[AGL] A bit like the parable of the lion with the thorn...

[Frances Morey]

    The Whale

   
  
If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle, 
you would have read about a female humpback whale 
who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps 
and lines. 
   
  She 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 body, her tail, her torso, a line 
tugging in her mouth. 
   
  A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone 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 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 ... 
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. 
   
  
I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.
   
  *   *   *  *  *  
   
  Here in Austin:
   
  This tale reminds me of my son Travis, who at 18 months suffered with an ear infection that caused pressure on the eardrum. It was extremely painful. We went to Dr. Bordelon who placed him on a velcro immobilization board and required me to hold his head still while he lanced the eardrum. The baby's face went from abject distress to total love for the doctor in a matter of seconds. From then on visits to the doctor weren't resisted--indeed, he would happily bounce into the car whenever I announced that destination, in stark contrast to how resistant he had been before. Freedom from pain elicits instant appreciation perhaps even adoration from toddlers, too.
   
  Frances


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