Holland Cokeley, an 85 year-old Pennsylvania resident who enjoys wandering around the wooded area near his home with his neighbor’s dog, recently made a very interesting discovery: The turtle his son carved his initials into 47 years ago is still alive and well in the area where it was assaulted years ago. What’s more, the poor creature’s shell still bears the markings of that fateful day in 1965 when his home was forever scarred by the unwieldy shenanigans of a 13 year-old boy.
“I picked it up, and I thought, ‘Oh geez, this is Jeff’s turtle!'” Cokeley explains. “It’s been here for 47 years, and it still has the same markings on it!” I’m sure the turtle thought the same thing about Cokeley as it kept an eye out for the man’s offspring. You know, just in case the boy returned to chisel something else on his hide.
Box turtles can live up to 100 years, so it’s really not that surprising that the graffitied animal would still be kicking around the woods near Cokeley’s home. Since these creatures currently have no way of communicating with the human race, there’s no way to tell if the defaced creature holds any ill will towards the man and his son. All kidding aside, what are the odds that he would stumble across the exact same turtle that bears his son’s initials after so many years?
Cokeley’s son, Jeff Cokeley, apparently found the whole scenario to be rather amusing. After hanging onto the turtle for a few days, Holland decided to let it go. Maybe it will spread the word about Jeff’s tomfoolery to other area turtles, warning them to stay far away from the happy child with the penchant for carving his initials into innocent reptiles.
For added enjoyment, check out this video of a Kentucky native who possess the uncanny ability to pull turtles from various bodies of water. Bizarre and educational!