The Turtles
The stars arrived at the venue on the Isle of Palms beach to great fanfare. An oversized black Mercedes van accompanied by a police escort slowly approached the crowd that had formed hours earlier ten-deep along the rope line. Dozens of yellow-shirted handlers sporting sunglasses made sure the spectators were safely behind the ropes as the van pulled into p lace for the stars’ arrival. The double doors of the large van slowly opened, and there was a cacophony of cameras clicking as young and old jockeyed for position to get their first glimpse of the stars of the show. The handlers carefully pulled a large white plastic crate from the back of the van. A hairless shiny head peered out with bulging eyes. These stars were called the Turtles…the Loggerheads to be exact. Their names were Discovery, Reese, Bryce, Chaz and Quincy…five loggerhead turtles that were being released into the ocean after being nursed to back to health at the SC Aquarium . The handlers, who were the staff