And today's earworm is "Running Bear"

I'm always on the lookout for quirky little stories, and a few weeks ago, I happened upon a doozie.

Oh, the core story was interesting enough:

A woman from Hong Kong pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Vermont to a charge of smuggling for trying to illegally transfer more than two dozen protected turtles from the United States into Canada. (Source: Boston Globe)

But the real devilish details were what I found most intriguing. 

Wan Yee Ng was arrested June 26 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vt., as she was about to get into a inflatable kayak on Lake Wallace with a duffle bag, which authorities later found contained 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, according to court records.

Airbnb? Inflatable kayak? Duffle bag full of live box turtles - worth about $40K - wrapped in socks? 

What a story! 

Then it got even more interesting:

Ng was caught holding the goods just before she got into her inflatable kayak to ferry the turtles into Canada, from where they were destined to make their way to Hong Kong. And while US Boarder Patrol was taking Ng into custody, they heard from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - the Dudley Doright Mounties - that they'd stopped her co-conspirator (presumed to be her husband), who was madly "paddling toward the middle of the lake from the Canadian side." 

One of the reseasons that the co-conspirator is presumed to be Ng's husband is that at the time this was all going down, her husband wrote and posted a review of an Airbnb "directly across the lake from Ng's rental." (Here's hoping that at least he got a good reference from the Airbnb owner.)

Border Patrol and the Mounties keep a close eye on Lake Wallace because it's frequently used for human and narcotic trafficking. And now turtle smuggling. 

Darn the luck for Ng and her co-conspirator (husband), as she's looking at a long prison sentence (up to 10 years) and a steep fine (up to $250K).

But the image that sticks with me from this peculiar little episode is that of Running Bear and Little White Dove, the young lovers who, a la Romeo and Juliet, couldn't be with each other because their tribes were enemies. The saga of Running Bear (young Indian brave) and Little White Dove (his lovely Indian maid) was captured in a song, Running Bear, the Number One tune on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in January 1960, a time when my 10 year old ear was glued to WORC. So I heard a lot of Running Bear. (I can completely, with 100% accuracy, sing along with it to this day.) 

The young lovers were used to mooning at each other across the raging expanse of the river that separated them. Unlike Ng and her co-conspirator (husban), they didn't have access to an inflatable kayak. Or even a birch bark canoe. So: 

Running Bear dove in the water
Little White Dove did the same
And they swam out to each other
Through the swirling stream they came
As their hands touched and their lips met
The raging river pulled them down
Now they'll always be together
In that happy hunting ground

I don't imagine there's going to be any happy hunting ground on earth for Ng and her co-conspirator (husband). 

Meanwhile, Running Bear is my current earworm.

You're welcome!