Shut Up.

So i was reading one of the blogs i follow (can't remember which one), and there was a picture of teeny tiny baby turtles next to a strawberry, to show scale. Those turtles were even smaller than the one pictured below, and were so cute that i did a Google image search for baby turtles, because i was in need of something to brighten my day. And because i was at work, so what else would i be doing? And all of that was a really long preamble to the happiest turtle in the world:

Now, if my dad ever reads this, i'm sure he will tell me (again) that i am anthropomorphisizing; that i have no way of telling, based solely on this photo, how the turtle feels; that it may have been photoshopped, anyway.

And i will tell him (again) that just because his mouth is naturally shaped like that doesn't mean he's not happy.

Look at him. He's munching away on a strawberry three times the size of his head, and he is just so damn happy. When was the last time that anything made you that happy? Let alone something as basic as fresh fruit?

In the current fervor over the 99% and the Occupy Movement, we've all gotten our perspectives a little bent. Even most of the 99% in this country have it a thousand times better than most of the rest of the world. Middle-class Americans who don't happen to be billionaires have been dealt a shabby hand. But they are better off than middle-class people of many other nationalities. Even the legitimately poor and needy in this country (of whom there are certainly many) have access to supports and programs unavailable to the poor in many other parts of the world.

Stop whining about your lack of swimming pools and private jets and thank God that you even know that those things exist. Stop bitching about the price of bottled water and drink the tap water that most of the world can't trust not to kill them. Eat a damn strawberry and think about this turtle and know that, while things could certainly be better, they could just as easily be worse. You are lucky to be part of the 99% in this country. Don't ever forget that.