The "The Octopus Whisperer" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a fellow who retired about 25 years ago and became an octopus whisperer.  Now I feel bad.  Why?  Well, when I retired I thought I might be bored if I couldn't find something to do with my free time.  After 33 years of teaching high school I was ready to try something different.  But what?  Didn't take long before I had a call from the Principal of the Middle School in the district where I had taught asking if I would be interested in taking charge of the school yearbook.  I had done the high school book for 32 years so he figured I would know what to do.  I agreed to give it a try and began immediately taking photos to use in the book.  Then I got a call from the high school asking if I was available to do some in-house printing.  Since I had taught Graphic Arts, which included running a press, I was a natural for them, since the new teacher was slightly overwhelmed starting his career in the classroom.  So now I had two jobs to keep me busy.  Then a week later one of my former students asked if I wanted to help him in his matting and framing business.  You bet!  So you can see I wasn't sitting in front of the TV all the time.  What I did was both interesting and enjoyable since I was using the skills that I had taught for years.  But, when I read about the guy who retired and spent the following 25 years as an octopus whisperer, I was envious.  Mr. Wilson Menashi retired after a career as a chemical engineer.  Shortly afterward he began a new career working at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts.  I guess I should tell you that he didn't go to work to get paid, since he works every day as a volunteer.   He at one time said, "Just being here has been, to me, a lifesaver.  Gave me something to do.  Gave me different interests and showed me the world is a wonderful place to be."  And, I know exactly what he means!  Only difference was he worked with creatures that swam in the ocean while I worked with humans.  Two of Wilson's favorite "playmates" were Freya and Professor Ludwig Von Drake.  This 84-year old guy has been playing with giant Pacific octopuses for 25 years.  And, they love each other.  He said, "I have been able to connect with them from the beginning.  I do not know why.  I cannot explain it, but I can connect with them."  

Wilson "plays' with Freya, a giant Pacific octopus.
Click on images to enlarge them.

His job at the aquarium is to design puzzle boxes for the octopuses, rubbing their backs and gently stimulating their arms.  He said you need a lot of patience to do the job.  Now, I should tell you that one of the octopuses, Freya, a three year old predator, weighs close to 40 pounds and has tentacles that span 14 feet and have enough strength to kill a shark.  Wilson seems to have a special attachment with the giant cephalopod whose body includes a large, saclike head and eight enormous and strong tentacles.  One of the photos included in the story I read about Wilson shows him with Freya's tentacles holding onto him as if they are hugging one another.  

Wilson shows one of the tentacle on Freya

At times the encounters he has with the octopuses leave marks on his arms which he must explain to his wife when he gets home.  He said, "I will come home sometimes with hickeys all over my arm and my neck."  Wilson estimates he has spent 7,800 hours at the aquarium since he began as a volunteer there.  For me, I do enjoy what I do in retirement, and the salary gives me a chance to travel with my wife, but I think I would really enjoy doing what he is doing.  And, to think I could have been an octopus whisperer!  Wow, the stories I could have written about that!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.