It's crazy, I know...

     I remember sitting in the dark theater at 14 with my friends, watching the swimmers on the screen having a great time, then hearing the "doo-doo,doo-doo, doo-doo" music and then...well, you know what happened next.  Mister Shark had lunch.  Ever since seeing Jaws the summer of 1975, I've had a healthy respect, a bit of fear and a fascination with those most daunting of God's creatures....and this is the week of the year that I get to indulge in that fascination a bit...SHARK WEEK!!!

     The day after seeing the movie my family and I went to the beach for a week.  Now, back then, the Gulf Coast wasn't known for Great whites, but I just couldn't get the movie out of my mind.  I saw fins everywhere I looked.  The water was unusually dark that week and so was my imagination! That's when I decided that I would be the great Marine Biologist and "Shark Whisperer."  After all, the water would be safer if we could all just get along, right?"  I began reading books about sharks, talking to my dad and relatives about sharks as many of them had been on the water their whole lives. After a lot of laughter by the "old timers" and after a lot of research I learned that sharks don't want you to whisper to them and they don't understand "nice". When they see us, they just think "Snack!!"  SO, I put that little dream in the box, along with the Astronaut dream and went about my life.

But, every now and then there would be the random re-run of Jaws, or a vacation visit to an aquarium somewhere around the southeast with my family would make me want to dust off the old dream.. especially with the Sharks safely behind glass.  Then, a few years ago, it happened! A whole week each year on Discovery channel dedicated to Sharks!!  SHARK WEEK!!!! There they are, swimming around, lunging at boats, and chomping at other would- be "shark-whisperers" in steel cages.I just sit there with my mouth open.  I don't think Sharks have gotten any nicer, or are any more eager to "get along" with us, but evidently other scientists have had the same idea as I once did.  They play music for the Sharks, they study their brains and try to befriend them.  But invariably, there they are, ripping off their shirts showing off their shark-bite scars.  Good call, not to follow that dream!

Here is what I've learned from my fascination with Sharks, Jaws and Shark Week:

1. It's generally safe to go back into the water, unless it's not! 

2. If you see a big shark, you need a bigger boat!

3. Getting into a cage to whisper to a Shark isn't a good idea.

4.  They don't make friends, they eat tires, rafts, boats oars, license plates, and people, no refined        palate, there.

God made everything for a reason, Sharks have their purpose and I have mine...and it's okay if we all just don't "get along" in the water!

Happy Shark Week Everyone!