D is for Dolphins

Dolphins have been depicted for milennia as an important part of mythology. They are loved by many for their happy demeanor. Closely related to the whale and the porpoise, there are at least 40 species of dolphins, and there are more myths than I can tell you about in this one article.

Bottlenose Dolphin's have a permanent smile. They are the intelligent, charismatic performers, easily trained in aquariums, and have a very friendly nature. They surface 2 to 3 times a minute to breathe and can swim as fast as 18 mph in the wild. They travel in groups and communicate with whistles and squeaks. My husband has pictures of them swimming in front of his ocean-going tug. (Because I wanted the pictures, I couldn't find them.)

The Minoan Civilization from the prehistoric Bronze age, a seafaring people in the Mediterranean, have left behind great murals of colorful artwork that include dolphins.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon, the sea-god, is often surrounded by dolphins. The story is that Poseidon transformed a group of pirates into a pod of dolphins, giving them charge to rescue any distressed sailors in the ocean.

Sailors throughout time have told stories of being saved by dolphins.

Even today, dolphins are used in many tales, movies, and myths. One of my favorite is the true story and now movie of Winter in  A Dolphin Tale. It's the story of boy and a dolphin who need each other. The boy saves the dolphin and in the end the dolphin really saves the boy. Winter loses his tail and is given a prosthetic one. He becomes a great example to people all around who hear his story. You can find Winter in Clearwater, Florida. Click on Winter here if you are interested in learning more about this beautiful creature.

This is Winter with his prosthetic tail.

Smile, it becomes you.

Have a happy day!