TSG was saddened to hear the news of Speedy the Galapagos tortoise passing away this week. He was about 150 years old and had been living at the San Diego Zoo since he was 85 or so. Going back to the early 60s we always went to Reptile Mesa to pay Speedy a visit and scritch (sic) him on the head if he was available. It's possible that TSG and his brother may have actually ridden Speedy back in those early days, but we were unable to find photographic evidence. (disclaimer: the photo from the TSG archives may not show Speedy either)
On a more mundane note, we also mourn the end of one of our favorite frisbees this week, sadly cracked when we pulled it out from under the driver's seat of the car yesterday. It was a collector's item but was never retired from use...the Summer Dead Disc was thrown and caught all across the USA for more than 30 years. Now it's gone join it's plastic breathen on the great roof in the sky.
4 comments:
Sorry on both counts, TSG.
I'm presuming that 150 years is old, but is that really old for a critter like Speedy or just kind of old, or maybe even middle-aged?
No chance of fixing that disc with glue, sanding, and such. Or would it just never, ever fly again in the same balanced way? Now that I've asked the question, I figure it's the latter - the thing might still fly, but not predictably enough to warrant professional play.
I think Speedy was pretty old even in Galapagos Tortoise years. I think their lifespan in the wild is generally described at "100 years or more".
As far as the Grateful Disc goes, once it's cracked like that, repair is pretty much out of the question. I could probably glue it back together and sand it down to disguise the blemish but I don't think it would fly very well.
I think I have a picture of me sitting on that giant tortoise.
Hey, send it to me and I'll add it to the post!
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