Have You Ever Sat on a Killer Whale?

I grew up in Sauquoit, New York, with my mom, dad and older brother, and now, at the age of 28, I live in Sauquoit again. I find it funny when I run in to people – usually family friends who I haven’t seen in a while – that always ask me: “Why did you decide to live here?” or, “Why don’t you move away and live somewhere fun?” or say “You must be crazy if you want to live and work in this area!”.

These people never seem to ask me if I am happy – which I am and in today’s world, is a question that I think people often forget to ask. I have a good job, a great family, a wonderful husband, a cute dog, I’m almost done with my master’s degree, and I own a house. What else could a 28-year-old ask for? 

I’ve always wanted to turn the question around on them, although I haven’t yet had the guts to, and say “oh yeah, well why do you live here?” OR, “you must be crazy for still working around this area – you should be retired living on a golf course in Florida!” OR, BETTER YET, I could ask them:

Have you ever sat on a killer whale?

When I was five, I went to Sea World with my family and we went to see the Baby Shamu show. Walking into Sea World as a five-year-old can be very overwhelming – I still remember all the people and families walking around and the scent of fish that lingered in the air. I held on to my mom’s hand tight so I wouldn’t get lost.

We were just in time for the Baby Shamu show and the audience was packed. I was sitting with my mom, dad and brother in the hot, metal bleachers and we were sitting on the end near an aisle. A Sea World staff member walked up the stairs and stopped and talked to a family in front of us. We saw them shake their heads no and then the staff members came up to my parents. He asked them if they would be interested in having me be part of the show. He would take me down to the front and when it was time, he would hand me to the whale trainer and I would sit on Baby Shamu.

I had no interest in getting my favorite pair of pink, corduroy overalls all wet, but my parents told me they would buy me a stuffed animal if I did it so I agreed. I remember them signing a bunch of papers – which now looking back I realized were insurance papers saying that Sea World would not be held responsible if something happened to me. I walked down the stairs with the trainer and the next thing I remember was looking into the audience and seeing a million camera flashes going off. I don’t remember what the whale felt like or if I was scared – but my one memory is being blinded by flashes. My next memory was going to the gift shop when it was all over with – and being very uncomfortable because my overalls were all wet. I picked out a stuffed killer whale and my brother got one too. I remember wondering why my brother got one – he didn’t have to do anything and he got a stuffed animal too!

They don’t let audience members sit on killer whales anymore because it is too dangerous. And I’m pretty sure kids these days are having nightmares about killer whales from Sea World instead of sleeping and cuddling with their killer whale stuffed animals. But when I go to my parent’s house and go in my old room and see my whale sitting on my shelf, I don’t remember what it was like to sit on Baby Shamu, I remember all of the cameras going off and wonder what all those people did with my picture. I bet the person asking me why I live in Central New York never sat on a killer whale....