It was a hot June day when Tank the African spur thigh tortoise made a break from his Highland home. His 60-pound body lumbered to a weedy area along nearby railroad tracks, taking him on a two-week adventure through three towns. Wednesday, he was back in the arms of his family. The facts of the story are true. We'll tell it through the eyes of Tank the tortoise as best we can, without interviewing him.

Here's his story:

Entry 1: It's noon in the backyard of my house on Buddy Court. The neighborhood kids are playing in the pool. I'll keep my distance, because if I get in a big body of water like that, I'll sink faster than a cement-shoed mobster in the East River. My tortoise friend, Spot, and I spend our winters in the basement of the Hirchak family home, under the warmth of a heat lamp. But this natural sunlight, this is nice. Wait. What's that? Looks like one of the kids left the service door to the garage open. Here's my chance. No one's looking. Adios, Buddy Court!

Entry 2: I made it up the small step and into the garage. The overhead garage door was open, so I crawled to the outside world. I've found some tall grass and dandelions at the nearby railroad tracks. It's a feast! (Shedd Aquarium senior aquarist Jim Watson said tortoises like Tank could survive on their own in the summer by munching on dandelions, clover and dewy grass.) There's a barrier in my way, so I can't cross the tracks. I'll just walk along them. When I escaped during a Fourth of July party last year, I made it to the post office, about 3 miles away, in three days. At that rate, I can make it to Tinley Park in just a few weeks.

Entry 3: I need to stop for turtle wax. I think I see a Shell station to my right, at the corner of 45th Avenue and Fran-Lin Parkway.

Entry 4: It wasn't a Shell station. It was a Citgo. When I got to the parking lot, people swarmed. Strangers wanted to take pictures with me, so I obliged. I looked so out of place that someone called The Times, and someone else called the Munster police. (Citgo manager Viral Patel said the tortoise came from the railroad tracks south of the gas station and ended up in the parking lot. People took pictures, and then Patel said he called police, who took Tank.)

Entry 5: I'm at the Munster police station. A friendly sergeant gave me a ride in his squad car, a much-needed break from all the walking. I feel bad about what happened in the car, but he really should've asked if I needed to go to the bathroom before he picked me up ... I'm only 8. A man just walked into the station to ask for a key to a meeting room in Town Hall. He seems nice. He recognizes me and said his family is interested in turtles of all kinds. He said he'll be back after the meeting to pick me up. Until then, I'll munch on some fruit here at the station.

Entry 6: A man named Jeff Dixon took me to his Munster home. Then he took me to his father's home in Hammond. Bob Dixon has a nice backyard. There's some other turtles here to keep me company and I've been eyeing that strawberry patch and those hostas.

Entry 7: For almost two weeks, I've been enjoying the backyard of the Dixon home in Hammond. There's not as much room as my old place, but it's sunny and hot, which is perfect. They're feeding me vegetables, but I couldn't help myself. I devoured the entire strawberry patch and all of the hostas. Apparently, that didn't go over well with the missus, so I'm headed to Dixon's daughter's house in Munster.

Entry 8: I've been in the Munster backyard for two days now. I'm starting to get a little homesick. I wonder if Kim and Mark Hirchak and the kids miss me. And Spot, my tortoise friend -- I wonder if he notices I'm gone. I'm sure Buddy (the family's Brittany spaniel) doesn't care; he doesn't like that I hog the attention. I would've thought by now my family would be looking for me. (They contacted Highland and Hammond police earlier but only called Munster police Tuesday afternoon. Police put the Hirchaks in touch with Dixon.)

Entry 9: I'm in a van right now. I have no idea where I'm headed. Another house? Back to the PD? Where will my journey take me?

Entry 10: Home! Everyone was there. Kim Hirchak had a banana in hand, ready to greet me. I was so excited that I couldn't control myself. Eh, a little bit of Lysol, and the garage floor will be as good as new. They put me in the backyard next to Spot. We ate bananas in the grass as the family pet me and told me how happy they were I was home. (Twelve-year-old Kelsie Hirchak was worried that Tank had fallen into a ditch or that someone put him in a pond and he drowned.) Kim and Mark Hirchak said something about taking me to the vet and putting a chip in me so they can identify me if I ever run away from home again. And those neighborhood kids - I hear they've got some new rules about making sure that service door is closed from now on.

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