of Shawme Pond
was glassy
Peter and I would set off
in my small wooden row boat
to drift,
but drift with a plan
Rowing slowly
we approached our prey --
turtles who were sunning themselves
on half sunken logs
fallen trees that had been
in the water for years
at the forest edge
When we got close
we gave the boat one last
strong but silent
pull of the oars
and let it float
like a piece of driftwood
moved by a gentle breeze
Like quiet Indian hunters
Peter was at the bow
his arm half outstretched
but frozen
while I steered with the oars
And the dozens of unsuspecting turtles
continued to bask
in the warm sun
unaware of their possible capture
When we got within arm's length
Peter shot out his hand
like the long tongue of a frog
and grabbed a turtle's hard shell
from the top and middle
to avoid getting bitten
And with that, in an instant,
the rest of the sleepy turtles
plopped into the water
and swam away
abandoning the one we had taken
But we had our prize
Hoping to entice him
from his shell
we placed him at the bottom of the boat
next to a leaf of lettuce
-- a delicacy for turtles --
hoping that after some time
he might poke his head out
Then we might just drift
for another hour or so
until the shrill whistle
of my father,
that could be heard for miles
along the pond,
called us back to shore
But before we ended our adventure
we rapidly rowed to the forest edge
and placed our turtle back on his log
He did not linger
dropping quickly into the water
We watched him swim down to the bottom
then lost sight of him
as he mingled with the eel grass
