Shark!

It's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel... once again. I was thinking that lawyers all over the country are thinking, "Wow! A whole week devoted to us!" Which reminded me of an old joke:

Know why sharks do not eat lawyers?
Professional courtesy.


Sharks are fascinating creatures... sleek and tenacious... and efficient predators. In my days as a 'surfer dude' I saw more than a few. Mostly from a safe distance but, on occasion, very close. I do not like sharks, I do not want to protect them. I suspect I am not alone, there are men who survived the aftermath of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis who would heartily agree with me. You cannot argue with a shark, you are unlikely to avoid panic if you turn and find one at your back (as an acquaintance of mine once did while scuba diving). They are not mean but they are, it seems, always hungry and not all that particular about what they eat. Blood in the water can incite them to a frenzy.

Back in the old days, down at the Miami Seaquarium, they had a "shark channel" where they would hang a half a fish (a Bonita, I believe, was used one day that I was there) just above the surface of the water from a small walk bridge over the channel. The fish's blood would drip into the water and they would toss some chum (basically, fish guts) into the water. The sharks would come into the channel and go nuts trying to get at the fish hanging there. They always succeeded. Sharks are not jumpers like marlin or dolphin but these would jump up, sink their teeth into the fish and twist and turn, shredding it. Other sharks would vie for the "honor" and still others would grab at the pieces that invariably were torn off and fall into the water. The channel would eventually seem full of these creatures to the point where you might think you could walk across them. Obviously, that would be certain death to even try.

I am in awe of sharks but I do not like them.