A Man Found A Live Frog In His Boxed Lettuce, And Instead Of, Like, Suing The Company, He Decided To Roll With It And Keep The Little Guy As A Pet
Oh, do I have a great story to tell you.
It all starts with boxed lettuce.
We know it.
We love it.
It just makes you want to sit cross-legged on a table laughing alone maniacally.
But what would you say if I told you that a man from Oklahoma found a frog — yes, a live frog — in his boxed lettuce and it blossomed into a beautiful story like Homeward Bound minus the trauma?
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Because it's true. It happened!
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Our story involves Oklahoma gay of note Simon Curtis.
Simon is a recording artist/songwriter/actor/author. He wrote a book for queer kids called Boy Robot. And he also has impeccable taste in music, but that's just a personal (but accurate) opinion!
Once upon a time, like last week, Simon found a little green frog in his boxed lettuce.
I found the cutest little frog in the bottom of my romaine lettuce tonight- it’s too cold to set him outside (27 degrees), but he’s been living in the lettuce in the fridge for several days now- does anyone know what I should do so that he doesn’t die?
Unsure of what to do, he did what any gay of note would do: He asked Twitter for advice.
Back in the fridge until it warms up outside tomorrow? He’s hopping and clearly well and I bought this lettuce like four days ago… he’s so adorable I really don’t want him to die. Any advice at all will be very appreciated!
He put him back in the container and named him Tony.
update: put the remaining lettuce back inside, gave him a mason jar lid of water, and sprayed the entire container down with water. Going to leave him here in the kitchen tonight and then figure out what to do with him tomorrow. His name is Tony 😌💖
The two immediately hit it off. He was Simon's little "starter Pokémon."
he’s so adorable is this my starter Pokémon? 😰😭🥺💖
They were fast friends.
and he just lets me hold him 😭💖
And eventually, Simon identified Tony as a green tree frog.
Just spoke to Mark Howery, Senior Wildlife Diversity Biologist at Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and was able to confirm that Tony is indeed a green tree frog…
He bought him worms to eat.
he’s ready to eat 😭
He got him a mason jar lid for a makeshift bath.
He got in his little mason jar lid bath 🥺
And eventually upgraded him to a temporary little orange home.
Tony got a new little (temporary) house! (and apparently he had a *third* escape adventure when @j_h_o_r gave him fresh water while I was at the gym/out picking up Tony supplies 😹)
Tony and Simon were a match made in the Whole Foods salad section.
look at this little mush. Ugh. I love Tony.
It was a Christmas miracle.
I really don’t know what to do. I love him so much. He feels like a little Christmas miracle.Look at that squishy butt 😭💖
And Tony was officially a member of the family.
just came home to find this. I’m going to cry! (Also, so many thanks to @MrSamuelWells’ mother, Rebecca, who has been hosting us, and our menagerie, at her beautiful home in Tulsa)
But still, a decision about what was in Tony's best interest was looming.
So I am incredibly torn as to what to do with my new little friend. Today is supposed to be almost 80 degrees in Tulsa, warm enough to release him, but a frog expert is in my mentions alerting me to the potential of releasing new diseases into the ecosystem here if I do…
Simon was okay with keeping him as a pet, but only if it was the right thing to do.
I’m very happy to keep Tony as a pet, but only want to do that if it is the right thing to do for both him and the environment. Ideally, I’d take him to a creek and watch him hop away to finally have the little frog life he was trying to have in the first place 😭
You see, when Simon was 10, he had leukemia and his favorite stuffed animal in the hospital was none other than...a green frog.
When I was 10, I was given a 50% chance of surviving leukemia. I just remembered that my favorite stuffed animal, my buddy I kept in the hospital bed with me the entire time, was a tree frog…
So little Tony meant a little more to him.
After talking with a professional about it, Simon decided his best plan of action was to keep Tony as a pet.
After consulting with Dr. Jonathan Kolby, @MyFrogCroaked, and learning about the best, most environmentally ethical practices in a scenario like mine, I have decided to keep Tony. Merry Christmas, everyone. May you all have a little miracle come your way soon as well 💚
So, that's exactly what Simon did.
Merry Christmas, from me and my Tony 💖💚
Tony is a star now.
just looked up at the gym, saw Tony on the TV, and shrieked aloudMy little star 🥺💖😭
From here:
I found the cutest little frog in the bottom of my romaine lettuce tonight- it’s too cold to set him outside (27 degrees), but he’s been living in the lettuce in the fridge for several days now- does anyone know what I should do so that he doesn’t die?
To here:
Tony got a new house!!
Who doesn't love a salad box to riches story?
Tony is so happy 😭💖💚 thank you to everyone who has followed and been touched by his story. May we all extend kindness and grace to whoever and whatever, whenever we can.
The end.
@BrendonZatirka Go get some lettuce!
