Picking a Reptile for the Commonwealth

There was quite a bit of snarky conversation generated by our esteemed state legislators yesterday about the naming of a state reptile. Seems the Eastern Box Turtle, whom we all know well from catching them as kids, wasn't quite up to the standards of those old boys who wanted something that "doesn't pull in its head and hide at the first sign of trouble." They wanted, I suppose, a fighting turtle, like the University of Maryland's. Fear the Turtle.

In any case, they missed the obvious choice for Virginia's State Reptile: The Doughy-cheeked Morgan Griffith.