Interview 29556 – Caption Index: 31
And in the beginning, did you have to interview for your job or did they just automatically take you back?… Read More
And in the beginning, did you have to interview for your job or did they just automatically take you back?… Read More
Yeah, that was an interesting prospect. I interviewed three times with the curator of fishes, and the third time I’m back, he says, well, we’re prepared to give you the position. And he leaned back in his chair and he says, but we have one thing. He says, we have… Read More
They’ll sound so cool. So I get this job at Shedd aquarium, all of a sudden I’ve got penguins. And I found out in short order, they’re just big stinky birds. And when you’re cleaning the exhibit, if you get ’em into a corner, they’ll peck you. And boy, they… Read More
And the other thing is, I knew most of these fish, I’m from the Midwest, I’m familiar with these guys. These are my friends. So it was a, it was a nice beginning. Read More
And we had an alligator snapping turtle, which was not part of the Midwest big alligator snapping turtle. And other than that it was pretty much native fish. So what I was responsible for is obviously keeping the fish in a good healthy state, but also cleaning the exhibits and… Read More
I was responsible for the fish in the gallery four, which was native freshwater stuff. Interestingly enough, beyond the trout and minnows and bass, we had, I also had penguins in my exhibit. We had four Humboldt penguins in an enclosure that was not as big as this dining room. Read More
And you are an Aquarius, is that the position?… Read More
Yep, Aquarius. And what did an Aquarius do?… Read More
So I called she aqua, I said, Hey, just in case anything opens, I’m back in town. Turns out the very position I had vacated about eight months earlier was open. So if they took me back and I said, okay, this time I’ll stay. So 40 years later I… Read More
So this is in 1977, That’s when I started. And then you come back Ended 1978. Read More
And came back to Chicago and I thought, great, what am I gonna do now with a biology degree?… Read More
The river that went along our property never had water in it. The six months I was out there. And my only fun was when friends would come to visit me and we went up into the mountains camping. So after six months I said, oh, I told, I, I… Read More
I’m going back. And he’s like, oh, come on man, you know?… Read More
And I said it, I’m sorry, I’ve just not been happy out here and I wish you the best of luck. Read More
And he had several, he owned several equipment rental facilities and had other business interests. And we were one of them. But when we came to him and said, you know, our business plan is such and we’re probably not gonna realize a profit for five years, he kind of… Read More
And then I get this letter, I’m like, oh. And I finally, it was a tough decision. I said, you know what, I gotta try it. I gotta go for it. So five months at the aquarium, I, I tell ’em I’m leaving and I’m like, ah, I hope I’m… Read More
There was nobody my age give or take five years. And I remember I was so desperate to meet people. I went out to a couple of bars, one of which was in a Holiday Inn, the other was in a Chinese restaurant. So that speaks to desperation. That went… Read More
I worked at jackhammer settling, torch cutting. I mean we were doing everything to start this operation. And the bottom line is he’s, he’s offered me a position out there and he said, you know, come on out here. We’ll give you part ownership in the company. We’ll get you… Read More
Gosh, probably wasn’t until my friend didn’t, from grad school say, Hey, there’s a job opening at Shedd aquarium. ’cause again, my interest was in working at a, an aquaculture facility. As a matter of fact, I had that opportunity. And this was a weird turn of events in grad… Read More
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I got the job at Shedd, I’m there for about five months. Steve writes me this long letter, which I, I came upon last couple of years. I thought it was long gone. He said, Hey man, it’s happening. I got a spot out here… Read More