sheepdogowner avatar

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He has another name but no one thinks of him in any other way. He owns the funeral home, is soft-spoken, somber. He is an older man but it is the
tortoise in the pen near the door that gives him this title. Over a hundred and
fifty pounds of patterned shell that suggests the simplicity of a rock resting on the riverbank. There is a profoundness to the reptile's gaze and he accepts a cabbage leaf or carrot from any hand, no matter how bereft. The old man bows his head in the doorway. His title will lapse.

3 comments add one below

  • avatar

    D.M. almost 9 years ago

    Thank you, Drew. Another Google hit. Who could make up a giant tortoise owned by a funeral director! The tortoise's name is Bon-chan, in Tokyo. There's a video of the man walking it down the street! The man's nickname kept resonating with me.

  • avatar

    Head Over Writing over 8 years ago

    The title was intriguing & the story profound & moving. Loved it.

  • avatar

    D.M. over 8 years ago

    Thank you, W.W.

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