Shark Depopulates New England Coast
“I was bobbing all alone in the middle of the ocean when all of a sudden a seventy foot shark appeared…” Of course there was a shark there, you intellect-lacking individual. Let’s deconstruct this statement. You were out “in the middle of the ocean”—where sharks live—”all alone.” Probably chucking leftover crumbs of spam from your lunch overboard, too.
I hate shark week. Maybe that makes me a communist or something, or maybe it’s because I live a few miles from the ocean so it seems pretty obvious to me—sharks…live…in…the…ocean.
It seems logical that if presented with legs and feet dangling (i.e., swimmers, surfers…) sharks might take a taste–no different than a hungry shopper sneaking twenty-dollar olives at the Whole Foods salad bar. Even better, when lured by tourists throwing dead fish around a cage in order to get in that cage and gawk at sharks, the sharks will accommodate that request. I could look up the schedule for Shark Week online—it’s the 25th Anniversary, you know, but I’ll save myself the trouble by predicting the week will go like this:
There will be a bunch of specials about sharks, which—in case you missed the commercials—are large water-dwelling carnivores that occasionally eat people who are invading their home. It’s their equivalent of calling the police when burglars come. Sort of wild-West Indies justice.
- There will be a bunch of shocumentaries about people being eaten by sharks after they were swimming in—you guessed it—the shark’s home. Someone will say, “It came out of nowhere,” and a bunch of people will be filmed in the background trying to hunt down the shark in a sea kayak with Captain Ahab’s harpoon so that the shark can never cause humanity that kind of pain again. Evidently, Captain Ahab will be able to recognize the offending Great White whale shark and dispatch it successfully. Meanwhile, down below, a news-fish will interview the shark on the lam, who will say that the swimmer entered his living room and he ate the guy in self defense, “Just protecting the family.”
- There will be at least one documentary about people swimming with the sharks while in cages and chucking them food to see them up close. By the end of the show, one cage will have broken, causing a near-death experience followed by an interview with someone astonished that Lucifer’s shark mistook them for sushi-grade tuna.
Okay, I confess. I did peek at the website trailers. My favorite is the of the host in the middle of a blow up raft trying to escape a circle of sharks. Because I would be in the middle of shark territory in a blow up raft. Keep the weight down–faster escape.
Maybe this is payback for the time when I was seven and I caught a baby sand shark deep-water fishing on vacation at Martha’s Vineyard. My first and last time fishing. I hooked that poor creature’s face and let him go. He now carries the scar of that traumatic day as he hunts for victims swimming off the coast of the Cape—hoping someday, one of them will be me.
In a week or so, Shark Week will be over and the Discovery Channel can go back to showing shows about other riveting topics, like when animals eat the people at zoos. You know, the people who climb a 30-foot fence to get a video of themselves kissing a lion for YouTube, then sue for twenty million when the lion wakes up and bites their face off. And the subsequent ten interviews with “surprised” tourists who “never saw it coming.” But that’s a story for another day.
Meanwhile, let’s leave the sharks alone, and start the journey toward letting cable TV shocumentaries die a slow, painful death. I think they’re rotting my brain.
Shark Week is by a long, long way the most popular stuff on Discovery (which explains why it has survived 25 years). Once the other networks start the cross-over, that’s when I’ll tune in (ok, to be fair, up my cable subscription beyond Basic, THEN tune in). I need only pitch one show here to get it rolling – Jersey Shore Shark Week. Let’s see how The Situation handles that situation. And how many sharks it takes to completely finish off the fat one (yeah, yeah she’s not so fat anymore. Whatever). Admit it – that happens, you’re in.
Paulie D. can sell his new “pregame cocktail” to the sharks… you know, a little aperitif before Jaws snacks on the cast.
I proudly state that I don’t know who the hell that is, but I can surmise from context. If he’s getting fed to the sharks, then it’s two thumbs up from me.
You just gained two IQ points.
Hey Dawn! Up your readership to 6!
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
My kids have had these shows on all week. Forget the guy in the raft – I couldn’t get over the photographer who sat on top of the floating half-eaten whale carcass all in the name of getting a better angle!
I missed that when I avoided The Week. Sometimes I wonder what they’re thinking on all these animal and survival shows.
Thank you for reading my article entitled “Legacy” I enjoyed reading from your blog as well. I will follow your writing and hope you will follow my blog as well. Best wishes, beebeesworld
That was such a heart-wrenchingly beautiful piece. I hope you don’t mind if I share it:) I didn’t read the “short version,” but I’m glad you didn’t cut it down to size for the blog.
The original prompt was for 100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups. so I had to really “chop” ti submit it for that prompt and a few others. It is on my blog, near the long version, if you want to read it. Thanks again. beebee
I found the short version, which is amazing as well. So hard to put all that into 100 words. I’m glad I got to read both.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I started and just couldn’t stop-something I’m good at…beebeesworld
Shark week is essential to the survival of mankind. Let’s face it, knowing that nature and still able to swallow us whole if it feels like, goes a long way towards keeping us from feeling that we are truly masters of this realm.
That’s a good point, which I hadn’t fully considered properly until now. I was thinking if your version of Shark Week met up with the Electoral College…now there’s a TV week I’ll watch.
I was recommended this web site by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my problem. You’re incredible!
Thanks!