The First Leg

My flight from Seattle to San Francisco left an hour late. I hate it when the jetway returns to the plane. My thoughts usually go like this; I’m going to be escorted off the plane, they are going to fill the empty seat next to me, or worse, something is broken. Then man in the orange jacket gets on carrying a headset, no clip board or bag of parts. I wonder if this one of those big, deplane issues or maybe it’s just a fuse. He was in and out quickly and the pilot didn’t tell us what the issue was so I’m sure the man in the orange jacket just jiggled something and it was all good. This is going to make my connection in SFO a little tight but better tight than to have something bad happen at 37,000 feet.

The last month or so, I’ve been hearing, you’re brave or I wish I could or… I’m not brave. I’m just following a need, a calling I guess. What I didn’t do was listen to all the logical reasons not to go and there are many. I had air miles saved up, vacation time and a supportive wife so maybe it was easier for me. If in your gut, you know you need to do something about something, follow it. Push past the barriers and logic. Do what’s right!

There really is no bravery here. I feel what is happening to the dolphins in Taiji is wrong and I need to see it for myself. People ask me, “What do you hope to accomplish?” Well, I want to end the slaughter of all marine mammals worldwide. On this trip, I simply want to see what’s happening firsthand and blog about it. The more people there getting the word out, the more attention it brings to the issue. The more attention, the easier it is to change.

Dolphins are smart and have strong family ties. They live their entire lives swimming free in the oceans with their families. This hunt, on a migration route, is like grabbing families out of line at Disney, cutting their spines and drowned them in front of their loved ones. If they didn’t drown, they are gutted alive. It’s curious to me that dolphins don’t fight back. They have the ability to but choose not to. I think we have a tremendous amount to learn from them and since they won’t fight back, I’ll fight for them as best I can. But, I’m not brave. I just can’t sit at home watching TV, thinking, that’s not right.

(We are now making our decent into SFO)