Wow. I heard this story last night from a friend and I just can't get over it.
A woman has a young son with Down's Syndrome. She decides to take him to SeaWorld in San Diego for the day. She plots everything out, gets him in the car, and they make the long drive from Los Angeles to Sea World.
Her son is super excited. Everything is going pretty well. They arrive and Mom purchases the tickets. She is putting her change back in her wallet when she raises her head and sees that her son is gone. GONE. She cannot see him anywhere. She looks around frantically and calls out his name. He is nowhere to be found. Panic-stricken, she continues her search and cannot find him anywhere. She notifies SeaWorld security, and the search begins. Security looks for him throughout the park, but nobody can find him. They check security cam footage, and still no sign of him. The search drags on and on, and Mom is panicked. Hours pass, and still nothing. Mom is beside herself, as it is late in the day, getting dark, and the park is about to close.
Then, as Mom is waiting at the front of the park right before closing time, her son comes out of nowhere. He is F-I-L-T-H-Y. Aboslutely filthy. And he reeks. He smells and looks awful. And he just says, "Hi Mom. Are you ready to go?"
Mom is furious and relieved and angry, but happy to have her son back. She marches him to their car and remarks at how dirty and stinky he is. She is seething, but also relieved that her son is ok.
Mom takes her son back to the hotel they are staying at, and tells him to get inside and take a bath right away. Son says, "Okay".
Son goes in the bathroom and locks the door behind himself. Mom sits on the bed and tries to calm down and relax after one of the most stressful days of her life. As she starts to unwind, she can hear her son playing in the bathtub just having the time of his life: he is singing, splashing, slapping around in the water, just having a blast.
After about 20 minutes, Mom tells son that he has been in the tub long enough, and that it is time to get out.
Son says, "No, I am having a good time in here."
Mom is a little perplexed, but she lets him continue.
After about another 20 minutes, Mom tells the son again that it is time to get out of the tub.
Son says, "No, I am having a good time in here!"
Mom thinks this is really strange, so she goes to the bathroom door and rattles it. It is locked. She can hear her son inside of the bathroom and knows he is ok. But she tells him to unlock the door, NOW.
Son says, "NO."
Mom says, "UNLOCK THE DOOR NOW!"
Son says, "NO!"
Mom is livid. She calls the hotel front desk, explains the situation, and asks them to please come to her room and unlock the bathroom door for her.
A hotel employee shows up a few minutes later, and fiddles with the door and unlocks it.
Mom and hotel employee open the bathroom door and see her son is in the bathtub PLAYING WITH A PENGUIN. PLAYING WITH A PENGUIN!!! Her son had smuggled a little penguin out of Sea World by stuffing it in his backpack!!!!!
The Mom and hotel employee are stunned!!!!
Mom calls SeaWorld and says, "Look, I don't have time to explain everything, but I have one of your penguins. Send someone to pick it up."
SeaWorld says, "Lady, we don't have time for your prank calls. Get a life."
Mom says, "Go and take a count of your penguins. When you find one is missing, call me back and then you can pick it up."
SeaWorld calls her back moments later and says, "We have a missing penguin. Where do we pick it up?"
Mom gives SeaWorld the address of her hotel, and SeaWorld dispatches a team to retrieve the missing penguin.
Penguin Recovery Team shows up at the hotel and they tell the boy they have to take the penguin. The boy loses it and screams, "BUT THAT IS MY PENGUIN! THAT IS MY PENGUIN! THAT. IS. MY. PENGUIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
SeaWorld takes the penguin and tells Mom, "Do not ever tell anyone about this incident. We do not need people knowing that a child with Down's Syndrome was able to smuggle one of our penguins out so easily."
Well, I haven't been able to verify this story, but I sure love it. And I sure wish I had a penguin!
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