Chax: A Dolphin's Song

Sound travels fast in water, three times faster than in the air, and so do stories. Some stories go halfway around the world -underwater - before they are heard in the air. Some are never heard in the air. Unless they need to be. This one does. The dolphin pod from the shallow, warm gulf of the green ocean (that men call Atlantic) like to sing about Chax. Chax has led them well. His reputation is known. His exploits are part of the pod's long song, the chirping song that tells the pod's story. The song reminds the oldest dolphins of what has come before, and informs the newest ones. Dolphins from other pods - even some birds - know parts of it. Chax has been everywhere and done exploits, but this was his first. The song tells how Chax kept sharks from eating men who fell from the sky. This was long before he became a leader of the pod. Every dolphin in the pod can sing parts of that song, but no one knows it all, except Chax. He sang it the first time, tired and amazed to be alive as he was. A few terns had been there and added details. Part of it became part of the pod's song. When Chax became leader, it became more important, but it was already a good part. Chax protected the men, so the story goes, because he was offered the opportunity, and because he admired one of them. Some men are admirable. Want to read more? Read the rest of chapter 1. Want an overview? Read this: Dolphins have helped swimmers in trouble for as long as people have shared the ocean with them. Despite reasons not to like us, it seems they do. Accounts of the human-dolphin relationship are found in the legends and art of antiquity, and in tomorrow's cable news cycle. Yet much remains a mystery. Chax: A Dolphin's Song, is an adventure that considers many of those things. The "hero," or one of them, is Chax himself, who leads a pod of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. With help from his friends. Chax is a superb listener. Popper, a not-quite-mature dolphin learning his place in the pod, helps too. The reader sees and hears what they do. Kimberly Barone, a bright young marine biologist, studies dolphins and the deteriorating ocean environment with passion, even though her boss and former professor has lost focus. A classic yacht serves as their base, captained by a former Coast Guard rescue diver. Captain Pete Gordon sees so much more in her than the professor does. A Navy submarine operating in Chax's neighborhood plays a role, especially Sonar Technician 1st Class Opie Simcox, who goes above and beyond. Smooth, talented, amoral Claiborne Chandler's choices have led him from privilege to piracy. He is no hero. Dodging responsibility has brought him here. Yet even Claiborne knows dolphins are special.

• | Author: Tom Yancey
• | Publisher: Chax: A Dolphin'S Song
• | Publication Date: Apr 07, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 348 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0692636552
• | ISBN-13: 9780692636558