A LITTLE GIRL WITH A BIG IMAGINATION

Iron Whales and Glow In The Dark Dolphins

One day, my Pa-paw and I were watching a show on T.V. about whales and dolphins. In my mind, they were beautiful creatures, not a care in the world, very graceful creatures. I loved the thought of watching them, maybe even seeing them in real life, and maybe swimming with them.
Well, after the show, Pa-paw told me this "I have seen big whales made of iron and dolphins that would glow in the dark as they swam past me."
Sooooo, me being very impressionable, and apparently very gullible, I pictured exactly what he said. I had no idea he was not talking about the real animals. Then I got to thinking (which is not a good thing when your imagination is high strung). I asked "Pa-paw, when and where did you see iron whales and glow in the dark dolphins? "
"I was on a ship on the ocean a long time ago..."
The wheels start turning at super speed in my head. Yea, my Pa-paw was a pirate. Shiver me timbers, ahoy there matey. Thoughts run wild. How cool could that be? How many real life pirates have you actually met. Zero, except Pa-paw.
"Wait, what did you say Pa-paw?"
"While I was in the war. World War II."
Ok, I admit that part was way over my head. There was no such thing as war in my little world. There was no such thing as bad people either, well not until I heard the Adam Walsh story. Then, I was like hmmmm, my granddaddy, who is a pirate, played with iron whales and glow in the dark dolphins. Then another thing came to my little mind..."Pa-paw, how come the dolphins on T.V. didn't glow? Seems to me that that is important information that people would want to know. Don't ya think?"
He chuckled at my thought. I was wondering if I caught him in something.
"Well, no. Not everyone knows that they glow. They would swim up close to the ship, just barely missing it. When I would see those dolphins I would look for the iron whales that they would always travel with."
Try explaining to your friends and teachers that whales were made of iron and that dolphins really did glow. Neither of them would believe me.
When I got older, I asked Pa-paw if he remembered the iron whales and glow in the dark dolphins. He proceeded to tell me "It was a sight to see. It was scary. The iron whales were big enemy ships and subs. The glow in the dark dolphins were the torpedoes they were firing at the ship I was on."
Wow! So, no my granddaddy was not a pirate, no dolphins don't really glow in the dark (unless they have been exposed to radiation), and no whales are not made of iron.
After that, I stood in awe. Mouth hanging open. Amazed at what my Pa-paw was telling me. Thank you Pa-paw for sharing with me.

NOTE: my Pa-paw served in the United States Navy during WWII. His fleet was leaving the bay headed out for Pearl Harbor when his ship had to turn around back to the bay because something was wrong with it and it needed repairs. He saw his friends sail away to Pearl Harbor. He got word that when the rest of the fleet got to Pearl Harbor a few hours after they were attacked and were bombed. His friends did not make it. He missed it, thank the Lord. He was however involved in other attacks in that war.