"Humans evolved to be eaten alive." That's what I
told Angela, who shared her story of an arm's
length encounter
with a curious-but-luckily-not-feeding
great white shark while snorkeling off a
kayak earlier today. What surprised her most was
how calm she felt as it happened. I continued, "I
read an account of a guy who barely survived being
mauled by a tiger. He'd already lost an arm and as
he listened to its teeth scrape against his skull,
he felt no pain or panic, only a detached
curiosity." Sarah and John had just come in from
sailing and the folding chairs were circled up as
Ann-Marie,
a special ed teacher and amateur whale whisperer,
added her tale of
a swimmer bitten in half when she first moved here
from Long Island in the '80s. It's
quite the small boater scene at this beach, where you
get to hear stories the Tourism
Authority
would rather keep qu-- "Look! Over there! A sunset!" But,
srsly, I'm not
here to promote shark hysteria. It's just been
surprising hearing so many first-hand
accounts on this trip. I celebrate their presence!
It's their ocean; I'm just a guest.
|
|
|