Wednesday, 29 July 2020

IN THE WILD - 100 word story

Okay, this week's Friday Fictioneers photo prompt triggered a memory, so here is a true story instead of a fictional one.
PHOTO PROMPT © Jean L. Hays


IN THE WILD

If you see wild dolphins when scuba diving, you have to look interesting enough to trigger their curiosity. Turn somersaults, bounce around, make noise.
We slipped into the balmy water and descended into the channel where dolphins were said to visit.
Nothing.
Instead we found explosions of tiny orange and purple Anthias dipping and flitting around the corals.
Heads down examining our find, I glanced around.
Dolphins! Right behind us!
I somersaulted. I bounced. I squeaked. I squealed. I screamed. I wiggled my outstretched fingers.
The dolphins looked at the noisy, bubbling, madly gesticulating creature, shrugged and swam away.




Hope you enjoyed this story and I look forward to your comments. 


If you wish to read more Friday Fictioneers stories, you can find them listed HERE


If you'd like to join in the challenge, you'll find all the information posted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields 


- her blog is listed on 'My Blog List' on the right hand side of this page.


On a final note - I always attempt to visit the blogs of everyone who comments on mine. If I haven't commented on yours it's either because I haven't been redirected to your blog when I've clicked on your name or because you have a wordpress account that requires me to sign into wordpress first. 
Please check and amend your settings. Thanks.














Posted by at

44 comments:

  1. Neil MacDonald29 July 2020 at 11:37

    That made me smile. I think the advice about hitting sharks on the nose is equally dubious

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:27

      He he - I've seen sharks on dozens of occasions when diving and, believe me, they never come close enough to test that theory.

      Delete
  2. Jolly29 July 2020 at 11:38

    I think the dolphins have been watching too much TV. Hence, now they're bored easily :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:28

      Sometimes they choose to interact, sometimes they don't. (Bit like cats.) :)

      Delete
  3. Rochelle Wisoff-Fields29 July 2020 at 12:23

    Dear Susan,

    As a swimmer, my favorite thing is flip-turning to change directions. I've never been scuba diving but did get a chance to somersault while snorkeling. Perhaps the screaming was a bit much for the dolphins. ;) Delightful piece.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:30

      I'll never know, Rochelle. But the advice is to make as much noise and movement as possible to get them to interact. I've seen videos on how it works - but obviously they're wild animals and it's not a given. :)

      Delete
  4. Iain Kelly29 July 2020 at 13:03

    I wouldn't take it personally, they were probably fed up of all the tourists! Good fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:31

      If there's one thing I've learnt about wild animals, it's that they are unpredictable. :)

      Delete
  5. C. E. Ayr29 July 2020 at 13:17

    Good grief, Susan, I would have swum away too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:32

      No, no! The more noise and movement you make, the more chance you have of persuading them to stay and play! :)

      Delete
  6. Keith's Ramblings29 July 2020 at 14:44

    An amusing tale, all the more so as it actually happened.

    Here's mine!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gabriella29 July 2020 at 16:05

    This made me smile. I am not sure what I'd do if I saw dolphins. I'd probably just stare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 17:33

      They are truly fabulous to watch underwater, Gabriella.

      Delete
  8. Sandra Crook29 July 2020 at 16:31

    That sounds like you were given the old dolphin brush-off. They're good at that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Na'ama Yehuda29 July 2020 at 18:29

    And I can only imagine the texts these dolphins sent about the 'curious affliction of humans' ... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames29 July 2020 at 19:30

      He he - they'd have a tale to tell, wouldn't they?

      Delete
    2. Jade Li29 July 2020 at 19:54

      Sounds like a tip sheet written by someone who wants to keep dolphins as far away from people as possible. Good story, Susan.

      Delete
    3. Tannille30 July 2020 at 08:14

      The dolphins sort of reminded me of cats. They have a way of dismissing humans. Fun story, bet the dolphins surfaced and laughed.

      Delete
    4. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:04

      Thanks, Jade!

      Delete
    5. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:05

      Oops - not sure what happened with the replies!

      Tannille, yes I thought 'cats' too! :)

      Delete
  10. plaridel29 July 2020 at 19:56

    perhaps if you bait them with food they'll say 'hi' before swimming away. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:05

      He he - it would probably work, but it's not the done thing to feed wild animals. :)

      Delete
  11. Darlene30 July 2020 at 13:58

    What a great experience!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:06

      Well, it was certainly fabulous to see them before they swam off. :)

      Delete
  12. Birgit30 July 2020 at 16:54

    That’s hilarious! They probably thought you were nuts...hahhaaaa. I would have done the same thing...I would have wiggled and moved about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:09

      Thanks, Birgit. It was all pretty crazy. Someone on the boat showed us a video of divers doing daft things and the dolphins interacting with them, so I know it can work.

      Delete
  13. Doodle T30 July 2020 at 16:58

    I love seeing the dolphins from the shore...I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to meet them in person...what a fun tale to tell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:10

      Oh, but they are wonderful to see up close, Doodle. :)

      Delete
  14. Bill30 July 2020 at 20:05

    Oops. My mistake. It was a shark. Good tale told here. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames30 July 2020 at 21:11

      He he - I've dived with sharks on many occasions. Sadly they've had such bad press, but are in fact thrilling - and not scary - to see on a dive.

      Delete
  15. Isadora De La Vega30 July 2020 at 22:42

    I think all the noise may have scared the dolphins. lol
    Cute take on the prompt. I don't scuba dive but have seen dolphons swimming
    on while on my friends boat. We have lots of them in the waters of Florida. Friendly and playful.
    Be Safe ... Isadora ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames31 July 2020 at 21:17

      Dolphins are wonderful to watch, aren't they? Thanks for commenting, Isadora.

      Delete
  16. Linda30 July 2020 at 23:49

    Thanks for the smile :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. draliman31 July 2020 at 14:57

    It takes a lot to impress today's discerning dolphin :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Subroto31 July 2020 at 15:00

    Wise creatures, maybe a friend request on facebook would have worked better.
    But jokes aside, wow, that must have been a great experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames31 July 2020 at 21:18

      Thanks, it certainly was a wonderful experience.

      Delete
  19. liz young1 August 2020 at 18:26

    I hope you had your dolphin experience another day?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames1 August 2020 at 21:34

      I've seen dolphins above and below the water on quite a few occasions, but sadly, whilst they've been happy to play and ride the bow wave of boats I've been on, they've never wanted to play with me personally. :)

      Delete
  20. Eugenia Parrish3 August 2020 at 17:13

    Okay, that made me laugh out loud! I could picture it so well. good job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan A Eames4 August 2020 at 13:00

      Thanks, Eugenia - appreciate the feedback. :)

      Delete

Many thanks for commenting. I appreciate your feedback.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)