Seahorses on Parade

   May I make a confession?

      I have not always wanted to be a researcher. No, I have not always delved the depths of the sea in search of mysteries and the depths of libraries in search of knowledge. When I was very young I had but one special wish:

     I wished to be a beauty queen and to ride a seahorse in a parade. 

     And today that wish came true.

     Now before you erudites turn the page in intellectual disgust, let me assure you, my flight of fancy was in the name of research - I have not forsaken my life's work for a tiara and a pony - it's simple kismet that the two spheres have finally collided.

     Nearly 25 years ago (has it really been that long?) my mother took me and my sisters to Manza Bay – it was a long trip from our home in Samoan waters, and I’m afraid we complained unrelentingly, but when we got there we were met with such a bevy of delights that our eyes could not grow wide enough to take them all in. swirls and stripes of pinks and oranges, coral splashes on whisping fins, deep blues with starry spots and every shade of green and yellow like waves of new kelp across the ocean floor: thousands of the world’s most beautiful hippocampi, and their equally glamorous riders, gathered for the annual Parade of Seahorses in the humble bay of Manza.

     From that moment I was transfixed. And last month, 25 years after that childhood fancy took root in my heart, having attained the less glamorous, but no less desired dream of becoming a research journalist, I got a call asking me to return as a special guest – to join in the parade and – yes - even to participate in the beauty contest as an honorary contestant. What could I do? I said yes!

    Originally conceived as a sort of show-and-tell for local seahorse breeders to brag about their newest stock, the event quickly drew gawkers from far and wide. And there's no question as to why. The Stellar Seahorse - an offshoot of the common workaday hippocampus - has been bred for thousands of years to a single purpose: Eye candy. Pinks and oranges, yellows and greens, seahorses of every size, shape, and color glitter in the light of the bay. They fill the air with gasps of joy and wonder as they flutter by on their shimmering, fairy-like fins.

     I had one of my own for the day – a frisky yellow seahorse flecked with coral-red spots. His name was Hibiscus and he, as well as a matching crimson gown and my very own seashell tiara, were gifts from the Pageant Coordinator, Mahiri Sarr.

     “Shameless bribes,” she joked when she showed them to me, “we can’t have a scathing article giving us bad press!”

     If they are bribes, I accept them - judge me if you must. Like many beauty pageants and breeder shows, the Parade of Seahorses has had its share of scrutiny. Many believe that the selective breeding of hippocampi for beauty leads to bad husbandry practices and unhealthy bloodlines. But the pageant has strict regulations on breeders and the health and viability of the animals is a key factor in their judging.

 

     But today I was too swept up to worry about such controversies. As I waited for the festivities to begin in the technicolored crowd of seahorses and riders – floating there like living parade floats – I was filled with pure joy at the breathtaking display of natural beauty. It is mind boggling to me to imagine how such intricate patterns of color, phosphorescence, and luminosity have come about in nature. Human hands labor and strive to bring beauty about – weaving it in cloth and penning it to paper, yet these carefree beasts simply grow into it without effort or thought. But before my mind could wonder further, the parade had begun and I was whisked away in a blur of cheerful participants.

     It may sadden you to know that I did not become Miss Seahorse: 2014 and my faithful mount, Hibiscus, did not take Best-in-Show - but it does not sadden me. Miss Hanumi Sibale took that honor, and deserved every bit of it. She, too, was a first time participant and, in her victory speech, she told of a time as a child when she dreamed of this day – a dream that we shared and that I’m happy to have lived vicariously through her.

     So you have suffered through my bought of childhood wish-fulfillment, and I thank you for your indulgence. Now that all my dreams have come true I have need of a new set of wishes, haven’t I? I don’t know what those shall be, but I am excited to find them out.