In August, 2006, Samuel L. Jackson came into my life.



Shortly after returning from spending 12 months in Germany, my brother came to visit me in the city. We had loads of fun eating as much pizza as we could handle & visiting the sights downtown. My neighborhood borders another distinct neighborhood, Chinatown, which happens to be far more interesting. Bro & I spent the entire afternoon there and came home with someone very special. If you think we purchased one of these illegal baby turtles some folks sell on the street corners in the summertime, then you are very, very wrong. We did no such thing. No siree. Sammy the turtle came home with us that day from, um, wherever you get perfectly legal turtles. The turtle store. Yeah, that's it. Here he is just after bro & I brought him home. (Don't worry, that's just his travel facility. His real house was MUCH bigger.)

My roommates, bro & I decided (after much debate) on the name Samuel Leonardo Jackson for the precious little guy. Samuel L. was on the mind, because we had just seen "Snakes on a Plane" and used the line, "Do as I say, and you'll live" as a response to just about anything for a good 48 hours. Leonardo was our tribute to Sammy's great teenage mutant ninja relatives. (Sammy always did want to be a ninja.) We put some little colored stones in his house and a pink hair curler for him to play with. He loved that curler and would climb on top of it often. This was the first time he ever accomplished that feat. (The picture is fuzzy, but I hope you get the idea.) I was so proud. Even with all that talent he was perfectly content living a humble life, merely providing love, comfort, and entertainment for those of the household.

Today I came home to find that poor, sweet little Sammy L. had passed away. I had just given him fresh water and food before leaving, so I'm hoping he went on to a better place knowing he was loved dearly in this one. I said a little prayer and bade him goodbye, knowing that my darling Sammy will be living out his teenage mutant ninja dreams in turtle paradise. He probably has more hair curlers to climb than he could ever imagine. Maybe he even has a tiny purple lightsaber.

Rest in peace, Samuel Leonardo Jackson. You were a good little turtle and will be missed.

Forcefully,
JP

P.S. Though none of you knew Sammy personally, please feel free to say a few words. He loved watching Star Wars with me and often sat near as I typed blogs and comments on this very site, so I know he would appreciate your kindness.