Meow!

I watched again on Animal Planet the '10 Deadliest Sharks' yesterday night. The first time I saw the program a couple of years ago I was pretty pleased with myself for being able to name the top 3 most dangerous sharks correctly. I do know the Bull Shark is a heck of a lot more dangerous than the legendary White Pointer (Great White Shark). The Tiger Shark was third on the list by the way.

Since young I have been fascinated by sharks. They interest me but they also scare the bejeezuz out of me. Which is a rather strange phobia considering I hardly ever put myself in a position where I am in any danger of having my ass chewed on. I did use to swim at beaches in Australia where there were either sharks sighted or an actual shark/human encounter. But you can bet I was never far out at any given time. At this one beach a white pointer bit a two man canoe in half. It crunched the bit of the canoe that is behind the front person's bum and in front of the rear person's feet. How lucky those two blokes in the canoe were needn't be considered. Extremely lucky I would say. They of course ended up in the water and I'm very sure made for shore at a speed that even Ian Thorpe couldn't match. The guy who was at the back no doubt screaming at the other guy, "Just swim ya bastard!!!!" The guy who was in front screaming back, "What the fuck happened mate?"

I was taken to see Jaws 2 at the cinema by my parents when I was about 5 or 6. It left severe psychological scars on me. Yeah mum, if you're reading this, now you know! For a while I was frightened of the bathtub as well. Steven Spielberg has a lot to answer for. At least Peter Benchley did a rethink and set about shark conservation and awareness. For years I thought you could never be safe in the water with a great white without the shark cage. For years I thought sharks (especially the great white) were vicious indiscriminate eating machines. They'd attack (and eat) anything in the water with them. The actuality is is that you're safer in the water with a great white shark than you are in the jungle with a tiger. Of course I wouldn't recommend either situation to anybody.

What it is in reality is my fear of the unknown. In the water especially in deep water, you have no idea what is below you. In water I am out of my element. There is no way water is any persons' natural environment. I have a fear of drowning as well.

But I love the sea. It fascinates me. I love the beach. I went nearly everyday in summer while I was in Perth. It also scares me silly. I'm a person who requires familiarity. Slung into a strange unfamiliar environment and I need adjustment time.

So.

Treading water and my feet can't touch the bottom. No idea what's under me. It's a million to one but what if I just happened to be really really unlucky that one time? Fuck that. I don't want to chance it. I'm a pussy.

Yeah. I said it.

I'm a pussy. I live, breathe and eat pussy.