About The Book
Magical encounters and scientific discovery merge seamlessly in this adventurous coming-of-age story inspired by Chumash mythology and a series of intriguing true events. The true factual accounting is told in The Story Behind the Story. Past and present entwine to share wondrous events that bring us closer to our source.
The narrative melds spirituality, science, culture and myth to create a suspense filled adventurous tale blending the sublime powers of fiction and nonfiction, legend and history, based on a true story – Aaron Plunkett’s discovery of California’s first fossilized, 25 million-year-old, toothed baleen whales, Los Angeles County Museum Specimen 148806, and Aaron’s childhood experiences with his beloved Grandpa Louie.
The setting: while fishing at the lake waiting for a “strike,” a young native boy plays musical bones, an ancient pastime handed down by elders and ancestors. When he catches a cantankerous catfish and forms a friendship, he discovers a magical prehistoric whale who shares the mysteries of life, survival and coming-of-age using the wonders of the great outdoors and Mother Nature.
Over the years stories, such as these, handed down by oral tradition elevate our awareness and reverence for animals and their mythological powers. Cultural and symbolic meanings merge in this mythological tale as if stretching back in time when Chumash Heroes soared through skies and swam in the oceans, lived in crystal houses at the bottom of the sea, when divine beings and creatures roamed the earth, and Hutash, Mother Goddess ruled supreme.
Plunkett and Roemisch hope that their book will inspire readers to gain a greater understanding of our indigenous Native American people and an appreciation of how our paleontological ancestors are forbearers of life as we know it today, and to foster a respect for whales still swimming in today’s oceans.
The actual prehistoric fossilized whale story continues today in an unlikely location for a pod of whales. Aaron is the founder of the Ojai Valley Whale Society, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization and Paleo-Anthropological Cultural Preservationist Group dedicated to the preservation of whales, past and present, and the cultural wealth of the Ojai Valley.
“The tooth from the fossilized whale that Plunkett found is different from other teeth of ancient baleen whales from that time period, leading to the possibility that the Lake Casitas whale fossil represents a newly discovered species, genus or Family,” Howell Thomas, Senior Paleontologist Preparator, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Ventura County Star, 10/28/2000.
“He has, in fact, found a very important specimen,” Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Los Angeles Times, 10/27/2000.
100% of the proceeds generated from “Pahat’s Fishing Adventure” go directly to support and benefit the Ojai Valley Whale Society a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.