Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Just Asking For It

NOT Ken nor Kasatka. Antonio (with feet attached) & Shamu


Ken Peters is probably good at what he does. I'm sure he even enjoys the challenges his job presents. I just wouldn't want to be him...or even near him, for that matter, when he's working. Some jobs/careers are just asking for trouble.
I've always thought fire-eaters at the circus were nuts. I mean, they HAVE to get some of that liquid inside even if they claim "not to inhale." (or was that a president? no matter.) Within the fire category, smoke jumpers would be an occupation for locos, too. Parachuting out of a plane into an inferno of a forest fire? Uh...no. Commercial fishing in the Bering Sea is another one that I'd avoid. National Geographic has shows on all the time where these guys are out in what looks like "The Perfect Storm" just trying to make a living catching fish. Catching your death from too much water is what it seems like to me. And speaking of water...
Ken Peters works at Sea World in California, I believe. It is his job to coerce killer whales into performing eight shows a day 365 days a year just so you and I can get splashed by the side of the pool and see these huge beasts play with beach balls. In Ken's case, part of his gig involves treading water while waiting for a killer whale named Kasatka to come up underneath him and lift him in the air so Ken can dive from the whale's nose into the water (still occupied by the whale). Something in the term "killer" whale that would put me right off the employment line. While it's true that the moniker was given because this species of whale actually kills other whales in the wild, still...what happens if he gets an upset stomach or just feels like eight shows a day for the last fifteen years was just too much? And for what? fish?
Anyway, Ken found out "what if" the other day when his 2.5 ton, 17-ft long friend grabbed him by the foot and dragged him to the bottom of the Sea World pool for a minute or so...twice. Imagine a grandmother saying, "Oh isn't that nice? The man and the whale are playing 'Sea Hunt'" Ken managed to extricate himself after the second dunking and doesn't seem fazed by the ordeal. That's a true professional (or crazy person).
Me? I find 160 teenagers every day more than enough of a scary career even if we don't have weather like they do in San Diego.

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