sadness can get you miles away
SeaWorld was the greatest job of my life next to maybe my career job. It was like working in your childhood fantasy. I got to dress up and American-Idol-judge the camp kids, play around Happy Harbor, hang out by the pool (as Shamu) at some swanky timeshares, and spend my lunch break anywhere in the park.
Since we worked the afternoons in Happy Harbor we were right next door to Shamu stadium. We'd go over on our lunch break to watch Believe (which has just recently started at the time) or take cover there when our sets would get rained out. We saw the show enough to distinguish which whales were which and notice when they weren't in the mood for all the tricks.
My sister came to the park on one of those days that they weren't in the mood. I don't think it was obvious to anyone who hadn't seen the show a million times but they were off. Tilly (Tilikum) was in the holding tank while his "girlfriend" at the time was performing in the big pool. He didn't like being away from her and he started ramming the gate with his nose. They cut the show short before he got more frustrated or hurt himself. The next day he performed all the usual tricks without hesitation...even kissing ones. He wasn't any more temperamental than I am sometimes.
So, today, miles away in Utah, I was sad to hear his name on CNN this morning. He was the whale who dragged his trainer under. I feel like it's a terrible situation all around. I can't imagine how sad it is for Dawn Brancheau's family or for the park. I'm also sad because Tilly likely shouldn't ever have been put in captivity (this happened way before our park got him). He was born wild and has had other instances of going back to natural instinct. Isn't that what makes something tragic though? You can't really put blame on any one thing.
I don't know what else to say except that I have fabulous memories of the park, the animals and my coworkers. It's just a sad time for anyone who loves that place.
Since we worked the afternoons in Happy Harbor we were right next door to Shamu stadium. We'd go over on our lunch break to watch Believe (which has just recently started at the time) or take cover there when our sets would get rained out. We saw the show enough to distinguish which whales were which and notice when they weren't in the mood for all the tricks.
My sister came to the park on one of those days that they weren't in the mood. I don't think it was obvious to anyone who hadn't seen the show a million times but they were off. Tilly (Tilikum) was in the holding tank while his "girlfriend" at the time was performing in the big pool. He didn't like being away from her and he started ramming the gate with his nose. They cut the show short before he got more frustrated or hurt himself. The next day he performed all the usual tricks without hesitation...even kissing ones. He wasn't any more temperamental than I am sometimes.
So, today, miles away in Utah, I was sad to hear his name on CNN this morning. He was the whale who dragged his trainer under. I feel like it's a terrible situation all around. I can't imagine how sad it is for Dawn Brancheau's family or for the park. I'm also sad because Tilly likely shouldn't ever have been put in captivity (this happened way before our park got him). He was born wild and has had other instances of going back to natural instinct. Isn't that what makes something tragic though? You can't really put blame on any one thing.
I don't know what else to say except that I have fabulous memories of the park, the animals and my coworkers. It's just a sad time for anyone who loves that place.
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