Turtle Stew

Cayman has always been about the turtles. When Columbus ‘discovered’ us there were no beautiful Amerindian women lounging around on the pristine beaches clad in nothing but a skimpy loin-cloth and a smile… there was just a bunch of turtles… Or more correctly, a BALE of turtles… Mostly the Green Sea Turtle [chelonia mydas], which as you know is on the endangered species list. The Cayman Islands has for many decades been dedicated to the protection and survival of this beautiful animal, with laws which make it illegal to molest a nesting female, disturb a nest or be in possession of even a single egg. Our turtle farm has bred over 50-thousand turtles, some for local consumption [which discourages poaching,] but the vast majority for release into our oceans when they have attained an adequate size to assist their survival.

The Cayman Islands is synonymous with turtles… Columbus’ head-chief dude in charge of naming islands actually dubbed the islands “Las Tortugas” before some other historical figure decided to change our name to a homonym for a small crocodile that has never been proven to have ever lived on our islands. But I digress…

Now, our government representatives and the HMIC’s at out “National Flag Carrier” and airline, Cayman Airways, have proposed a corporate re-branding scheme which would most likely bring about the demise of the most beloved turtle on the island, or at least move him from the forefront of our islands historical identity… Yes, I refer to Sir Turtle the mascot of our national airline for the past few decades.

They claim that he is old and worn out, that he can no longer support the burden of carrying us to distant lands on his efficacious shell. That his peg-leg has bursitis, and his sword-arm just isn’t what it used to be… They also probably think his flowing scarf is a little ‘too Errol Flynn’ for today’s audiences… In short, we need ‘new blood’, a revamp to something more modern, with less negative connotations [...pirate?] and that will carry us boldly into the modern corporate era we’ve been ‘window-shopping’ outside…

I for one disagree. What right does the public have to dictate the image a privately owned company puts fourth to the ‘rest-of-the-world’? you ask… Plenty! It’s OUR National Airline… Our ‘first-line’ in the tourism industry which supports our national economy… We as a people have supported this company from its inception, through the good times and the bad times we have stoically paid the exorbitant ticket prices, shunning the competition to ride with pride on OUR National Airline… We as a people have watched our hard earned taxes pilfered to subsidize this company when mismanagement and extremely poor judgment [...for want of a better word] plunged it into debt… We as a people had friends and family who worked there, toiling away through those times, smiling as they greeted us and took us where we needed to go… All the while, one turtle looked down on us all, and vowed to keep his vigil perched atop the tail of all the planes in the fleet.
Now he is being told that it may be time for him to ‘retire’ or ’step-down’… If memory serves me, his creator ’sold’ him to the airline for one [1] dollar, because she knew he had a destiny to fulfill, and that they couldn’t afford to pay what he was really worth…

As of this post, there are over 1000 signatures on this petition to save Sir Turtle… If you come across this appeal, go and add your name… It probably won’t save him… But it’s the least we owe him…