My earliest memory of an orca “killer” whale was seeing the beautiful, sleek, black and white animal dive, spin, and splash at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Its name was Shamu. As a little girl, I was in awe of Shamu’s enormous size, intelligence, and playful personality. Somehow, this incredible creature knew what its trainers were communicating and asking it to do.

It took me by surprise, and, quite frankly, it took my breath away. I never expected to hear such a beautiful sound while pumping gas into my car at the local Wal-mart station. But that’s where it happened.