...Dolphin Trainer

As a child when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said a dolphin trainer. I was fascinated with dolphins, even though I had never seen one in real life…and I really didn't know what the job actually entailed...and I didn’t particularly like to swim…and I was actually kind of afraid of water. Just a few minor details indicating dolphin training probably wasn’t the best career choice for me. And yet dolphins continued and still to this day continue to fascinate me.

I was reminded of my childhood dream job a few weeks ago when I saw real dolphins in the wild. While on vacation with girlfriends in Ft. Myers, Florida, we witnessed maybe a dozen dolphins swimming in the smokey blue Gulf of Mexico. We could see them jumping through the waves right from the shoreline. They were magnificent! I was squealing and clapping - I was a little kid again. While I didn't get a photo of the dolphins, this is where they were swimming...

It was my first time seeing dolphins in the actual wild, in their natural habitat. I have seen them before, sadly, in captivity when I was a child. As I'm now older and wiser and able to control my activities and actions, I know better and make a point to never go to those terrible roadside marine and animal parks. I don't want to support the captivity and often neglect of those animals.  

In celebration of Earth Day, thursday's episode of Oprah had the director Louis Psihoyos and activitist Ric O'Berry from the dolphin documentary The Cove. I dragged my hubby to see it last fall and we left the theater so angry and appalled and saddened by what we had seen. I went home and signed up right away to take action. The documentary won an Academy Award this year, which presumably has brought even more attention to the film and the cause. They will be airing the film soon in Japan, so it will be interesting to see how the Japenese act to the horror happening in their own country. If you haven't had a chance to see this film, I HIGHLY recommend you do. Dolphins are such  magnificant creatures.