Gone But Not Forgotten

by Greg May
(Orlando, FL)

My fascination with oceanariums began in 1965 when I got hooked on "Flipper".

Every Saturday night I was glued to the TV watching the adventures of Bud and Sandy and their pet dolphin.

I saw from the closing credits that the series was filmed at the Miami SeaQuarium so I was begging my parents to take me there so I could meet the cast. My parents, being frugal people, thought it would be more economical to take me to MARINELAND, which was closer to Orlando than Miami.

I'll never forget my first visit seeing "Flipper's Cousins". That spawned an annual family event that lasted for years.

As I grew older, I began visitng other marine attractions around Florida such as OCEAN WORLD in Ft. Lauderdale, AQUATARIUM on St. Pete Beach and THEATRE OF THE SEA in the Florida Keys.

I'll never forget the time I was sitting beside the lagoon at THEATRE OF THE SEA stroking a dolphin with my feet. I had wandered away from the show. Suddenly, she knocked my feet out of the water with a single nod of her head! A trainer saw this and ran up to me to see if I was alright. I asked, "Why did she do that?" as I rubbed my ankles.

The trainer pointed to the clear water as I saw a six-foot barracuda cruise out from under the dock. That dolphin saved me from losing my toes!

Today, only THEATRE OF THE SEA survives.

Hopefully, it will not go the way of MARINELAND, OCEAN WORLD and AQUATARIUM. Greg May Orlando, FL