LIGHT II

photo by S. Auberle

Been off the blog exactly five minutes,
in my two week sabbatical (see below
post) and this story came to me which I
had to share:

THE WHALE

If you read the front page story of the
San Francisco Chronicle, you would have
read about a female humpback whale who
had become entangled in a spider web of
crab traps and lines.

She was weighted down by hundreds of
pounds of traps that caused her to struggle
to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards
of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail,
her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone
Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed
an environmental group for help. Within a few
hours, the rescue team arrived and determined
that she was so bad off, the only way to save her
was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous
proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a
rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and
eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers
say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles.

She them came back to each and every diver, one at
a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around,
she thanked them. Some said it was the most beautiful
experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out
of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole
time, and he will never be the same.

I don't know the author of this story, but the article
came with photos, so I believe it to be true. There is
a postcript to the piece which says:

May you, and all those you love
be so blessed and fortunate
to be surrounded by people
who will help you get untangled
from the things that are binding you.

And, may you always know the joy
of giving and receiving gratitude.

yes...

- mimi