Death Stalks the Show Pool

                                                                                      “Death Stalks the Show Pool”
                                                                                                 By Bob Warkenton
    
           While majoring in Marine Biology at Cal State Long Beach, I had a part-time job as a scuba diver at the Japanese Village and Deer Park located in Buena Park. This California amusement park offered a menu of wild animal acts, including performances by dolphins and sea lions.
           Working a job related to my college degree was a blessing, but in this case, it turned out to be a double-edged sword almost costing me my life.
The duties of a diver at the Village, as we called it, were simple. We swept the bottom of the marine mammal pools, a tangled maze of interconnected waterways, with a two-foot-long brush.
           Feces expelled by a dozen dolphins and eight sea lions would settle to the bottom. Divers would then directionally sweep the bio-mess into twelve-inch drains strategically placed to suck down everything brushed into them. The soft, grey, semi-solid poo would disappear down the drains and be piped into a huge filtering system. There it was cleaned then returned back crystal clear to the pools.
            The dolphins never interfered while we diligently carried out our underwater duties. Being highly intelligent, they always knew what was happening in their watery home and appreciated our actions. They were very happy to perform, eat and breed in the nice clean water we provided them.
All the dolphins were very young, very smart, very gregarious, and very very promiscuous! Life was good for dolphins and sea lions at the Japanese Village.
            Early one Sunday morning before the park opened, the Sea Theater needed cleaning for the day’s first performances. We aqua-sanitation engineers usually worked in pairs for safety, but it was not mandatory. The other diver had not shown for work that day so I started out on my own to clean the main show pool.
          I changed into my wetsuit and gathered up my scuba gear and long brush then headed to the Sea Theater. I set my gear down and stood on a little dock used by the trainers to give performance commands to the mammals. Four of the top show dolphins were cavorting in the pool, as was a sea lion, who was being chased and bullied by the dolphins.
         The acrobatic antics of the dolphins and sea lion having aquatic dog fights underwater was truly amazing! The dolphins chasing and harassing the sea lion were outmaneuvering it by instantly changing direction to charge, cut-off, then rush away from the bewildered creature.
         The dolphins and sea lions were always kept separated in underwater pens and enclosures. They were released throughout the day for training, exercising and performing. The dolphins, with persistence, had figured out how to release themselves and then their grey-finned comrades to swim unsupervised anywhere they pleased. The sea lions also had a knack for escaping. This led to scenarios that I was currently witnessing and also enabled the sea lions to clumsily clamber along amongst the park guests. This was dangerous since they bit anyone trying to wrangle them or touch them. Sometimes a sea lion would be seen moving awkwardly through the deer enclosure scaring the sixty little petting deer. A comical sight it was, seeing the outline of a wandering blubber-bag surrounded by tiny deer in a frenzied panic, prancing every which way to avoid the marauding intruder. I watched the delinquents in the show pool playing chicken for about ten minutes, then decided it was time to go to work.
           I threw my facemask, swim fins and brush into the water. They settled to the bottom of the thirty-three-foot-deep show pool. Putting the air regulator in my mouth, I then grabbed the tank and lifted it off the platform with both hands. With one step I was in the water heading feet first toward the bottom.
          My life was about to change forever.
          Stepping off the dock into the pool I sank quickly, breathing normally and adjusting the pressure in my ears as I descended. Upon reaching the bottom, I lifted the tank over my back and secured the straps. I put on my facemask clearing the water effortlessly from inside by exhaling through my nose while tilting it slightly to push the water out the bottom.
          As the water drained, I saw Peanuts the lead show animal, watching me from about four feet away. In fact, looking around, I saw all the dolphins watching me suspended motionlessly in the crystal-clear water. Hmm, I hope they don’t have bad intentions—they drove that sea lion crazy!
I reached down, picked up one swim fin and put it on. When I reached for the other one, Peanuts swam into action. In a heartbeat, the mischievous animal had the strap of the fin securely wrapped around his snout. He swam away then kept circling, baiting me to grab the swim fin. A new game was beginning.
          As he circled, Peanuts would swim just close enough for me to be tempted to grab the fin, but no matter how quickly I reached out, the wily dolphin would dart away causing me to miss it by inches. The challenge to grab the swim fin continued for six circlings.
          Frustrated by being bettered by this sneaky fish, my hominid brain kicked in. I decided to outsmart Peanuts. As he drew near, I only stuck my arm half way out. Peanuts continued to tease me offering my swim fin, but, as I reached for it, arm half extended, he would dart away. So, on the third circling with my arm only half extended, I waited for the fin to be presented. Peanuts was dangling the fin from his snout daring me to take it. I waited as he got closer and closer. When Peanuts had the fin almost touching my half-extended arm, I suddenly reached out all the way and grabbed it as hard as I could.
Peanuts let out a series of glorious dolphin chirps—the game expanded to a more playful stage. He started towing me underwater through the sparkling-clear water in the Sea Theater! I was now holding on with both hands as hard as I could marveling at the strength he had and how fast we were going. As we circled the pool, the other dolphins joined in around us and we swam as a pod inside the perimeter of the show pool. The dolphins gracefully broke the surface in unison to take a breath without slowing down. Around and around we all swam—a pod of four dolphins with me in tow.
          After ten laps around the pool Peanuts finally tired and stopped. I quickly pulled the fin from his snout. He objected by whacking my hand harshly with his snout. I responded by giving him a good hard shove away from me. Oops!!! My mistake!!!
          Peanuts responded angrily by swimming to the far end of the pool, turning, then coming toward me at full speed. He swam over me and WHACK!!! He hit the top of my head with his tail fluke knocking my head between my shoulder blades. Turning on a dime, he used his snout to hammer the top of my head viciously. I literally saw white pin points of light—stars, and fell into unconsciousness.
          Earlier that morning, as I was suiting up, I had put on a new hood that was slightly small for the size of my head. This saved my life. When Peanuts knocked me out, I sank unconscious to the bottom. The air regulator was kept in my mouth because the hood held it tightly enough that it couldn’t fall out allowing me to continue breathing.
          No one knew how long I was unconscious at the bottom of the Sea Theater. The air in the tank at thirty-three feet underwater would last just over an hour. It was Sunday and the trainers came in late. A grounds keeper passed by and saw me on the bottom. The dolphins were still cavorting and playing tag with the sea lion. He went to report the dolphins were out with the sea lion in the show pool. Going about his business he returned later and noticed I hadn’t moved. In fact, he noticed I wasn’t moving at all and ran to get help. He and two others pulled me out with the aid of a giant hook. The rescuers took off my gear trying to wake me. I came out of unconsciousness briefly to say Peanuts had attacked me, then went out again.
          Unconscious, I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. In the x-ray room I came to and began vomiting. I didn’t have a clue where I was. A doctor and nurse were watching over me as I woke. The doctor said to lie quietly, that the nausea would pass. So, I kept still, trying to put things together and get a sense of what had happened.
          As I lay there, my head, neck and back felt extraordinarily odd. I didn’t feel normal at all. Intense pain and a thick feeling of numbness with the weirdest sensation something wasn’t right, emanated from below my head and spine. I could only move my arms and legs.
X-rays were taken of my entire upper body. They were developed and put side by side up on a long back-lit viewing screen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the doctor pacing back and forth scrutinizing them. He studied the back-lit pictures for some time, then walked over and asked how I felt. I had a hard time answering from my dreamy surrealistic world. With careful fingers the doctor prodded and poked, grabbed me here and there. He touched, pushed and squeezed my body. I moaned and groaned to his questioning unable to give a coherent answer to any of his questions.
          Satisfied with his exam, the doctor looked down at me, “Well, there are no fractures or breaks. However, you have extensive soft-tissue injuries. All the muscles and ligaments in your neck, going up into your skull and down your spinal column, have been significantly damaged. You’ll be okay but you’ll have a lot of rehab to do before you’re back to a hundred percent.”
          I stared at the doctor trying to read more from his face than what he was revealing. I was overwhelmed with pain and that horrible thick feeling. I couldn’t move my head or neck and couldn’t formulate an intelligible sentence or communicate—only stare, listen and groan unintelligibly.
The doctor continued, “I’ll prescribe you pain pills, an anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxers. We’ll put ice on and off for the next four hours and see how you’re doing. I’ll see you in the morning.”
          He started to walk away. Stopping, he turned and said, “A dolphin did this to you?” 
I groaned an incoherent response. He shook his head slowly and walked away.
          As I lay on the table, thoughts were spiraling through my brain. In between the pain and horrible thick numb feeling, I was trying to ascertain my situation.
           The x-ray tech was taking down the x-rays when he stopped and stared at two of them. “Man, you are gonna have some big, big problems in the future!” he said adamantly.
          I stopped thinking and became attentive—alarmed by his statement. I listened expecting worse news.
          “Yup, you’re gonna have some big-time problems.” He shook his head as he looked at two x-rays of my skull.
I could only stare at the x-ray equipment hanging above and off to the side. I saw him walking toward me, a dark shadow crossing the room. He stood over me. Looking down he said, “Yup you have a really bad problem . . .”
Inside I cringed, expecting horrible news.
          “Yup,” he said confidently, “It’s your wisdom teeth. They are all fully developed. They’re huge monsters! And—they are sitting sideways in your jaw completely imbedded! Oh, man, are you gonna have problems with those babies!”
          I was dumbfounded after hearing his dental diagnosis. I began to pass into a deep coma. Sliding into unconsciousness I thought, Wisdom teeth! Good grief! As if I didn’t already have enough problems!
          Darkness overcame my last moments in the x-ray room as I was moved out. My eyes closed, and for now—there was nothing more to think about.