Waterworld

Summary

Snap Judgment: "Waterworld" Episode Summary

Release Date: November 7, 2024
Host/Author: Snap Judgment and PRX

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Introduction

In the "Waterworld" episode of Snap Judgment, listeners are taken on a riveting journey that intertwines tales of heroism, resilience, and the profound connections between humans and animals. Hosted by Glen Washington, the episode delves into two compelling stories: the extraordinary rescue of a dolphin named Dr. Spock by NBA legend Clifford Ray and the harrowing experiences of Ray Christian during Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

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1. Clifford Ray Saves Dr. Spock

Background: Clifford Ray’s Journey

Clifford Ray, affectionately known as "Big Cliff," shares his early life growing up on a struggling farm in Michigan. From a young age, Clifford learned the values of hard work and resilience from his father. His upbringing on the farm instilled in him a strong work ethic, which later translated into his successful basketball career.

Clifford Ray [02:08]: "My mom would always take a hand and push it in my back. And she'd say, I know you want to be like everybody else, but you're not like everybody else."

Clifford's unique height, standing at 6 foot 9, initially made him feel isolated during his school years. However, his perspective shifted during his college years at the University of Oklahoma, where he embraced his stature, leading to a fruitful career in the NBA.

The Dolphin Rescue Incident

In February 1978, an unprecedented emergency unfolds at Marine World Africa, USA. Dr. Spock, the park's prized bottlenose dolphin, swallows a three-inch bolt from his tank, posing a dire threat to his life. Given the complexity of performing surgery on a dolphin, the situation seemed almost hopeless until a lifeline emerged in the form of Clifford Ray.

Mary O'Haran [06:01]: "I witnessed one of our stake bed trucks with marine mammal transport... and there was a dolphin. And I'm like, oh, no. What has happened?"

Recognizing Clifford's unique physical advantage—his exceptionally long wingspan of over 8 feet—the park executive, Mary O'Haran, reaches out for his assistance. Despite skepticism from others, Clifford steps up to the challenge.

Clifford Ray [16:38]: "I hope I can help because they tried to do everything they could possibly do."

The Rescue Operation

Clifford arrives at Marine World and, under intense pressure, follows precise instructions to retrieve the bolt from Dr. Spock's throat. The procedure is fraught with tension, as Clifford has only minutes before the dolphin risks suffocating.

Clifford Ray [24:02]: "My job is to go through the first stomach, go through the second stomach, find the bolt, if it's not facing me, to turn it over and put the sharp point on the inside of my paw."

With courage and meticulous effort, Clifford successfully extracts the bolt, saving Dr. Spock's life. The dolphin responds with affection, symbolizing the deep bond formed during the ordeal.

Clifford Ray [37:15]: "He was fine. Once he blew, we put him back in the water."

Aftermath and Legacy

Clifford's heroic act earns him recognition and a lasting legacy. Marine World honors him by bronzing the bolt and presenting it to his father. Clifford continues to maintain a special relationship with Dr. Spock, visiting the dolphin regularly and deepening his appreciation for marine life.

Clifford Ray [40:43]: "Dolphins really were... pretty spiritual animals."

In recognition of his bravery, Clifford teams up with author Laney D. Weaver to publish a children’s book titled Big Clifford Ray Saves the Day, immortalizing his extraordinary feat.

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2. Ray Christian’s Struggle During Hurricane Helene

Introduction to Ray Christian

The episode shifts focus to Ray Christian, a resident of Boone, North Carolina, who recounts his harrowing experience during Hurricane Helene. Unlike the calm and control depicted in Clifford Ray's story, Ray's narrative underscores the chaos and devastation wrought by natural disasters.

The Storm’s Impact

Hurricane Helene strikes without warning, unleashing torrential rains and powerful winds that devastate the Blue Ridge Mountains. Infrastructure collapses, homes are destroyed, and communities are left in disarray.

Narrator [44:49]: "Rivers beside the house sounded like a freight train... The bridge leading to the house was gone."

Ray and his family face unimaginable challenges as they navigate the flooded and debris-ridden landscape. With roads impassable and communication lines down, the family is forced to make swift and difficult decisions to ensure their safety and that of their livestock.

Ray Christian [45:53]: "We all were dumbfounded, looking at the road twisted and broken, the bridges gone."

Survival and Loss

In the aftermath, Ray confronts the heartbreaking reality of leaving behind his beloved animals. Despite attempts to save them by providing food, he must ultimately release them, trusting in their instincts for survival.

Narrator [47:50]: "Brownie was looking in good shape, but like she had got shampooed and went to a beauty shop or something."

Ray's determination to return and check on his animals exemplifies the deep bond between humans and their animals, even in the face of disaster.

Rebuilding and Hope

After days of navigating the devastated terrain, Ray and his wife find temporary refuge at their daughter’s home in Boom, North Carolina. Exhausted but resilient, Ray ventures back to assess the damage and is met with a glimmer of hope when his goat, Brownie, survives the storm unscathed.

Narrator [55:56]: "Brownie was looking in good shape... I felt like I had accomplished something I never dreamed I would."

Ray's story is a testament to human resilience and the enduring spirit to rebuild and recover in the aftermath of natural calamities.

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Conclusion

The "Waterworld" episode of Snap Judgment masterfully weaves together stories of extraordinary human courage and the unbreakable bonds between humans and animals. From Clifford Ray's heroic rescue of Dr. Spock to Ray Christian's unwavering determination during Hurricane Helene, the episode highlights themes of bravery, resilience, and the profound connections that define our humanity. Through engaging narratives and powerful quotes, listeners are inspired to reflect on their own capacities for heroism and the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity.

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Notable Quotes:

• Clifford Ray [08:18]: "Aquaman was one of my heroes because he could talk to all the fish."
• Clifford Ray [16:38]: "I hope I can help because they tried to do everything they could possibly do."
• Ray Christian [45:56]: "We ain't get like no local broadcast, no nothing. We all dumbfounded, looking at the road twisted and broken."

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For more stories like these, visit snapjudgment.org.

Transcript

[Glen Washington]

SNAP Studios. It's like the Holy Grail or the white whale. But only for farmers. See, I'm eight years old, living with my folks, my brother, on a failing farm in the thumb of Michigan. When Pops gets this wild idea. See, One harvest, even if it goes well, it leaves us broke. But two harvests, two harvests in a single year will be rolling in the dough. Just gotta know how to thread the needle. He tells me that you want to plant early. Early. But not too early. Because if you plant too early in Michigan, anything can happen. A late snow, frost, hail. Baby beans hate cold. Baby beans hate everything. But if we time it just right, we're golden. Plant early, harvest early, then plant again. That's the trick to harvest. Simple. My question, if it's so easy, why doesn't everybody, everybody just know what we know? What do we we know about hard work? Uh oh. My father doesn't believe in hiring farmhands like the other farmers do. Pop says hard work is what I have sons for. And we have to be ready. Being ready means we have to break the soil early. March. Breaking means chopping into breaking up soil when it's still bitter Michigan cold outside and the ground is still frozen. Not May, like suckers who wait for the ground to soften up. Not us.

[Mary O'Haran]

No.

[Glen Washington]

So every day after getting off the school bus, Pops hands my brother and I a hoe. Marches us off to the field to start chopping the frozen soil. But this ain't dirt. This is concrete masquerading as dirt. It's iron. Wheat chop. My brother and I. This dirt. Cement. Stroke after blistering stroke, doing hard time. My blisters have blisters. Just chop, chop, chop. The other farmers, the ones with tractors and plows, they drive by looking at us like we're crazy. Because we're crazy. Chopping, chop, chop. Wondering who is gonna break first, the soil or me. Finally, we break the entire field. And that's just step one. Cause we gotta get to planting. Pressing beans into the ground, covering them with rocky soil. Each one a little prayer. Please don't freeze. Please Lord, make my father so rich we never have to do this again.

[Mary O'Haran]

Please.

[Glen Washington]

The cold sky waits patiently until inch by inch by broken inch, we plant the entire field. The impossible accomplished. And I feel that swell of pride. Job well done. Look up to see slate gray clouds boiling, crackling, laughing. Then the sky decides she's waited long enough and explodes Like a burst dam. A river falls on us. Sheet after sheet of water on our fields, on our beams, on our souls. And I don't know if I'm crying because I'm covered in wet. The next day, we survey the damage. A muddy, messy remnant of a field. Months of hard work washed away. Pops. Pops still has that gleam in his eye. Boys, boys, we gonna need more seed. From KQED's Snap Studios, Snap Judgment proudly presents Waterworld. Because everything is about to get wet. My name is Glen Washington and. Go ahead. Go on ahead. Please enjoy your beans when you're listening to Snap Judgment. Now then, sometimes in live snappers, there's only one person who can get the job done. And our story begins right here in the Bay Area, the animal theme park, Marine World Africa, USA. Her park executive, Mary O'Haran, was on her way back to the office when something peculiar caught her eye. Set judgment.

[Mary O'Haran]

Well, there's many things that happen at a wild animal park, but this day was particularly incredible. I was walking out from lunch to the back gate of the park, and I witnessed one of our stake bed trucks with marine mammal transport. It's like a gurney, but made for marine mammals. And there was a dolphin. And I'm like, oh, no. What has happened?

[Clifford Ray]

On the truck was marine world's most prized bottleneck dolphin, Dr. Spock, all 12ft and over 1,000 pounds of him on a gurney.

[Mary O'Haran]

So I instantly went down to the vet clinic to see what had happened.

[Clifford Ray]

A three inch bolt had gotten loose in the dolphin tank. And Dr. Spock went right for it, thinking it was some kind of treat.

[Mary O'Haran]

And as he swam to the top of the surface, he swallowed this bolt.

[Clifford Ray]

As soon as the crew realized Dr. Spock swallowed the bolt, they knew they had a problem.

[Mary O'Haran]

They had to find out where the bolt was. If an animal like a dolphin swallowed that bolt, it could potentially kill them. They have to consciously breathe the blowhole. And you can't anesthetize a dolphin. You can't do surgery on a dolphin like that. It would have been too risky.

[Clifford Ray]

The only other option was to get a vet tech to reach inside through Dr. Spock's mouth and try to grab it.

[Mary O'Haran]

And the longest arm we had was not very long. I then went up to the president of the park's office, and he was in there with the vet tech. And that's where I heard the vet tech say, we need a longer arm to reach this. Then the story began.

[Clifford Ray]

I was always taller than other kids. My mom would always take a hand and push it in my back. And she'd say, I know you want to be like everybody else, but you're not like everybody. Else. And you need to walk up straight. I want you to walk proud. You have a lot to be proud of. Walk proud. And so my mom was always pushing at me to be proud that I was tall. When I just wanted to fit in, I just wanted to be like all the other kids.

The one place young Clifford Ray didn't have to worry about fitting in was by the Union, South Carolina rivers and creeks where he would spend hours by himself. It was there he found his first true passion. Fish.

I was always thinking about fish. I wasn't a hunter. I just liked fish. I just thought it was so many different colors fish. I would run around the whole dang on the lake. I was seeing fish in the lake thinking, man, I wonder what's the biggest fish out there. I would always think there was a 30 pounder or 20 pounder or something. You know, I had comic books that were, you know, different heroes.

[Narrator]

Aquaman, swift and powerful monarch of the.

[Clifford Ray]

Ocean, with ability to summon and command all creatures. And Aquaman was one of my heroes because he could talk to all the fish. He could always get a herd of whales if he needed to fight for the betterment of the water. I was always fascinated by that. And I was always fascinated by, I hope they don't screw up the ocean. And then Flipper came.

[Glen Washington]

It's Flipper, the fabulous dolphin.

[Clifford Ray]

And I remember going to the movies and I said, God, is the ocean really blue? I said, God, I like to swim with dolphins, or I like to be that kid.

[Glen Washington]

It's the story of a dolphin, an.

[Narrator]

Amazing one, and a boy who becomes his friend. And it's the story of their wonderful adventures together.

[Clifford Ray]

You just had all these things going through your mind that you wanted. You didn't know if it was just the movie or if it was truly the ocean was truly that big. They call him Flipper. Flipper, faster than lightning. No one you see is because I'd never seen the ocean. My imagination made everything that was a body of water. I thought it was the ocean. I never had a boat, but I would always think I was in a boat. And I would be out on the lake and I would think, oh, there's a dolphin. I was always thinking about dolphins. Dolphins. Like a beautiful rainbow.

Dreaming of dolphins in the ocean were an escape from school where Clifford couldn't hide from being tall. He just always seemed to stand out, but not in a good way.

We used to have a dance, like on Fridays. They would always have, like toward that last hour or less, class hour, they would have what they call a social Hour. You always wanted to dance with somebody that you kind of had a little admiration for or whatever. And they would always look up to you like this, and they go, you're too tall. You know, it was like a hot knife cutting through you, you know? Cause you were like, I'm not like everybody else. There was that insecurity because of how others view you.

Clifford kept growing past 6ft and eventually sprouted all the way to 6 foot 9.

I never saw the uniqueness of being tall until I went to college.

The University of Oklahoma offered Cliff a basketball scholarship. And now for the skinny, gangly, too tall kid.

Girls were eager to want to dance with you and all that, you know, things that didn't happen to me when I was in school. And growing up in my hometown when I got to college was probably the first time that I felt it was okay to be tall.

Clifford became a star on the hardwood for Oklahoma. And in 1971, he was the third round pick of the Chicago Bulls.

There is Clifford Ray.

[Narrator]

Clifford Ray underneath. Look at Clifford. Ray ducked that ball. Hey now, man.

[Clifford Ray]

I decided I was going to go play in the NBA, so I went to Chicago. I did great. Clifford Ray holds the ball high. Oh, my.

[Narrator]

What a shot by Big Cliff. Oh, Clifford.

[Clifford Ray]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Get up in the air.

[Clifford Ray]

But even while in the NBA, Clifford couldn't stop thinking about dolphins.

I always liked dolphins, so I was always trying to figure out where I could go see them.

On team road trips, he'd go out of his way to find local aquariums or aquatic parks.

I was always going to those parks. You know, the team, they would get tickets for us. So we always was able to go around the shows and see them do things, perform.

Then in 1975, Clifford got traded from the Bulls to the Golden State Warriors. So he started visiting Marine World Africa, usa, where he knew he could find dolphins. And that's where he met Mary. So how did you and Clifford meet?

[Mary O'Haran]

None of your business. No. Yes. Clifford is an animal lover. Players on the team would come and bring their families. He could walk in through any gate.

[Clifford Ray]

When she went to work for Marine World, I would go down there and visit. She said, oh, but you need to come down. You love animals so much. So I came down. I got to be around the Lions and the Tigers. I always liked the Tigers. I was a big fan of them.

[Narrator]

Marine World's open this weekend, so come on out. This cat works every Saturday and Sunday and then has five days a week off. Of course, he could have the whole.

[Clifford Ray]

Week off if he wanted to. They even named a tiger after me called Johan because that was my nickname. Everybody knew me as Johan. So they had a baby tiger and I got to take him home a couple of times. And he was real cool.

Clifford was a regular at Marine World, and of course, his absolute favorite attraction to visit was the dolphin show.

I love to go over there where they were swimming and they'd come up and you could, you know, rub their nose. And they had a ski show. I just liked them because they were so personable. They would entertain you.

Clifford was not supposed to be in town that day in February of 1978 when Dr. Spock swallowed a three inch bolt. The warriors were on the road, but Clifford wasn't with them.

I was grounded and I was at home rehab. I was, you know, going to physical therapy. I was getting treatment. And then they finally cleared me to join the team and they were in Washington, D.C. that day.

He was waiting for a car headed to the airport at the very moment Dr. Spock was on the stretcher. When Mary heard the vets say they needed a longer arm.

[Mary O'Haran]

I said, well, Clifford Ray's in town. He was nursing a little injury and he happens to be home. We could reach him.

[Clifford Ray]

Clifford had the NBA's longest measured wingspan at just over 8ft. Right before Clifford walked out of the door, his phone rang.

[Mary O'Haran]

I did call him and say, hey, this is crazy, but we need your help.

[Clifford Ray]

I'm thinking that I hope I can help because they tried to do everything they could possibly do.

So the call with Mary was brief. All he knew was that an animal was in trouble. He did not know it was a 1000 pound dolphin.

I just knew that I was going to be having to do something. They wanted me to do something. I didn't know what.

Mary told him to park his car at the airport and a limo would be there to take him to Marine world. But meanwhile, Dr. Spock was strapped to a gurney and running out of time.

When I got there, there was a guy standing there and he had a suit on and everything. And he said, I'm here to take you to Marine World. There's a problem there and your team knows about it. The guy didn't know pretty much what was going on. I didn't want to take his word for it, so I asked to use the phone.

Clifford needed to make sure the warriors were okay with this. This was their 1975 championship. Starting center we're talking about.

The general manager said, you're supposed to go with these guys in the limo and they're gonna get you back to the airport and they're gonna get you to Washington and you won't be late for the game, which is the next day.

Turns out not only were the warriors cool with it, an entire plan full of people were gonna wait to take off while he went to try to save a dolphin.

I knew what town I was supposed to be leaving and they said, don't worry, they won't leave you. I just figured that however long it was gonna take me to do this, I was still gonna have time to go directly to the plane and so I got in the car.

[Glen Washington]

Now, after the break, can Big Cliff come through in crunch time? Stay tuned. As the weather gets cooler, I'm looking forward to hollering at football games, making pots of Glen's awesome chili, and sporting my cool fall wardrobe from Quince. Yeah, Quince quality garments that feel as good as they look. Quince is known for their Mongolian cashmere sweaters. Just $50 and they are beautiful. But all Quince Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. Gorgeous leather jacket, soft denim. So much more. How? By cutting out the middleman. And right now, right this moment, I'm sporting Quince's FlownIt Breeze performance long sleeve polo. It's perfect for the season. Get cozy in Quince's high quality wardrobe essentials. Go to quince.com snap for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q U I N C E dot com snap to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com snap spark something uncommon this holiday with just the right gift from Uncommon Goods. Yes, the holiday season is here and Uncommon Goods makes it less stressful with incredible hand picked gifts for everyone on your list. All in one spot. Gifts that spark, joy, wonder, delight. And that it's exactly what I wanted feeling. Let me tell you what I did. I got on the Uncommon Goods site typed in robots. You can type in whatever it is you dig, but I typed in robots. And now this crazy kid on my list is going to be the proud owner of the Creatures creative building kit. Something cool I wouldn't have found anywhere else. I should have got two. One for him, one for me. To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com snap that's UncommonGoods.com snap for 15% off. Don't miss out on this limited time offer. Uncommon Goods for all out of the ordinary. Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Waterworld episode. When last we left, an entire plane was being held for Warrior Center Clifford Ray as he was whisked off to Marine World to attempt to rescue a dolphin who had just swallowed a 3 inch long metal bolt. The clock is ticking. Step judgment.

[Clifford Ray]

20 minutes after being picked up at the airport, Clifford's limo pulled up to Marine World as all six foot nine of him emerged.

When I got there, that's when I realized what was going on. Cause they took me right to the medical facility and then I saw Dr. Spock. He was on the table.

Dr. Spock was 12ft long and secured to the gurney to keep him from moving around.

By that time I'd seen dolphins not that close up, but I'd seen him close up. In captivity. There's different kind of sizes of dolphins, you know. But he was a big dolphin.

How did he compare to you?

I would have to say he was as long as me, way bigger.

Did he look distressed?

Oh, no, not at all. Dolphins are really brilliant animals. He knew something was wrong with him because they took him out of the tank and they put him on a gurney and they transported him over from the tank to the medical facility.

Clifford was surrounded by two vets who were aided by four technicians.

They was keeping him wet down because they can get dehydrated. They had a wet blanket over him and then they would put this cold water over him to keep his whole body wet.

[Mary O'Haran]

We were anxious to get the animal back in his water. That's what we were really anxious to do.

[Clifford Ray]

So anyways, I came over them and they said, I think we can make this happen.

One look at big Clifford Ray and the vets on site thought he had just the length to help Dr. Spock.

The head doctor for all of the marine animals. His headquarters is down in Los Angeles. So they got him on the intercom, the chief guy, and who has experience with everything.

The doctor on the intercom explained to Clifford that he would need to stick his arm into Dr. Spock's throat and reach down into the stomach to try to retrieve the bolt.

[Mary O'Haran]

The animal has two stomachs, one for storage and one for digestion.

[Clifford Ray]

My job is to go through the first stomach, go through the second stomach, find the boat, if it's not facing me, to turn it over and put the sharp point on the inside of my paw. So that's going to protect it. Once I got the boat, then all I had to do was just stand to the side, just slowly pull out.

But Clifford only had roughly three minutes to be inside before Dr. Spock would be at risk of suffocating if I.

Didn'T have that boat in my hand. Then I would have had to come out within the next minute and then try it again. So he ran down all of that stuff to me over the intercom. I'm thinking, they are nuts. I'm going, first of all, he's gonna let me do that.

[Mary O'Haran]

Dolphin's teeth are two rows of sharp teeth. The mouth was open. They took two towels. They were damp. Two trainers were on either side of his mouth, covering the teeth with the towels. And they held the mouth open to make sure that it didn't. It's not going to snap close.

[Clifford Ray]

Dolphin don't have the kind of teeth like a shark, so he can't come down on you because he was strapped in and he wasn't jumping around because he knew something was wrong with him. So he was subdued.

Clifford said that everyone from his team's management to the on site vets seemed to think this was a safe situation.

I think that they must have convinced them that it was totally going to be a safe thing and they had it under control or whatever. So I didn't ever think anything about it.

[Mary O'Haran]

Those were the early days. Those were the old days when people did that kind of stuff. Nobody thought anything of it in those days. Sure, Clifford can come down. Clifford knows his body.

[Clifford Ray]

I'm always curious about things and I always like to learn things about animals. So this was like a great education for me about an animal that I actually had an affiliate. I liked them. I love dolphin.

So no hesitations?

No, no. I thought I was like the little kid who played in Flipper, only I was an adult. So of course I was, you know, ecstatic and excited about it.

Big Cliff knew his mission. As the medical techs began prepping Clifford for the procedure.

Well, they trimmed my fingernails and then I had to take off. I had a long sweatshirt on. I took off everything. Then I put on scrubs. They took scissors and cut the shoulder part all the way around. So now they pulled that off and then they used a lubricant. They made a little laugh when they said KY jelly.

But before Clifford could jump into action and try to save Dr. Spock, the media entered the medical area.

They was all entering the room. They didn't let them in at first. Then once I was ready to do the procedure, now they allowed everybody to film. They were right there like this. They're all on top. You know, everybody's trying to get their coverage, the warriors involved. So I'm a Warrior, So I'm representing my team as well as representing Marine World and You know, sea animals.

A few onlookers couldn't phase big Clifford Ray. This was a man who made a living playing in front of crowds.

I didn't even think about them people. I did think about one thing, what I needed to do to save this dolphin's life.

[Mary O'Haran]

As the vet was saying, you know, we have three minutes, guys. Let's get going. And sure enough, it began.

[Clifford Ray]

As the doctor spoke to Clifford over the intercom, everybody was quiet.

He was just telling me what I was going to experience. The technicians were constantly patting him down with water, keeping him damp and moist. And so it was about 4 of those people that were directly working physically with the dolphin, making sure he wasn't jumping or he didn't jump off the table or whatever the deal was.

[Mary O'Haran]

You could hear a pin drop in there. There wasn't anyone that was going to speak out except the vet and Clifford.

[Clifford Ray]

With the doc on the intercom guiding his first move, Clifford inserted his hand into Dr. Spock's mouth.

I was very cautious going in. I didn't never push. I let it move to where he wasn't tense. You could tell we was relaxed because the journey down was smooth. It wasn't like constricted, but if it's relaxed, then you're fine. It's easy to move through the throat area because I don't have to worry about scratching them or nothing like that. They'd already trimmed my nails, but I also had on rubber gloves, so that was a pretty easy entry. As I moved down further past the stroke area, Now I'm moving down into the canal that goes into the first stomach. That's when I started kind of thinking, okay, I got 2.20 seconds. He couldn't bite down because Adam went through. Down through his throat. Most animals, they react to stress, and it had to be stressful to choke him out going down his throat. Right. I think he was smart enough to realize that he was being helped because he didn't flail, he didn't do anything. He just was very calm. So I was calm.

[Mary O'Haran]

The animal was very relaxed, remarkably so. I would not have expected that.

[Clifford Ray]

As Clifford was elbows length into Dr. Spock, he moved past the larynx, the heart and the lungs.

He just said, just push through. Don't feel like you're going to disrupt because you're protected with your gloves. And we trimmed your nails, so you're not going to hurt anything. You're not going to tear anything. Once he went ran through what I'm to feel or expect, he would say, okay, you're gonna feel this. And he goes, okay, where are you? What do you feel? And I said, well, I'm in the stomach. I feel like I'm in the stomach area. He said, okay, now keep moving downward.

But Big Cliff wasn't feeling any metal bulk.

It wasn't lodging his throat. It was already successfully passed through his stomach into the septum. Stomach to be broken down.

So are you feeling around blindly, kind of just hoping to get.

I'm not blind. I'm in a channel. It's like when you on a boat. If you stay within the green and the red, you probably never gonna get stuck. But if you get on the backside of that green or on the backside of that red, you liable to run aground somewhere. So that's pretty much how I viewed the whole concept. I was on the inside of the lining. You understand what I'm saying? So you're not on the outside where you can feel the intestinal, the stomach area. I was on the inside because I went down the passageway there.

Deep within Dr. Spock's stomach. Clifford was entranced.

It made me think of all kinds of things. It made me think of what a baby feels like when she's in a mom's womb and all that. You know, the remarkable things about the inside of a woman's stomach or whatever. I thought about all kinds of stuff. It was warm and damp, but not like cold damp. I went out noodling for catfish, so this was not that big a deal to me.

Fish guts were nothing new to Big Cliff, but his arm was beginning to disappear inside Dr. Spock.

I was praying that I had enough length. I knew I could get through the first stomach because it just seemed not that big of a deal. But an extra few feet, two or three feet, was I going to be able to get down far enough to get to that second stomach to retrieve the boat?

[Mary O'Haran]

He was really brave to put his entire arm. He was all the way up this animal's stomach. I would have been scared doing it. And he just came in like he did this every day.

[Clifford Ray]

Soon, CLIFFORD Ray and Dr. Spock were chin to chin.

That was very intimate, close. That's more than just patting a dolphin or rubbing his head or his nose or throwing a ball to him, and he throws it back. Everything I'd done with them was playful. This was more of a serious scenario where the dolphin knew something was wrong because he wasn't in the water. So it was a little different scenario for both of us. He said, okay, now keep moving downward. Try to go all the way up to your neck, because that's gonna put you on the inside of the second stomach.

As Clifford approached the second stomach, he was also playing against the clock.

I was running out of time. Two minutes and whatever seconds it was. I was down to the wire on that.

[Mary O'Haran]

It was about two and a half minutes in when the vet said, we've got about one minute left. Come on, get ready here to get out. You gotta start removing your arm.

[Clifford Ray]

You know, he'd say, you had two minutes, you know, and don't panic. It's no big deal if you can't get it. If you can't get it and spinning around, then we'll just come out and we'll try it again.

Clifford didn't want to try it again. He wanted to knock it out here and now.

Once I got through the second stomach, I just immediately started kneading around, and all of a sudden I felt the boat itself. So now I moved it into my hand, and I said, okay, I got take the sharp point and put it here this way. All I need to do is to try to turn it around. And so that's what I was able to do.

[Mary O'Haran]

And that's when we heard Clifford say, I got it.

[Clifford Ray]

So once I did that, then I closed my thumb down. So now that sharp point no longer can be a factor of jagging a grabbing something and puncturing the lining. The lining of the dolphin's stomach is of such a thing that if it gets punctured, it affects the whole system, meaning breathing and everything. Water getting in, all that. Now I'm just thinking about turning it over and getting out as quick as I can, because I already was almost running out of time. Once I got the boat, then all I had to do was just stand to the side and just slowly pull out.

[Mary O'Haran]

Everybody has to remain calm because he was pulling it out of the stomach.

[Clifford Ray]

Before the procedure, the vets had warned clifford about how Dr. Spock would likely react once his throat was cleared.

They said, just know that he's going to regurgitate when you come out of his throat. And so I already had made my mind that whenever I retrieved it, got it out, I was going to stand to the side. And them guys that were nosy, they were going to get a dish full of regurgitated fish. All the guys that was like they got a whole spew. Everybody kind of laughed about it. It was pretty funny, actually.

[Mary O'Haran]

It was as gooey as you can get. You know, it's a dolphin's stomach, so there's a lot of fish.

[Clifford Ray]

With the bolt now out of him, Dr. Spock was returned back to the pool just as good as new. But his eyes were still on Big Cliff.

He was fine. Once he blew, we put him back in the water. He was great. He came up to me without the handlers telling him to come up. You know, he'd give him signals and all that. He just came up. I walked around this side, and he followed me around slowly. I imagine he was pretty relieved. That was a foreign object in him pushing down through his area.

[Mary O'Haran]

Who knows what would have had to happen if he hadn't got it. But we don't think like that. We're positive people. We knew we could do it. We knew we could do it. The fact that he was able to help us this way was just spectacular. That's where I realized just how brave he was to jump in a car, come down, help an animal that we needed help with. And he did it. That's all she wrote.

[Clifford Ray]

But Clifford still had a flight to catch and a plane full of people waiting for him to board.

I washed off and everything, and I got dressed, and I got back into the limousine. And riding that many limousine, so it was kind of nice.

In the back of the limo on the way to the airport, Big Cliff couldn't believe what he just experienced.

I felt like I had accomplished something, and I felt like it was something that I never dreamed that I would actually. I would have never dreamed I would do something like that in my lifetime. Really. I don't think anybody would think of that. My dad would always tell us that when you go through life, you're going to experienced some unusual things. So I just figured it was one of those things that my dad talked about.

When he arrived at sfo, the limo drove straight through security and dropped Big Cliff off right on the tarmac.

When I got on the plane and I was in first class, I sat down in my seat. I was actually relaxed. I was on the inside. And this lady said, well, you can sit on the outside, I'll sit on the inside. And I kind of looked at her and she said, so you're the one that's got us waiting? And I was like, yeah.

Clifford ended up telling the woman in the seat next to him the whole story of what happened earlier with Dr. Spock.

She said, that was an awful nice thing you did. She goes, you're probably the only person in the world who's ever done anything like this. And I was like, I never really thought about it like that. And the lady that was Sitting next to me was Elizabeth Taylor. She had these mesmerizing eyes. They were like. I don't know how to describe her. Like Medusa. Her eyes were mesmerizing.

[Glen Washington]

Elizabeth Taylor's eyes were the hypnotic beauty.

[Mary O'Haran]

That pulls you in and doesn't let you go.

[Clifford Ray]

And she's a really nice lady. So it was an interesting trip.

Shortly after saving Dr. Spock, Marine World awarded Clifford Ray with the actual bolt he pulled out of the dolphin's stomach and had it bronzed and put on a plaque that Clifford gave to his dad. And as for Dr. Spock and Dr.

Spock, I visit him all the time. I would go over there by myself. He always come up. He was always aware of me. He'd just come up and he'll walk up on the water like that, or he would come up and put his flipper out. You know, just stuff that he would do if he was doing a show, maybe. But I was in there by myself, so it wasn't like I was giving him any commands. I didn't know if these were things that they trained them to do or this was just natural. And I felt like it was natural. That's when I realized that dolphins really were. They're pretty spiritual animals. I think when I watched Flippa for the first time, I saw how that little boy interacted with the dolphin that he found. And, you know, I just felt like we had a connection. I didn't have to respond to him. He always responded to me. From that point on, he was always aware of me.

Was there much eye?

Oh, yeah. Oh. Just saw that he recognized me and he. I thought he recognized it in the way that this guy helped me. Everyone loves the king of the sea Ever so kind and gentle is he Tricks he will do when children are near and how they laugh when he.

[Glen Washington]

Big, Big, big, Big, Big. Thanks to Clifford Ray and Mary O'Haran for sharing their story with the Snap. After a 10 year professional playing career in the NBA, Clifford spent the last three decades in the league as an assistant coach and consultant. And this year, Big Cliff and author Laney D. Weaver teamed up to bring Clifford and Dr. Spock's story to life in an illustrated children's book called Big Clifford Ray Saves the Day. You can find the link to the book as well as all things social media for Big Cliff on our webpage snapjudgment.org the original score for that story was by Dirk Schwarzoff. It was produced by Bo Walsh. After the break, we're on the ground with Hurricane Helene. Stay TUNED. Snap Judgment is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. Welcome back to Snap Judgment. You're listening to our Waterworld episode. My name is Glen Washington, and when Hurricane Helene raged through North Carolina, we watched in horrors. Waters rose up to destroy homes, towns, livelihoods, people. The first thing we did once the storm passed was to call our good friend and longtime SNAP storyteller, Ray Christian to see how he and his family were doing.

[Narrator]

Hello?

[Ray Christian]

Hey, Ray Tana.

[Narrator]

Hey, how you doing? Doing my best.

[Clifford Ray]

Where are you right now?

[Narrator]

Western North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the town of Boone, North Carolina.

[Ray Christian]

So tell me what happened from the beginning. I don't know where you were or when you moved.

[Narrator]

We saw the news that a storm was coming, but we don't. These are not the kind of issues that came about, don't occur in the mountain. Oh. So we were at home. And I remember that it rained most of the day, but then it rained really hard during the night. Torrential. You couldn't. You couldn't step out on the porch. It was like buckets of water, you know, it was that clearly different. The feel of it was different, heavy. And the creeks beside the house sounded like a freight train. Sun came up. It was like from a little creek. There was a river beside my house and river in front, river on the side, just rushing water bringing boulders with it. The bridge leading to the house was gone. Just all kind of rocks and stuff.

[Ray Christian]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Did you.

[Ray Christian]

Were you under evacuation warnings before then?

[Narrator]

No, I didn't hear anything like that. No, no, no, no. It was like instantaneous with no warnings. Most of the people didn't get any of that. And if you knew, you couldn't have told nobody because the cell phone towers were out, the radio station was down, was underwater. So we ain't get like no local broadcast, no nothing. We all dumbfounded, you know, looking at the road twisted and broken, the bridges gone. Couple people on the other side now. What's a river, you know, like, trapped over there. A couple older people. The asphalt, the road was peeled up like it was paper, like it just like nothing. It didn't even. Or broken all the bridges, you know, mudslides, little, small mudslides. We didn't sleep or I didn't sleep for at least two days. I knew that we couldn't stay there. We got rivers on the side of your house where they shouldn't be. That my thinking is that's an avalanche about to happen. Rocks and boulders rolling, you know, a 25 pound rock hit you or, you know, bust a hole right through your car and take it away. So at some point I said, man, we need to get the hell out of here. You know, the more I was looking at the road, I knew I couldn't come back. And I was looking at the animals and I was thinking, how am I going to feed them? You know, I'm not going to be able to get back here. I couldn't bring them with me and I didn't want to just leave them. But it's kind of well understood you want to give the animals a chance to do it on their own. If you can't take them, let them loose, you know, give them a chance and their instinct will kick in and they should try to be sinking higher, seeking higher ground.

[Ray Christian]

What animals did you have that you turned out?

[Narrator]

Goats, chickens, ducks, probably. One of my favorite goats that I have now is Brownie. I've had her a couple of years. She had a baby. One of my favorite goats. Very friendly, very friendly, man. Walk right up to you, kiss you, really lovable. So many of the goats are not. You can't. You can't touch them. They don't want to be touched or handled. But she did, I mean, supposed to show favorites, man. She survived a lot. We had a really hard winter, so I lost several goats. Brownie survived that. She survived the disease. She was pregnant. She kidded she had a baby and had a difficult time getting her to really nurse the babies. And usually what I had been advised to do by friends in the valley who keep goats is sheep, was that if they fail to want to nurse, then that's not a goat that's worth keeping. You get rid of them. But I didn't. When we were leaving the house, you know, the wind was blowing hard and it was raining. So I made that decision. I took a look, food that we had left, and I bust the bags open, I poured it out there for them and basically just opened it up to let them go because they knew I already knew that they would probably seek higher ground on their own, and I couldn't do anything for them. But I just opened up the gate all the way. You know, goats got funny eyes, rubbed her head, I gotta let y'all go. And it broke my heart to do that. I looked at Brownie and told her, I'll see you the next time. You know what to do. Go. We gotta go. Me and my wife, we took a small backpack because it was already hard to walk on that terrain. And we started our walk out. So you're not just walking straight across. You know, feel you gotta maneuver around barbed wire and other debris, you know, that's in the mud.

[Ray Christian]

And what was your plan? Where did you think you were gonna go?

[Narrator]

Well, at that point, it was trying to get out of that, you know, and get close to town. As we were walking, trying to make our way out, you could see appliances, a CPAP machine, furniture and clothes everywhere. Clothes in the top of trees, blankets, doll babies, stuffed toys. Walking out was scary because there was no way of knowing what was around the next turn, what town were you trying to reach. Boom. Couldn't get there because all the roads leading there were destroyed and impassable. You couldn't reach it. And a lot of the smaller towns are non existent now. What was happening at this point is other people are doing that same thing. You know, it's like this kind of. I don't know, you think about people in some. Not think about footage I've seen of Germans at the end of World War II that are walking through rubble. You know, we're all in it together. I mean, that, that's when you start having people, like people informally creating some kind of chain of water and food and stuff. The road is being worked on just by local people. Ain't no government. I'm talking about like country folks with tractors or a backhoe. It's like somebody got a truck, they'll fill it up with all the bottle of water they can get and they'll get to another point in the road and somebody will take it from them. That little corner store out in the country has become another hub where people are dropping off anything they got.

[Ray Christian]

What's the name of that store?

[Narrator]

Plan B.

[Ray Christian]

That's the name of the store?

[Narrator]

Yeah, Plan B. Because before you. Before you can go into town, this your last chance to get something.

[Ray Christian]

Well, that's amazing.

[Narrator]

There were several points along that were thinking maybe, maybe, maybe we need to get back to the house. But, you know, we were committed. A couple people were coming back saying definitely you can't go across here. Another point came when a guy in a four wheeler came by, you know, Matt, you know, coming through the rub or whatnot, and hitched a ride with him.

[Ray Christian]

Like you guys climbed on the back four wheeler?

[Narrator]

Yeah. And he took us to the point at Plan B and my daughter picked us up from there. She lives in town in Boom. Like up on a hill in Boom. When me and my wife got to my daughter's house, we were tired and exhausted, both of us. We just were so sleepy. And my daughter was trying to make us comfortable as possible. And her children, my grandchildren, they wanted to play and we were letting talk about the storm much with them. But inside my head, I was feeling stress. I really was feeling stressed about getting back to the animals. But every time the kids would see me in that mood, they would ask and I would change the subject. But I really wanted to leave. But we were so tired, it didn't take us long to pass out. So one of the first things I did next day when I got up early in the morning was try to make my way back so I could check on the animals.

[Ray Christian]

So then how did you get back home?

[Narrator]

Kind of the same process of getting a ride to a ride and slowly, slowly made my ass down through the valley. As I was walking up the road to the house, see what was left. I turned on the curve on the road and I could see that the roof of the house above the tree line was still there. That was a good thing. I could see the fence where I kept the animals in. I didn't see any at all. I could see the front of the house. It was still there. All that looks good. But now I'm wondering about the animals. And initially I don't see any. As I got closer, the two black and white ghosts just ran out, being closely followed by a whole flock of chickens and ducks and guinea birds. But now I'm wondering, you know, where is Brownie? And at the same time, I'm thinking I should be thankful I got all these animals. I see a few chickens, few animals are missing, but where's Brownie? And I started thinking to myself that she probably didn't make it. I was fortunate that I have these. And I continued to walk up the road and still didn't see Brownie. And all of a sudden she walked from behind the barn. And then she ran up and it was unimaginable. I was unimaginably happy. Then the others came out and they would, you know, making noises. They trot, you know, goats got a funny way walking.

[Ray Christian]

Did it look like she'd been through a hurricane or.

[Narrator]

No, no, no, no, no, no. Brownie was looking in good shape, but like she had got shampooed and went. Went to beauty shop or something. Eyelashes did look kind of extra good. I knew there were bigger things to think about. And I know the Appalachians got a long way to go. I know there's a lot more work to be done. But right then and there, just sitting with Brownie and rubbing on her head and rubbing her mouth, I'm gonna give myself just this moment.

[Ray Christian]

Thanks for talking with us today, Ray. I know you're swamped, but we're thinking about you. And let us know if you need anything.

[Narrator]

Good stuff. Good stuff. All right. I'm just here on this mountain right now. I ain't going nowhere.

[Clifford Ray]

Okay.

[Ray Christian]

Okay, you got it. Stay safe.

[Narrator]

Thanks.

[Clifford Ray]

Bye. Bye.

[Ray Christian]

Okay, bye.

[Glen Washington]

Thanks so much to Dr. Ray Christian. Even weeks out, it is hard to put into words the extent of the devastation in areas of North Carolina. Ray's busy trying to haul away all the damaged furniture from his home and help his neighbors as well. And if you want to help the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, check out our website for some information that Ray has found. Snapjudgment.org the original score was by Derek Barber. This piece was produced by Anna Sussman. Yes. If you missed even a moment, know that a brand new package of wonder and delight drops on Snap Judgment storytelling podcast each and every week for free. Let the people rejoice. Entry to SNAP Studios can be solely accessed by a mysterious, magical door that moves around the KQED building of its own accord. There is no lock. There is no key. The doors swing open only if your heart is pure. SNAP is brought to you by the team that is able to come and go through this Snap Judgment door at will. Except for the uber rooster, Mr. Mark Ristic. Because the door only allows entry to the pure of heart. Now there's Nancy Lopez, Pat Receiving Miller, Anna Sussman, Renzo Gorio, John Fasille, Shayna Shealy, Teo Dakot, Flo Wiley, Bo Walsh, Marissa Dodge, David Exime and Regina Bediago. And this is not the news. No way. Since news. In fact, even after devastation rained down from the sky, you could scramble to the top of the nearest mountain, get one bar on your phone and call your friends at SNAP to let them know you're alright. Thank you, Raymond Christian sending you and your neighbors love and light. Do that and you would still still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is prx.