October 2006

SMILEY's FUN RUN UpDate . . .

Dearest Friends ....

Ken and I will be flying to Las Vegas tonight and will attend a memorial service for a special friend who died last week. The service will be in California. We'll not return until next Tuesday, October 31st.

Our American Team has over 3700 miles towards our goal and I'm anxious to get all the Chinese reports, especially after this Saturday when the Gao Chun children have their SMILEY's FUN RUN. I really appreciate the Sunshine Project leaders going out to the school and helping run the event ... I hope that it's as great an experience as we had here last Saturday!!! I'm still getting pictures and I'll try to post some on my blog after I get back next week.

We have collect $2300 for the project here in America ... Yea!!!!

Keep SMILING and MOVE IT!!!!

Love to all,

Miss Becky

Deaf Student and Teachers Train for SMILEY'S FUN RUN

All the students and teachers at the Gao Chun Special School of Deaf and Disabled students have been participating in the TOP SECRET ADVENTURE. They are walking/jogging together each day and reporting their miles.

   

Teachers and older students help the younger ones.

In three (3) weeks the Students and Teachers at Gaochun School did 1,290 miles!!! They send their reports on e-mail to Miss Hua who translates them and sents me the total miles.

The Students and Teachers will participate in SMILEY's FUN RUN at their campus on Saturday, October 28th. Some of the Chinese Teachers/Leaders of The Sunshine Project at Nanjing University will travel to the school that day and help to implement the FUN RUN.

There will be a special "SMILEY's FUN RUN" t-shirt for each of the children to wear during the "run". When the children have finished the RUN there will be a fun, bag of prizes (toys, balloons, pencils, etc.) as a reward for their efforts.

It is our hope that the teachers and students will continue to "walk/jog/or run" each day to keep their bodies in good health.

Look for a report and pictures after October 28th of the FUN RUN done at GaoChun Special School.

SMILEY'S FUN RUN -- GREAT SUCCESS!!!

WE DID IT ... We surprised Ken/Smiley this morning with over 25 people at the starting line of our seven mile FUN Run. Mission accomplised, Ken did not know anything about it!

It was a BEAUTIFUL fall day here ... it was cold and foggy this morning but it warmed up and turned out to be great.

I will write more later and post pictures. Please sent me your reports of your runs and we'll look forward to the students at the Deaf School doing their SMILEY's FUN RUN next Saturday, October 28th.

Got to go now to Provo to celebrate my Father's Birthday with my family ... Ken and my Father share the same birthday (October 26th) ...

Thanks again for all your help and support ... Ken is quite overwhelmed and hasn't had time to learn about all that has happened. I'm planning to complete the book and give it to him on his actual BIRTHDAY on October 26th. So if you have any message and/or picture you want in the book e-mail it to me immediately: missbecky@xmission.com

THANKS for all your great support and help ... our donations in America now total more than $2,000!!!! YOU ARE ALL GREAT!!! And we are getting close to reaching our 7,000 mile goal!!!! Yea!!

I LOVE YOU ... more later!!!

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE -- WEEK SIX REPROT

Week #6:

Chinese Team: 1,039 miles this week for a total of 2,218.5 miles

American Team: 546 miles this week for a total of 2,941.5 miles

TOTAL MILES = 5,160

We are getting closer to our Goal of 7,000 miles! Congratulations to the Chinese Team. The students and teachers at the Gao Chun school did 560 miles last week!! Yea!!!

This is the final week of preparation!! SMILEY's FUN RUN will take place next Saturday, October 21st all over the world ... There will be runners participating in America (New York, Boston, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, Kentucky and California) and in China (Beijing, Nanjing, Gao Chun, Zibo, Jinan, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and HongKong).

The children and teachers at the Gao Chun school will do SMILEY's FUN RUN on Saturday, October 28th. Those in China can choose which day they want to do their "FUN RUN" because many friends in China did not start the project the same time that those of us did in America.

There have been over 200 participants in our Top Secret Adventure. Please e-mail your miles after you complete your FUN RUN ... Every mile COUNTS!!

Check my BLOG later in the week for more information about SMILEY's FUN RUN here in Logan, Utah.

Keep SMILING and MOVE IT!!!!

SMILEY -- KEN'S NICKNAME

A nickname is a name given you or a name people call you by that is different than your given name.

Here is the story of how Ken, whose given name is Kenneth Mitchell, got the nickname "Smiley".

Ken was born in a rural area of western Kentucky, a southern state in America. His mother died when he was three years old. Ken and his older sister lived with different relatives while their father worked in another state to earn enough money to purchase a farm in Kentucky. Ken, his sister and father moved to the farm when he was about 10 years old. There was no running water or electricity. They worked hard for about five years but were not able to make the farm productive.

When Ken was 15 years-old, a sophomore in high school, his father moved the family across the country to the state of California, at the invitation of his sister. They lived with her until his Dad got a job and place of their own. After attending a one-room school, Ken lacked self-confidence in the new high school of about 2,000 students. He had an accent when he spoke that made it difficult for others to understand him. His self-esteem was low.

One Saturday, early in that first school year, Ken was at the play ground watching some boys from the high school play basketball. The ball got away from them and rolled toward where Ken was standing. He picked up the ball and threw it toward the hoop from the half-court line. The ball went through the hoop!! Ken, without an expression on his face, started walking off the court. One of the boys called to him, "Hey, Smiley ... do you want to play?" Of course, he wanted to play and joined them. No one knew his name, so they all continued to call him "Smiley."

Ken lived up to that name ... he became a happier, smiling person and developed a fun sense of humor. He made many friends, played on the baseball and basketball teams, was the Sports Editor of the school newspaper and was called "Smiley" by all his friends throughout his high school years ... and when any of those friends see him in later years, they continued to call him "Smiley".

I've mostly called him, KEN, as that was what people called him when we met in college several years after his high school. Ken's children called him "Daddy" and "Dad" and the grandchildren call him "Pappy" ... that was the name that Ken called his grandfather, so he wanted to be "Pappy" too. Our youngest grandson, when he was learning to talk, would call "Pappy", but it sounded more like "Happy" -- Ken loved it ... Gavin would be running after him calling, "Happy, Happy, Happy!!!" Gavin also has a wonderful SMILE is is such a "happy" little boy.

Another "nickname" for Ken was given to him by the men that he played basketball with for years. They would play at the fieldhouse (large gym and indoor track) on the campus of Utah State University at during their lunch hour almost every weekday. They called themselves the NBA (Noon Basketball Association). Not only did the group enjoy the physical activity, but also the emotional release and social intereaction. Ken is a very competitive player and believes that everyone should "hustle" or "move it" to play their best. He believes that to play good defense, you have to "move it"... After yelling at the other players to "move it" many, many times, it was only natural that they started calling Ken, "Move It". This group of friends also call Ken, "Coach" sometimes because he tries to "help" they be better players!!!

Now that Ken has been coaching basketball for a few years, there are several young men who also call him "Coach", because that is what he is now.

When Ken and I started teaching in China, he gave the students the choice of what they would like to call him and most of them chose to call him "Smiley". Some of the students even called me "Mrs. Smiley" at times! They loved his "smile" and sense of humor. One of the songs we taught our students was "WhenYou're Smiling" ... (click on English Songs to see the words to this song).

So "KEEP SMILING" as you "MOVE IT" to participate in SMILEY's FUN RUN on October 21st 2006!!!!

WHEN YOU'RE SMILING -- Song

When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling

The whole world smiles with you.

When you’re laughing, when you’re laughing

The sun comes shining through.

But when you’re crying, you bring on the rain

So stop your crying, be happy again.

Keep on smiling, ‘cause when you’re smiling

The whole world smiles with you.

MONEY (donations/registration fees) for the SUNSHINE Project

Part of our TOP SECRET ADVENTURE was to raise MONEY to support the SUNSHINE Project in Nanjing, China. This money is used to provide special experiences, such as SMILEY's FUN RUN, for all 93 children in the school as well as to provide teaching/learning equipment and materials and funds where needed so all deaf children can attend the school.

In China, please have one person in each city collect the money for the SUNSHINE Project and transfer it to:

JIN JIAN (Jane is her English name)

Bank of China in Nanjing,

Account number 4447802-0188-052027-3.

Jin Jian, is the treasurer of the SUNSHINE Project and if you have any questions please call her at 13851986887.

In America, donations can be sent to:

Richard Criddle

1005 Eastridge Drive

Logan, UT 84321

Please make out the check to "Becky Mitchell" but mail it to Richard so Ken will not know of it until after the FUN RUN!!!

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP ... 100% of the donations goes to the school and children!!!!

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE -- Week Five Report

Week # 5:

Chinese Team: 370.5 miles for the week = 1,179.5 TOTAL MILES

American Team: 786.5 miles for the week = 2,395.5 TOTAL MILES

TOTAL MILES for the project = 3,575

We are over half way to our 7,000 mile goal, BUT we have only two more weeks. I know that there are several more Chinese friends who have not reported miles for a couple of weeks, probably because of the national holiday that they celebrated last week. Hope to hear from them soon.

It's a BEAUTIFUL fall day here in Cache Valley, Utah where we live. Last weekend, however, there was a lot of rain and many leaves fell from the trees. I hope the weather will stay nice now, so we can enjoy the beautiful fall colors on our FUN RUN here on Saturday, October 21st. Let me know where you will be doing the FUN RUN that day .... remember you can "walk, jog, run" SEVEN (7) miles anywhere you are. I'll post our route on the blog later.

Have a great week .... MOVE IT and BE HAPPY!!!!

TOP SECRET ADVENTURE -- WEEK FOUR REPORT

Week - # 4

Chinese Team -- 809 miles

American Team -- 1,591 miles

TOTAL MILES: 2,400 MILES !!!!!

Good news for the Chinese team ... the teachers and students from the school for deaf children are all "jogging" and participating and have completed also 500 miles! Keep up the good work!

Happy National Holiday to all our Chinese Friends!!! Hope each of you will have a wonderful week with your family. Please keep walking/jogging/running -- "move it" with your family members.

I've loved hearing from so many of you. I've put a new "category" on my BLOG for Chinese Friends ... here's a place for YOU. If you would like me to post something on this BLOG you can send it to me on e-mail: missbecky@xmission.com -- this will be a good English writing experience. If you send me a picture of yourself, I can post that as well. It will be a nice place to post updates on each of you and your lives as many of you know each other.

At your National Holiday in 2002, Ken and I were in China teaching at Nanjing University, when our sixth grandchild was born -- Savanah Belle Mitchell born on October 2, 2002 in the USA. Her birthday each year reminds me of our wonderful China experience and your Holiday. Savanah turns four-years-old this year -- she is a beautiful, active, loving, and fun child.

To share more of my life with you, I will post more information about my Family, which is very important in my life. The following article about is our first grandchild, Baylor, who is 10 years old now ... a really good boy!!!

We have eight grandchildren, four boys and four girls. One of my favorite things to do with them all is read and I've done that from the time they are born. Because five of our grandchildren live away from us, I've organized Nana's Book Club and I send them stories and books each month to read with their parents. I've posted one of the stories that I've sent them for this month --. "Owen & Mzee" is the story of a remarkable friendship ... scroll down to read it, or click on the category "Reading and Books". Let me know if you like reading this story and I'll post more stories that I share with my grandchildren.

It's great to have so many of you "running" with family members!!! Remember the word FAMILY means Father and Mother I Love You!

Keep "running" ... just 4,600 more miles to go to meet our goal of 7,000 miles!!

LIVE STRONG * MOVE IT * BE HAPPY

Much love,

Miss Becky

BAYLOR -- # 1 Grandson

Baylor Phillips Mitchell born on June 11, 1996 is our first grandchild and such a good, special boy who has enriched our lives so much.

He's currently in the fourth grade at Edith Bowen Elementary School that is part of Utah State University (USU) here in Logan, Utah. (Both Ken and I worked at USU for many years.) The following are his words from an assignment his new teacher asked all the children to do to introduce themselves to the class and teacher ... each child wrote their name vertically down the left side of the paper and then had to write a sentence about themself that started with that letter from their name. Here is what Baylor wrote:

B - Baseball is one of my favorite sports.

A - An Activity I like to do is camping.

Y - You should know I like sports.

L - Lemonade is my favorite drink.

O - Outside is where I like to be most.

R - Reading books about snakes is fun to me.

He did really well describing his interests and the things that are most important to him.

Here's a picture of Baylor with his Dad, Jason, our oldest child. This picture was taken a couple of years ago, but shows how much he loves his Dad ...

In 2002 Jason wrote, "Baylor's hero is the crocodile hunter. He told me a while ago that he has 2 Dads, me and the Crocodile Hunter ... That's OK because today he had a friend over from school. Baylor came down to my office to tell me that his friend was here and I told to bring him down and introduce him to me. Baylor ran off and I heard him say 'Come here, I want to show you my Dad. He's stronger than your Dad.' Seriously. Isn't that awesome!" Jason and Baylor have a really good relationship. Baylor loves sports and plays some sport every season of the year, and sometimes plays on two teams at the same time. Jason has been one of his coachs in basketball, baseball, and now football since they have lived with us for the last nine months.

Here's Baylor, #66 in action ... American Football. That was his father's favorite sport. Jason was an All-State Football player in high school, meaning he was one of the best in the whole state of Utah. Baylor is also a good football player and loves to watch football games on TV with his Dad.

Ken/Smiley's favorite sport is Basketball or "Hoops" and he helps Jason coach Baylor's basketball team.

Here Pappy (that's what our grandchildren call Ken) is playing "hoops" with Baylor, #23, and McKay our second greandson, a year younger than Baylor.

Last May Baylor had the "Happiest Day of His Life" ... the story is told in the following article, an e-mail message Jason wrote to our family the day after Ken's heart attack.

Along with sports, Baylor loves animals, especially snakes ... he decided a few years ago that he wants to be a "snake scienist" and he has been learning about them ever since. He has a pet snake that lives in his room now. He earned the money to buy it. Baylor is responsible to care for it and buy it's food. He named the snake, "Jerry".

Here is a picture of Baylor when he was 7 years-old and got involved with "The Crocodile Hunter" (Steve Irwin) and the Australia Zoo over the internet. He loved watching the Crocodile Hunter on TV and learned much from his programs. Have you hear of or seen "The Crocodile Hunter"? He's known all over the world for animal conservation.

Baylor wrote a letter to "The Crocodile Hunter" and he (his assistants I'm sure) sent him a bunch of Croc stuff, so his Mom took some pictures to email a thank you note.

That year for Halloween Baylor dressed as "the Crocodile Hunter" and in this picture with the help of a small toy crocodile, he acts the part of Steve Irvin, the real Crocodile Hunter!!

Last month when Steve Irwin, "The Crocodile Hunter" died, Baylor was very sad. We watched the special memorial for him from the Austrialia Zoo. Steve was a great person, he LOVED LIFE, his FAMILY and all kinds of ANIMALS. You can learn more about him and his mission on his web site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com/ There is an introduction to Steve on my blog under the category "Making a Difference in the World".

Our TRUE STORY from Nana’s Book Club this month (October 2006) is dedicated to BAYLOR, our Little Croc Hunter, and to Steve Irvin, the real Crocodile Hunter. Steve was a great example of “Living, Loving, Learning and Leaving a Legacy.” His “legacy” lives on among his many friends, both human and animal, all over the world … including “Owen and Mzee”. Click on the category "Reading and Books" to get this story.

Baylor is just a really GOOD Boy. He is an excellent student for a 10 year old. He has two younger sisters, Britt, age 8 and Gwen age 6.

This picture was taken at Easter time a special spring Holiday celebrated in the Christian world.

I LOVE BAYLOR!!!!!

Baylor's Happiest Day

This is an e-mail message written to our family by Jason, the day after Ken/Smiley's heart attack ...

I thought we should all start feeling a little better today. Dad is in good hands and resting well. He should be home by Wednesday. I was reading Mom's email and thought I would go ahead and share Baylor's experience this weekend. I know Dad loved hearing about it.

Happiest Day of My Life. That's what Baylor said about May 6th.

To set the stage if I haven't already told you about his competitive baseball team here in Logan they have really struggled. In Maryland Baylor would have had to try-out to be on the 9 year old travel team and he would have made it and been a good player on a pretty good team.

Well here in Logan we show up for the first practice with this 9 year old travel team and I thought we stumbled into a t-ball team on accident. Nobody would play catch with Baylor because they all were afraid of how hard he throws. It's all perspective - he isn't a phenom - these kids just haven't played much ball.

Without too much detail that gives you the setting for this team. I should also add that while we are still struggling the boys are getting better and we have won 2 out of 10 games and were close in 2 others. In fact in our second game on Saturday we played a team that beat us 14 to 1 earlier in the year and this weekend we played them even most of the game until we gave up a big inning and lost by 6 runs.

That's the team experience. The personal side of this is that Baylor is the new kid in town and these guys on his team think he is a baseball phenom - which he isn't - and is going to win all these games for them. They have been good to him, but he has felt the pressure. Even the coaches expected a lot from him as a pitcher because he could throw so much better than the other boys.

But, he has not pitched much in his short career and not off of a pitching mound like they do in this league. So he has started slow. His first 3 starts he was only in for 2 innings each. The first time he really struggled. The second start (our other win) he did better, but still struggled. His 3rd start he actually pitched quite well for 2 innings, but we were getting killed because his defense behind him couldn't get any outs.

He really wants to be able to pitch and so he has worked on it a lot. He will ask me almost everyday - whether his team has had practice or not - to come out and catch for him.

Saturday, May 6th, Lundstrom Park in Logan - beautiful day and we are the first game of the day on the field so it is in great shape. We are playing the Bandits. A team from Farmington that is pretty good. In fact we lost to their 8 year old team - this is their 9 year old team so they have got to be favored to win.

If you think you don't like baseball, you haven't seen a game like this. Both teams played well and it was close all the way. Most of these games only go 3-4 innings because either the mercy rule is invoked or both teams are scoring so much the innings take a long time.

This game went to 6 innings because both teams were pitching and playing defense well. Baylor was throwing better than he ever had. Still too many walks, but way more strikes than he has thrown. In this league if he throws strikes he can get strike-outs or if he gets hit they are usually very playable ground balls.

We are the home team and start the 6th inning (and final inning) with the lead 3-2. 3 outs and we win and Baylor pitches his first complete game. He looks stronger than ever in striking out the first two batters. He gets the third batter to hit an easy grounder to third - one of those soft ones that isn't even going to make it to the infield dirt. Our third baseman comes charging in at it and runs right by it when trying to scoop it up.

I don't know if it was mental - knowing the game should have been over - or physical - just being tried from having thrown so many pitches, but Baylor couldn't keep it going and walked the next 3 batters. The coach brought in another pitcher to try to close it out, but before we got the third out the Bandits scored 3 runs.

What a great game he pitched. He either struck out or put-out (fielded balls hit to him) 12 of the 18 outs we got in that game. Even if we had lost I think he would have felt OK about his pitching. He should have felt great, but you can't feel great when you lose the lead in the last inning. When he came out I told him how well he had played and told him not to get down because he would still have a chance to help his team win.

So, it is the bottom of the last inning and we are now losing 5-3. First, batter gets on with a walk. Next batter gets a good hit and we now have 2 runners on. They advance to 2nd and 3rd on steals and the runner on 3rd scores on a past ball. 5-4.

The batter at the plate stikes out. The next batter walks and then steals second so we have 2nd and 3rd again. Our next batter hits a grounder to second which they take to first to get the out while our guys scores from 3rd. So, its 5-5 and 2 outs. If the inning ends the game is over as a tie, but a tie is not appealing with how hard they have worked on this game.

The next batter gets a walk giving us 1st and 3rd and bringing Baylor to the plate. Our guy on first steals 2nd. Baylor has the count at 2-2 and it really becomes a battle. Their pitcher fires a strike in there and Baylor fouls it off. Another good pitch and another foul ball. Another good pitch coming to the plate and this one Baylor is all over. Line drive to right-center driving in the winning runs!

The kids on the team charged him out on the infield and had a good celebration, but they did a good job not getting silly with it. The coaches got them together pretty quick to give the other team a cheer and shake their hands. While they are doing all the end of game stuff I am cleaning up our stuff getting ready to leave. Baylor is getting so much attention from everybody that I just stay back and let him enjoy it.

After a while people start drifting away and the dugout starts to empty. So I head in to give him my congratulations and what I got was a moment that is one of the happiest of my life. When Baylor saw me he literally jumped into my arms and said "Dad, did you see that!"

Baylor and I get along great, but he is getting to be big guy now and is more reserved with his displays of affection. This was like when he was a little guy and would come running when he saw me. It was such pure, innocent joy that he wanted so much to share with me. I told him I sure did and how awesome he played and how exciting it was that he got that chance to help his team one last time.

We obviously relived the game a lot that afternoon and it was at a reflective moment he looked at me and said, "This is the happiest day of my life." I could just feel the weight of the being the new kid and all the pressure being gone from his body. I was so happy for him.

That night as I tucked him into bed and we talked about it one more time I told him that as amazing as this day was, he will have better days. He had a hard time believing me, but we talked about what many happy days he has ahead of him in his life. Then I told him that I have made big plays for my team and I'd give every one of them back for that hug he gave me in the dugout.

With that experience and then having to take Dad to the hospital last night in a very distressed situation the gamut of life experiences has hit home this weekend. Thank God for those choice moments we get that can stay with us always. Those you can take with you. Get as many of them as you can!

Owen and Mzee

OWEN & MZEE …

The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

From the Book by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, Dr. Paula Kahumbu and Peter Greste

This is the true story of two great friends: a baby hippopotamus names Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee. The hippo was not always friends with the tortoise. Owen was found stranded the day after the tsunami that occurred in the eastern Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. Here’s the story….

Before the baby hippopotamus became known as Owen, he lived with his mother in a group, or pod, with about twenty other hippos. They fed and wallowed in and around the Sabaki River in Kenya, a nation on the east coast of Africa. When he was about one year old, heavy December rains flooded the river. The racing water washed Owen and his family down the river, until the freshwater became salty and the river flowed into the Indian Ocean, near the small coastal town of Malindi.

For days, the people of Malindi tried to chase the hippos back up the river. But the hippos enjoyed eating the grasses along the shore. Since hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa, (a full-grown adult can weight as much as 8,000 pounds) there was little the people could do.

On the morning of December 26, 2004, the sea suddenly rushed high onto the beaches, and surging waves pounded the shore. Many of the villagers’ boats were damaged, and many fisher-men had to be rescued. Before long, the sea was calm again, but it was a frightening time for everybody. A day passed before anyone thought to check on the hippos. The villagers now saw only one hippopotamus in the sea – a baby without his mother, stranded on a sandy coral reef. Tired and frightened, he was unable to reach the shore on his own.

Soon, hundreds of villagers and visitors were working together to help the young hippo. They knew that he would become sick if he stayed in the salty seawater for long. They used ropes, boats, fishing nets, and even cars to rescue him and bring him to shore safely.

The rescue was not going to be easy. The baby hippo was only about two feet tall, but he weighed 600pounds and was slippery and strong. And the hippo was scared by all the humans. Angrily, he broke through their nets and escaped from their ropes. Hours when by and the people who gathered to watch feared that the hippo could not be saved.

Finally, with a stronger shark net, they were able to catch the hippo. A brave visitor named Owen Sobien tackled him, stopping him long enough to let others secure the net. That is why the hippo is called “Owen”.

At last, the rescuers towed the baby hippo toward land. When they reached the shore, a loud, cheer went up from the thousand people on the beach. Their happy cries could be heard almost a mile away. Wrapped in the net, Owen was lifted into the back of a pickup truck and brought to a shady spot.

People weren’t sure what to do with Owen. They called Haller Park, an animal sanctuary about fifty miles away, near the city of Mombasa. Dr. Paula Kahumba, the manager, immediately offered Owen a place to live there. She explained that he could never be returned to the wild. Since he was still a baby, he wouldn’t know how to take care of himself. And he would never be welcomed into another hippo pod – he would be seen as an intruder and attacked. But they would take good care of him in Haller Park. Dr. Paula and the chief animal caretaker, Stephen Tuei drove to Malindi to bring Owen to his new home.

Meanwhile, others at Haller Park prepared a large enclosure for Owen at the park. They chose a part that had a pond and mud wallow, as well as tall trees and brush – everything a hippo could want. The area was already home to a number of monkeys and a giant Aldabra tortoise called Mzee.

Mzee, whose name means “wise old man” in the Swahili language, was the oldest creature in the park, 130 years of age. He wasn’t very friendly, except to Stephen. Otherwise, Mzee kept to himself.

Mzee’s life was about to change.

When Owen finally arrived with Dr. Paula and Stephen, he was weak and tired. As soon as the ropes that held him were untied, Owen left the truck and went directly to Mzee, who was resting in a corner of the enclosure. Owen crouched behind Mzee, the way baby hippos often hide behind their mothers for protection. At first, Mzee wasn’t happy about this attention. He hissed at Owen and crawled away. But Owen, who could easily keep up with the old tortoise, did not give up. Slowly, as the night went on, Mzee began to accept his new companion.

That night, Owen and Mzee snuggled close together.

Over the next few days, Mzee continued to crawl away, and Owen continued to follow him. But sometimes it was Owen who would walk away from Mzee, and Mzee who would follow. Little by litter, Mzee grew friendlier.

At first, Owen wouldn’t eat any of the leaves left out for him. Stephen and the others worried that he would get weaker. Then they noticed Owen feeding right beside Mzee, as if Mzee were showing him how to eat. Or perhaps it was Nzee’s protective presence that helped Owen feel calm enough to eat. No one will ever know. But it was clear that the bond between Owen and Mzee was helping the baby hippo to recover from being separated from his mother and stranded in the sea.

As the weeks went on, Owen and Mzee spent more and more time together. Soon, they were together ALL the time.

Their bond remains very strong to this day. They swim together, eat together, drink together, and sleep next to each other. They rub noses. Owen leads the way to different parts of the enclosure, then Mzee leads the way. Owen playfully nuzzles Mzee’s neck, and Mzee stretches his neck forward asking for more, just as he does when Stephen tickles him under the chin.

Wildlife experts are still puzzled about how this unlikely friendship came to be. Most have never heard of a mammal, such as Owen, and a reptile, such as Mzee, forming such a strong bond. The reasons are unclear. But science can’t always explain what the heart already knows: Our most important friends are sometimes those we least expected.

News of Owen and Mzee’s friendship quickly spread around the world. People all over have come to love Owen, who endured so much, yet never gave up, and Mzee, who became Owen’s friend when he needed one most. Their photo-graphs have appeared in many newspaper and magazine articles. Television programs and even a film documentary have been made about them.

Visitors come to Haller Park every day to meet the famous friends. (Don't you LOVE the smile of Mzee's face!!!)

Owen suffered a great loss. But with the help of many caring people, and through his own extraordinary resilience, Owen has begun a new, happy life. Most remarkable is the role that Mzee has played. We’ll never know for sure whether Owen sees Mzee as a mother, a father, or a very good friend. But it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that Owen isn’t alone – and neither is Mzee. And that is the true story of Owen and Mzee, two great friends.

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Owen and Mzee and the Tsunami of December 2004: The towering waves of the tsunami were caused by a massive earthquake under the ocean floor near Indonesia. More than 175,000 people lost their lives, and entire towns were destroyed. By the time the tsunami traveled 4,000 miles to the shores of Kenya, the waves had lost much of their force and damage there was less severe. But the whole world was shocked and saddened at the news of this disaster. The story of Owen’s rescue and friendship with Mzee filled people every-where with hope. It reminded us all that even though terrible, unexpected things happen, the power of courage, love, and the preciousness of life will prevail.

The caretakers plan to keep Owen and Mzee together as long as they both wish to be together. When Owen seemed ready for the company of other hippos, he was moved to a larger pond where the park’s other hippos live, including a lonely female, named Cleo. Mzee was moved along with him, and they are still close companions.

The Crocodile Hunter ...

Anyone who gets their very own scrub python for their 6th birthday would have some tales to tell and Steve has plenty! While most other children were opening cans of pet food for their cats or dogs, Steve was out catching fish and hunting rodents to feed to his crocodiles and snakes.

As the son of renowned naturalists, Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve developed a love for critters from a very young age, helping to feed and care for the animals at the family's Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve's dad taught the young Steve everything there was to know about reptiles - even teaching his nine year old how to jump in and catch crocodiles in the rivers of North Queensland at night! This father and son's proud boast is that every crocodile in their park (now numbering some 100 animals) was either caught by their bare hands or bred and raised in their Park.Steve is now the director of Australia Zoo in Queensland, Australia, and host of that wild series THE CROCODILE HUNTER.

As he grew older Steve followed in his father's footsteps and volunteered his services to the Queensland Governments rogue crocodile relocation program which saw him spend years living on his own in the mosquito infested creeks, rivers and mangroves of North Queensland catching huge troublesome crocodiles single-handed. His record of successful catches is still staggering to this day.

Since 1991, Australia Zoo has flourished and expanded under Steve's guidance. Steve the star was born after a chance encounter with his friend, a television producer who was filming in the Park for TV. In true Steve style they took a punt and the first documentary, "The Crocodile Hunter" was produced in 1992. The tremendous success of this one program quickly encouraged the making of more and so over the next 3 years, 10 one hour episodes were made and on television screens all over the world. Steve has now filmed 50 episodes of "Crocodile Hunter", 52 episodes of "Croc Files", and his next project will be an animated series.Steve has the greatest respect and understanding for all animals - something that has been instilled into him by his family for all of his life - and he's proud to share his passion with everyone who visits his Zoo and with his five hundred million viewers world-wide.

In 1992, Steve married Terri Raines, a young American whom he met when she visited the zoo.

Terri Raines was born in Eugene, Oregon in the USA. Her father ran a successful construction business - very much a family affair and in 1979 Terri joined her dad to learn all the skills of managing their large trucking business. Terri's dad was constantly bringing home injured creatures from the highways his trucks traversed and this was to eventually instill in her an ongoing commitment to saving and rehabilitating wild animals. In 1986 she started a rehab facility called "Cougar Country" to re-educate and release predatory mammals such as fox, possum, raccoon, bears, bob-cats, and of course cougars back into the wild. Soon she was handling 300 animals a year. Later in 1989 she joined an Emergency Veterinary Hospital to work as a vet technician to gain further valuable knowledge on the care and support of all kinds of animals. Life couldn't have been busier as she still kept a hand in helping her dad run the family business, rehabilitating animals through her "Cougar Country", working spare moments at the Vet Hospital and looking after her own 15 cats, several birds and a dog. Too full for low priority activities like dating. Or so she thought.

So it was in October, 1991 that she visited Australia to explore the rehabilitation scene in our wildlife parks. It was while she was on the Sunshine Coast visiting a friend that she decided to drop into the Queensland Reptile & Fauna Park at Beerwah "just out of curiosity". A chance meeting with the man doing the Crocodile demo, Steve Irwin, was to change her life forever. The couple got engaged four months later and married on the 4th June 1992 and honeymooned while filming their first television documentary. Terri left everything she had worked so hard for in the United States all behind…… her family's business, her rehab centre, her veterinary work and all her beloved pets - but it was almost as if fate had taken a hand. From the dreams of a small child, she was to share her lifelong ideals for wildlife with the world. As "the sensible one" on Animal Planet's THE CROCODILE HUNTER, Terri Irwin has won fans all over the world. If you saw Terri braving the murky depths of a croc infested river after falling from the boat you would know this is one capable lady.

Terri Irwin is the perfect partner in this incredible daring duo of the New Millennium and now they have a baby Irwin wrestling tiny geckos … Bindi Sue Irwin was born July 24, 1998. And no…she isn't the squeamish type.

The latest arrival to the Irwin clan is Robert Clarence, born December 1, 2003. Robert is mammal mad with a passion for everything from dingoes to koalas. He also loves to flirt with the ladies and is keen on motorcycles and nothing gets him going like art. He points with great excitement at anything framed on the wall. What a little beauty!

Learn more about Steve and his family and mission on http://www.crocodilehunter.com/