I was 43 when the whales started talking. Dolphins too.

I happened to be down at the dock in our little waterfront town with a few friends when the black and white head of an orca broke the surface.

His voice was as clear to me as my wife’s was that morning waking me up; he spoke English too. Who would have guessed that?

Anyway, the great mouth opened, said “Hello, ground-dweller. We need to talk.”