Erlynn Mauricio's letter came in an envelope stamped with 10 different images of turtles. The return-address sticker also bore a photo likeness of a pet-shop turtle, and if U.S. Postal Service turtle stamps were available, I'm sure those would have been used, too. Proud to be
a turtle maniacMauricio wanted to tell us about her mother, Lynnda Yoshida, who collects objects with a turtle theme. At last count, she had 1,478 of them, in the form of cups, figurines, tables, jewelry, clothing -- even a tape measure.
Most adults would buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle garb and logo items for kids only. Yoshida isn't embarrassed to buy them for herself, especially when it comes to the red turtle, Raphael.
Yoshida's first turtles came in the form of a planter she found in a Wahiawa garden shop 15 years ago. "It was different, and I didn't even plant anything in it. I didn't want it to get dirty," she said.
The only thing she doesn't have is a living turtle, but that, too, may come later, Yoshida says.
While Mauricio is as excited about the collection as her mom, not everyone understands turtle mania.
"When the grandkids come over, my husband tells them, 'Go ahead, it's OK to touch everything.' I'm like, 'Right, grandpa can just buy me new ones.'
"Oh well, it's my thing, so you know. He's got his own thing. He collects tools, but he thinks it's OK because they're useful things."
Nadine Kam, assistant features editor