Greeting!

Today I would like to share a true story that happen to me on my first trip to Florida. To give a little bit of context to this story. The movie JAWS! was released in June 20, 1975, Jaws 2 in June 16, 1978, and Jaws 3 on July 22, 1983 and my wife saw them all, including the one we both saw in 1987. My wife hates sharks because of these movies. Subsequent movies released later did nothing but reinforce her fear of sharks. On with the story!

I was eighteen and a newlywed. My grandparents gave my new bride and I, use of their Florida condo for a while until we figured out what we wanted to do with our lives.

Unaccustomed to the Florida weather we walked on the beach enjoying each others company. Chasing the hermit crabs across the beach at dusk. What we did not realize, was that the overcast skies still caused sunburn. We received the hot penalty for not using sunblock. We were toasted! As red as a pair of freshly cooked lobsters. We spent the following few weeks trying different concoctions to relieve the pain we were experiencing. Eventually it turned to a nice protective tan.

We were married in 1983 so with Jaws 3 only released three weeks before, it was fresh in my wife’s mind. We were on the beach again in the late afternoon into early evening. We went for a swim in the Atlantic ocean, being newlyweds and enjoying each others company and all that goes with that. We slowly move deeper in the surf. Before we realized it my wife was chin deep while hanging onto me and I was chest deep with no apprehension of either of us being so far out in the surf.

I felt a strong pressure clamp around my big toe. I must have had a horrified look on my face because what I saw on my wife's face was worry with a strong dose of panic. To this day I do not remember if I released a scream or not. I released my hold on my wife so I could reach down to find out what was causing the pressure on my toe. It turned out to be a crab that I stepped on. It released its grip when I brought my foot up to the surface. I had never seen or heard my wife leave my side when all the chaos started. I swear that my wife had/has the ability to walk on water because when I saw her next she was standing on the beach crying and pacing back and forth. You have to remember all this happen in a few seconds span of time and we were in about five feet of water. I WAS LEFT TO FIGHT JAWS! ALL ALONE!

Picture from http://www.sharksavers.org

In my wife’s defense though she did the only natural, instinctual thing she could do. Survive! I cannot tell you what she felt, what she was thinking at that particular moment in time. What I can tell you is, it has increased our love for each other if nothing else. After that day I do not remember going more than a few feet deep into the ocean on that coast. We found out later that the east coast of the United States is a main travel route for great white sharks looking for seals to eat. With the internet today, you can track tagged sharks in real time through http://www.ocearch.org/#about-us .

I hope you enjoyed this story it is 100% Hive account@carpenterbee content. (1% non content) The picture has been linked to it’s source. I have no claim on it what-so-ever.