The following adventure took place in Florida in 1995, although the memory of it has lasted quite vividly in my mind and in my heart.
It was a dark and stormy night.
No, really it was! It was also a night filled with apprehension, doubt, joy, excitement, fear, and a good healthy dose of pride.
It was also my 52nd birthday, and one that I shall never forget.
No gift, no matter how expensive or unique could compare with the gift I received on this birthday: being a participant in the team helping to bring Bogie and Bacall, two Bottlenose Dolphins, back home to their original pod in the Indian River Lagoon, in Palm Bay, Florida.
Bogie and Bacall had been captured many years before, and as so often befalls our trusting animal counterparts, they were sent to one of those road-side aquariums that seem to dot the landscape of Florida, and where they were to spend the rest of their lives performing for people, instead of frolicking and reveling in their freedom.
After many years of trying to free them, the Dolphin Alliance finally succeeded in getting permission to return them to their home.
My husband and I were unaware of the dolphins' plight until we read that the alliance needed volunteers to bring these lovable creatures back to their natural environment.
We didn't know what we could do to help.
We just knew that we wanted to do whatever we could.
As luck would have it, we had exactly what the alliance needed: a 24 foot pontoon boat which was needed to transport Bogie and Bacall to a large containment pen in the Indian River Lagoon where Bogie and Bacall would be kept until they could be retrained to fish for their own food.
Then they would be released to join their original pod.
This was the plan.
Many, many people were involved in this humanitarian undertaking and it was a thrill to be a part of it, no matter how peripherally.
The volunteers did all the hard work, constructing the pen, arranging for the dolphins' release, transporting them from south Florida to Palm Bay, Florida.
On the appointed day of their release, the Dolphin Alliance people were on the phone with us throughout the day.
The call for us to depart in our boat came at 9:30 p.
m.
, just as my head had hit the pillow.
Well, there would be no sleep now.
Bogie, the first dolphin, was not due to arrive until 3 a.
m.
, but the alliance people wanted our boat there by 2 a.
m.
in case they arrived early.
The excitement coursing through my body was almost more than I could bear.
Here was our chance to do something worthwhile, to make a difference, to help in letting Bogie and Bacall experience freedom once again.
Earlier I had been trying to read, to relax, while waiting for the phone call, but every word on the page seemed to say Bogie and Bacall.
I had tried to watch TV but realized that I was looking at the screen and seeing nothing.
My head was filled with two frolicking dolphins! But wait, what was that rumbling noise that was slowly permeating my conscious thought? Well, of course, I suddenly recognize that sound...
it's thunder! That light that I thought I saw flashing? Yes, lightning.
We were going to be out on our boat at 1 a.
m.
in the middle of a Florida lightning storm.
We arrived at the marina, got our boat underway and set forth to take part in this thrill of a lifetime.
We slowly made our way through Turkey Creek Sanctuary, straining our eyes, making sure no manatees were out and about.
Finally we reached the breakwaters to the Indian River Lagoon and realized we had to be just crazy to be going out on a boat in the wee hours of the morning in stormy weather with crashing waves, knowing we would be tossed about.
And tossed about we were! I am not particularly known for my bravery, but my eagerness and my strong desire to be a part of this team effort overshadowed my fear.
As the boat tossed about, rolling from side to side, and then crashing down bow to stern, the lightning let me see the magnitude of the waves.
I swear they were 50 feet tall.
At least in my frightened mind, they were.
All I know is that they were BIG! Suddenly the bow light went out.
I would run to the front of the boat, beat on the light, waves crashing over the bow, spilling salt water in my face, and then I'd run back to the shelter of our hard top.
Then it would happen all over again.
Then the unthinkable happened.
The engine quit.
Here we were, in the middle of the river, in the middle of the night, not to mention in the middle of a nightmare, with people anxiously awaiting our arrival with two big dolphins in their charge.
Once again, determination and the skill of my husband got us up and running.
He found the problem; some water in the engine.
Gee, what a surprise.
Then, as suddenly as the storm came upon us, it disappeared, the waters calmed down, and we were on our way.
Now I can hear the theme song from "2001 A Space Odyssey" playing in my head.
We're almost there.
We're going to make it.
We did! Bogie arrived first between 3 and 4 a.
m.
The decision was made to now wait until daybreak to release her.
Bacall followed later.
My husband, and my son, along with many wonderful volunteers gently placed Bogie onto the stretcher and then onto our boat for the short ride to the containment pen.
Then the process was repeated with Bacall joining Bogie in the pen.
Bogie and Bacall spent weeks, if not months, being retrained in fishing techniques, and being visited by members of their pod who would swim up to the containment pen as if welcoming back their old friends.
I wish the story ended here, with the much anticipated release of these two special dolphins, but it doesn't.
Some misguided person or persons most likely, thinking they were doing the right thing, at least I hope their intentions were honorable and not malicious, slipped into the pen at night and cut it so that Bogie and Bacall could escape.
Escape they did and we can only hope that they were fully trained and ready to be on their own again.
No dolphin carcasses were spotted in the waters and a few of the volunteers even spotted Bogie and Bacall swimming in the lagoon, identifying them by their distinctive fin markings.
So we can hope that this story did indeed have the fairy tale ending that we all hoped, and worked so hard for.
I'm reminded of a line from a Jimmy Buffet song...
"Come along let's have some fun, the hard work has been done.
" Indeed it was hard work and perseverance that made this rescue possible and we feel confident that Bogie and Bacall went on to have many years of fun and most importantly of all, freedom!