which she admired. I wanted to play tennis with her over the summer,
after we returned from Disney World, but she was always busy
working. Still, in August, she came by, drinking iced tea and hanging
out, so we exchanged addresses, writing each other at Colby and
Pomona Colleges. Kristin probably thinks I’m crazy, and we’ve had our
rocky moments, but she remains a true friend.
On our senior trip, I am ashamed to say we went to Sea
World, where we saw Shamu, the orca, perform. I didn’t know any
better, and it was fun to sit in the splash zone, especially since it was so
hot. Years later I would learn the true story behind the orcas, who are
taken from their families, or bred in captivity, then forced to live in small
tanks, false social groupings, and chemically altered water. Over four-
fifths of the males have their dorsal fin collapse, an event that seldom
happens in the wild. Some fight back, becoming aggressive, as Tilikum
killed his trainer and Kasatka dragged her trainer under when she heard
her baby crying for her. Sixty-two orcas have died at Sea World—and
not a single one from old age. These include Chappy, Jumbo, Zero,
King, Caren, Freyja, Maggie, Wolfie, Sarah, Shamu, Kandu, Kilroy, Orky,
Nootka, Winston, Kona, Frankie, Canuck, Shawn, Bjossa, Baby Shamu,
Splash, Sumar, Ramu, Sandy, Kenau, Gudrun, Kalina, Taima, Nyar,
Kahana, Kotar, Haida, Samoa, Katerina, Taku, Halyn, Kayla, Tilikum,
Kyara, Kasatka, and Unna. It is criminal what Sea World does to these
majestic creatures, whom my daughter and I would see, years later,
swimming wild in the San Juan Islands.