If you read the front page story of the San
Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Dec 15, 2005, you would have read about
a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of
crab traps and lines.
The
fifty-foot whale 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 her tail, her torso and a line tugging in
her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallone
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 then 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 incredibly 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.
May
you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate in the New
Year -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.
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