As a native Floridian, I spent plenty-o-time at and in the ocean until that moment. We foolishly used to get on rafts and go out as far as we could until our feet no longer touched the ocean floor, and would stay out there for hours! OMG, I can't believe we did that. I remember trying to read Jaws before the movie came out and ended up I throwing it across the room in complete fear. The movie was even more frightening to me. That opening scene of the girl swimming in the ocean at night (duh, what's wrong with you?!) had me huddled up in a fetal position and I remained that way for the rest of the movie. I believe I lost about 5 pounds in fear that day. That was it for me. That's all it took for me to never ever get on a raft again.
I still go to the ocean, and I would probably not want to be anywhere else on earth for a more humbling, more soothing experience. But... I do NOT get in the water. I have an unnatural and genuine fear of sharks. The water off the Florida east coast is pretty, but not crystal clear, so you have NO idea what is in the water with you. I will venture out to about the tops of my feet or on a daring day, up to my ankles. But believe me, that's as far as it goes. I swear, I have read reports of people being bitten in ankle deep water. I swear.
I am a Pinterest fan(atic) and have a board of things that are not going to happen in my lifetime. I guess it's safe to say I am not an adventurous person. You will never, ever see anything about me in the paper or my obituary (God forbid) that says "... when the bungee cord broke, or the parachute didn't open, or the roller coaster car flew off into the sky" and you will not ever see "she was eaten alive by a shark". Or a grizzly, or anything else that can eat me alive.
This is one of the pictures from Pinterest that I found for my board. It literally makes me shudder.
