Thar’ Be Whale!

Welcome to Simple Joe. I’m glad you’re here.

In this Thursday episode of Simple Joe, I start with a look at the cultural impact of Julia Child before checking in on the weather in Overland Park, Kansas, and Daytona Beach, Florida. I celebrate birthdays including Jim Henson, “Mean” Joe Greene, Phil Hartman, and Kevin Sorbo, look back at a few historic September 24 moments, and somehow work my way through World Gorilla Day, National Punctuation Day, National Horchata Day, and the wonderfully named National Mofongo Day. Then it’s time for The Story Behind the Headline: a humpback whale named Rio that traveled roughly 60 miles inland into the Sacramento River system. I dig into how a whale gets that far inland, whether a humpback can survive in fresh water, how researchers were able to identify Rio by its tail, and why officials wanted people to give the whale plenty of space. The story also sends me down a few side roads involving Star Trek, Delta Dawn, Humphrey the humpback whale, my daughter once spotting what she thought was an otter in our backyard, and what I’d do if a humpback suddenly surfaced next to my fishing boat. And as always, I wrap things up thinking about making memories, staying connected, and making today worth remembering.

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