09/09/2026
Did y’all know I once trained Shamu at Sea World Orlando? It’s true…
Somewhere around 1996–1998, I went to SeaWorld Orlando and got to the Shamu show early.
They were looking for people to participate in a little competition between the men and women to see which group could “train” Shamu the best.
Apparently, I looked like I had enough energy to be useful, because they picked me. LOL.
Before the show, they explained my secret assignment. They showed me a hand signal and told me what it was really going to mean to the whale.
The audience would think I was signaling him to do something like a jump.
But Tilikum (Shamu)had a different instruction.
Splash me.
They asked if I was okay getting drenched.
I said, “Sure.”
So when it was my turn, I gave him the signal…
…and Tilikum absolutely nailed me with that tail splash.
As part of the show, they then let me get close enough to touch him, supposedly so he could “tell me he was sorry.” LOL.
At the time, I just knew him as Shamu.
Years later, after watching Blackfish, I realized something that made that old memory pretty surreal.
Shamu wasn’t actually his name. His name was Tilikum.
Yep.
The massive orca I had stood beside, given hand signals to, and gotten completely drenched by was that Tilikum.
Nearly 30 years later, I still can’t tell you if it was 1996, 1997, or 1998.
But I sure as heck remember getting splashed by Shamu.
And apparently, not cut out to train the most famous Killer Whale in the World.
In honor of the great whale I am naming this shell “Tilikum”, which means (friend).
