Happy Little Trees

I have mixed excitement and fear about watching Blackfish, a documentary about orcas. I took a trip to SeaWorld in San Antonio several years back, but we weren't able to get into the Shamu show. After I got back, I watched some videos about when the Killer Whale shows went wrong. I never thought about times when Shamu wasn't happy to wave and splash and be rewarded with fish, but those times happen.

After I heard about a trainer that died because of being attacked by a whale, I did some Internet research on the specific whale involved in the attacks, and I was a bit disturbed. The same whale has been involved in a total of three human deaths. The whale always seemed to have an alibi. This whale is still an active part of SeaWorld today. There are just more rules for his handlers.

I am little too passionate now about killer whales in captivity. I never saw the movie Free Willy, but I visited Keiko, the actual whale who was portrayed in the movie. I saw him at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. At one point, my brother and I had to tap on the glass, because he appeared to be floating too easily in the tank. We thought his ship may had sailed!

Now, my views are that whales should not used in shows to entertain humans. I read a quote today from the creator of the Blackfish documentary that said she didn't think people needed to be able to see an orca do the macarena, and I agree.

I hope that one day our society will wake up to many things, and this is just one that has sparked my heart. I do believe God gave us the responsibility of caring for animals, and by capturing them for our entertainment, we're putting not just the animals at risk, but humans as well. It's not worth the cost.

(note: this post is for non-Houstonians)

[Beth's creative phonics: Kah-loche-eee]

I discovered something amazing in Houston. I discovered it years ago, and often forget that it is pretty much a regional thing.

Unlike the title of this post suggests, "kolache" is not a tribe. It's actually a delicious Czech-American breakfast treat or dessert. Kolaches can be savory or sweet, but they are always wonderful to eat.

The dough of a kolache is like tasty sweet bread, and the sweet kolaches have filling that is sometimes fruity or cream cheese. The savory kolaches are pretty creative. It could be described as a "pig in a blanket," but I would describe it as a dough pinata--inside are the goodies! I have had sausage and egg, potato and egg, ham and cheese--the possibilities are endless.

There are entire stores dedicated to kolaches. Their hours follow doughnut shop hours. When a co-worker brings kolaches, it's just as amazing (or better) as when they bring doughnuts.