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The candidate...

Name: Isadore Shwartz

Gender: Male

Age: 96 (Born 2/2/1910 in New York City. Pre-Island residence is Miami, Florida)

Appearance: Isadore has a distinct air of being a great man past his prime. Very far past it. In fact, so far past it he's having trouble remembering it. But, all that aside, he's tall and thin and quite able-bodied for someone his age, even if he's missing most of his hair and his skin looks rather brittle. On a good day, he could pass as ten years younger than he actually is. Isadore's parents were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and he looks "classically Jewish" - that is, a fair beak of a nose and dark eyes. A lot of time on the golf course, bordering on too much, has given him a healthy tan, even in his old age.

Most people who know him would say he's a healthy, friendly man. The dark circles under his eyes tell a different story.

height: 6'4"(with hunchback. Closer to 6'7")
weight: thin. And lets leave it at that.
hair: white (previously black) and thinning. Typical male-pattern baldness with a feeble combover
Eyes: dark brown
Other: thin lipped, large nose with a bump in it, tan skin.

Then and Now: Isadore lives a charmed life now in his little retirement community, but it wasn't always that way. He was born to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland and grew up in a poor neighborhood in New York, and had to work his way through school. He was drafted out of his Medical school courses into the US Army to serve in world war 2 and was stationed in Europe, where he witnessed some of the horrors of the liberated concentration camps following the end of it. Isadore returned to the US shaken by how narrowly had escaped and finished his medical degree. He never spoke of what he had seen.

Life continued. He got married, had a few kids, bought a bungalow in Florida, practiced medicine, and retired at the age of 70, when his children promptly packed him and his wife off to a senior citizens community in south Florida. For a while, they visited frequently, but when he remained healthy, they stopped coming as often, and for the last few years, he's had the distinct feeling that they're just waiting for him to die. His wife of some fifty-odd years passed away about four years ago at the age of eighty seven.

And while Isadore is healthy now, he knows that his own time is closer now than ever before. And to be frank, it terrifies him.

Religion: Isadore was born into a family of Orthodox Jewish faith and was raised speaking a fair amount of Yiddish along with English and minimal Hebrew. He attended Synogogue regularly as a child and continued to do so as an adult, however his level of observance drifted more towards what is currently thought of as Conservative or Reformed standards. He is not sure whether or not he believes in God, and has not been certain since his service in World War 2, but would rather not risk it.

In recent years, he has stopped regularly attending synogogue simply because it is hard for him to get to one.

Family (in-laws excluded): Rosa (spouse) (Deceased at age 87)

Carol (Daughter) (age 57)
Aaron (Son) (Died in infancy) (would be 55)
Mark (Son) (age 53)
Linda (Daughter) (Age 50)
Isaac (son) (Age 48 )

Laura (Grandaughter) (Age 29) (Carol's)
Emily (Grandaughter) (Age 25) (Carol's)
Simon (Grandson) (Age 25) (Mark's)
Josh (Grandson) (Age 24) (Linda's)
Natalie (Grandaughter) (Age 22) (Carol's)
Aaron (Grandson) (Age 22) (Mark's)
Danielle (Grandaughter) (Age 22) (Isaac's)
Matthew (Grandson) (Age 21) (Linda's)
Elizabeth (Grandaughter) (Age 18 ) (Isaac's)

Ashley (Great-grandaughter) (Age 3) (Laura's)
Michael (Great-grandson) (Age 2) (Simon's)
Lily (Great-grandaughter) (Age 1) (Laura's)

Personality: Isadore's most prominent trait is that he is extremely driven and persistent. (It got him through med school, it got him through the war, it got him through four teenaged kids, and it will sure as hell get him through this quest.) He knows what he wants and if he doesn't know how to get it, he'll figure out how. Part of his getting onto the island revolves around his determination about being accepted into a "scientific study" about "immortality drugs". Beyond that, he's the ideal grandfather - he adores kids. He spent 40 years in pediatric medicine, so it was one of the job requirements. He enjoys what he finds to be his idea of "fun" - golf, shuffleboard, or klezmer music - but is a little behind on the times. He barely figured out cell phones, so computers are completely out of the question.

Upon first finding out the real purpose of the Island, he would likely compare it to the Nazi concentration camps - the solely most traumatic event of his life. His sense of medical ethics would protest, even after 26 years of inactivity.

He would find himself powerless. And he would hate that.

Clothing: A retiree's sense "nice casual" dictates this, so usually - Striped short sleeved polo shirt and khaki pants. Large velcro Dr. Scholls Walking Shoes - the kind you've probably seen in the shoe store and laughed at. Admit it. you've done it.

Possessions upon arrival:
8 Polo shirts in assorted patterns, each one more obnoxious than the last
6 Pairs of Khakis
1 Pair of Jeans
1 2-piece suit
2 dress shirts
1 pair of Dr. Scholls Walking Shoes
12 pairs of arthritis-reducing circulation-increasing socks
1 green "lifeline" pendant (Press it if you fall and the EMTs come running!) (Out of range and therefore useless)(Will probably request a new one that works on the island. After all, a tortoise on it's back is a tortoise that can't move.)
1 Family photo album
1 wooden walking cane
1 gold wristwatch with leather band, recieved upon graduation from medical school 60 years ago and taken very good care of.
2 suitcases

(Still working on this.)

About the Galapagos Tortoise (As told by Wikipedia)



General:
The Galápagos tortoise (or Galápagos giant tortoise), is the largest living tortoise, endemic to nine islands of the Galápagos archipelago. Adults of large species can weigh over 300 kg and measure 1.2 m long. Although the maximum life expectancy of a wild tortoise is unknown, the average life expectancy is estimated to be 150-200 years.
The Galápagos tortoises have very large shells (carapace) made of bone which is an integral part of the skeleton. The bony plates of the shell are fused with the ribs and other bones to form a rigid protective structure. When a tortoise feels threatened it can withdraw its head, neck and forelimbs into its shell for protection, presenting a thick shield to a would-be predator. The legs have hard scales that provide an effective armour when withdrawn.
The scutes of the carapace are not coincident with the underlying bony plates and grow at their outer edges. Tortoises thus keep their characteristic scute pattern throughout life. These do have annual growth bands but are not useful for telling the age as the outer layers are rubbed off in the normal wear and tear of living.
The shape of the carapace and other physical features correspond to the habitat of each of the 13 species. Larger islands with more wet highlands such as Santa Cruz and Isabela (where the Alcedo Volcano is found) with lush vegetation near the ground have tortoises with 'dome-back' shells; these animals have restricted upward head movement due to shorter necks, and tend to have shorter limbs as well. These are the heaviest and largest of the subspecies.
Smaller, drier islands such as Española and Pinta are inhabited by tortoises with 'saddle-back' shells comprising a carapace elevated above the neck and flared or reverted above the hind feet, and longer, thinner limbs. This appears to allow them to browse taller vegetation. On the drier islands with tortoise populations, the Galápagos Opuntia cactus (a major source of their water) has evolved an more tree-like and taller form, giving evidence of an evolutionary arms race between progressively taller tortoises and correspondingly taller cacti. Saddleback tortoises tend to be smaller (females average 27 kg, males 54 kg) in size than their domeback counterparts.
In all species, male has a concave undershell, which facilitates mating. The male is also always larger than the female. Shells are not either saddleback or domeback; they can also be of intermediate type with some characteristics of both the extreme types. The Sierra Negra volcano population that inhabits southern Isabela Island is notable for the flat, so-called "tabletop" shells, differing from both the domebacks and saddlebacks. There is little variation in the dull-brown colour of the shell or scales between populations.

Behavior:

The tortoises are herbivorous animals with a diet consisting of grasses, leaves, vines, and fruit. Fresh young grass in particular is the favourite food of the tortoises, and others are the poison apple (Hippomane mancinella), which is highly poisonous to humans, the endemic guava (Psidium galapageium), the water fern (Azolla microphylla), and the bromeliad (Tillandsia insularis). Tortoises studied in the Santa Cruz tortoise reserve ate well over fifty different plant species.(ref Linda Cayot (1981)) In the drier areas, fallen Opuntia cactus pads and fruits are an important element in the diet of tortoises. Galapagos tortoises eat a large quantity of food when it is available at the expense of incomplete digestion.
By acquiring most of their moisture from the dew and sap in vegetation (particularly the Opuntia cactus), they can go for long periods without actually drinking. They can also survive for long periods of time being forcefully deprived of all liquids, by breaking down their body fat to produce water.
The tortoises are slow-moving reptiles with an average long-distance walking speed of 0.3 km/h. However, although feeding giant tortoises move about slowly, browsing with no apparent direction, if they have a purpose, such as moving to water or nesting grounds, they can move with surprising speed and determination given their size. Marked individuals have been reported to have travelled 8 miles in 2 to 3 days.
On the wetter islands, the tortoises migrate down the gentle mountain slopes after the rainy season to feed on the grass-covered plains and they climb the back to feed on grasses of the mountain meadows in the dry season (the increased precipitation at that altitude keeps the grasses watered). On these islands, the tortoises appear to be gregarious, often found in large 'herds'.
Being cold-blooded, the tortoises bask for two hours after dawn, absorbing the energy through their shells, then becoming active for 8-9 hours a day. They may sleep for about sixteen hours, in a mud wallow or pool or a 'pallet' (a snug depressions in soft ground or dense brush) which probably help conserve heat and may aid digestion. On Alcedo Volcano, where there is a large population, repeated use of the same sites has resulted in the formation of small sandy pits.
Although capable of withstanding drought, tortoises seem to enjoy drinking and wallowing in water. When the tortoise arrives at a spring, seemingly ignoring any spectators, it puts his head in the water above his eyes, and swallows many mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. On Alcedo Volcano in the wet season, large numbers of tortoises can be found partially submerged in rain-formed pools or even the dew ponds formed by garua-moisture dripping off trees. These pools tend to be churned up into mud baths. This may be both a thermoregulatory response and a protection from parasites such as mosquitoes and ticks.
Tortoises have a classic example of a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with some species of Galápagos finch. The finch hops in front of the tortoise to show that it is ready and the tortoise then raises itself up high on its legs and stretches out its neck so that the bird can reach ticks on its skin, thus freeing the tortoise from harmful parasites and providing the finch with an easy meal. Other birds, including Galápagos Hawk and flycatchers, often use tortoises as observation posts from which to sight their prey.

Okay, critique if you'd like. It would be much appreciated if you do.

I totally love this concept! I'll do a full critique later!

I might do one soon... in the mean time, teenage mutatant ninja turtles!

Thank you, Ginchael.

I never stated he's Jewish? Oh dear. I thought I had. That's fixed now.

I'll get to his appearance at some point too, maybe even do some art.

FKT's trying to do some art for me. Let's see what happens.