So Charlie and I were chatting about where we’d be living after all the kids left the nest.
Would we stay here, in the country on eight acres of Georgia clay? Consensus: Only if we had enough disposable income to pay some person(s) to take care of the property. Unless the economy turns right around and a lot of people start buying books again, that’s not looking promising…
So if we did move, where would we go?
Charlie: The beach.
Me: Somewhere that I can see snow.
Charlie: Okay then. Hawaii.
I could do Hawaii. I’d been thinking of someplace like Washington state, where you can see snow on the mountains and maybe be up high enough to see the ocean. But Hawaii? That’s okay too.
Besides, in Hawaii the water wouldn’t be as life-threateningly cold as in Seattle. (Yes, it’s a word. Because I said so.)
You know, so we could swim. But wait… I’m a member of the Jaws Generation, the people who came of age when the movie “Jaws” came out. And of course this means I don’t swim in the ocean without experiencing a continuous anxiety attack.
Charlie: So why do you go in the water in Florida?
Me: You have no idea what’s going thru my mind.
(You Big Baby. You’re in three feet of water in the Gulf. You can see the bottom in all directions. You can’t make the kids panic. Be cool.)
Maybe Seattle would be okay too.
And maybe I need to write an open letter to Steven Spielberg and Peter Benchley. And to my dad, who let me and my sister Suzy watch “Jaws” when we were way too young for it.
At least I don’t get freaked out about sharks in the swimming pool or bathtub.
(Sorry to throw you under the bus, Suzy. But it made me feel much better about my phobia.)
22 responses so far ↓
1 Veronica Mitchell // Jan 12, 2009 at 8:23 am
Oceans are nice to look at or dip my toes in. That is all.
Also, you might enjoy this post from Melanie at BeanPaste on similar feelings:
http://beanpaste.blogspot.com/2008/05/alive-with-…
2 Helen // Jan 12, 2009 at 8:47 am
I loved the ocean when I went to Hawaii. But it is very expensive to live there. Most people who do have two full time jobs, giving them little time to enjoy all that beauty.
3 Nick the Geek // Jan 12, 2009 at 9:27 am
My wife has the same problem with the ocean, which seems funny from a Cali girl but it must be common. I love the movie Jaws and also love the ocean. I'm SCUBA certified and try all the time to get to the ocean. I've swum with smallish sharks (2-4 foot reefies) and that is cool. I'd love to go on a cage dive with Great Whites, but my wife seems to think I would die or lose a limb.
I got her snorkeling once in Guam and it went great till I tried turning her to a different place further from the coral wall. It was too deep so she wanted to go where she felt safer just 3 feet from the bottom. Then I explained to her that there was a stone fish over there which is extremely venomous. Did you know my wife can run on water?
4 thefarmerfiles // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:11 am
Have you ever watched Shark Week on Discovery Channel? Do you know how many more shark attacks occur in the Gulf over Hawaii. Save. Choose Hawaii! Much aloha!
5 @ngie // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:19 am
I have never seen Jaws.
6 stonefox // Jan 12, 2009 at 11:59 am
I've never seen Jaws either, but I did grow up in Florida, which means sharks AND alligators. What's up with sharing beauty with vicious animals? Thank goodness that we were ignorant to the danger when we went swimming with the crocodiles (literally, and I am not kidding).
7 Daisy // Jan 13, 2009 at 1:26 am
I keep hearing the signature phrase: "you're gonna need a bigger boat."
8 FringeGirl // Jan 13, 2009 at 1:42 am
I was sitting in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico with my one year-old standing on my lap. A small shark swam happily around us. I totally freaked when I saw it. Ya, I think Jaws left bad images in my mind too.
9 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:17 am
LOVED the post you linked to. I HAVE to steal that idea.
10 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:19 am
Well there's a downside to everything. Now I have TWO for Hawaii.
11 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:23 am
Well thanks a LOT. Now I'll never swim in the Florida gulf again. My husband and kids are gonna blame you.
Aloha!
12 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:28 am
Thanks for the compliment — calling it a post, I mean.
Not my most sterling creative achievement.
Cali girls don't actually swim anyway. Everyone doesn't understand – until they try to swim in the 65 degree water. Hey, but I don't think sharks like popsicles. (That, and they're too busy chasing the surfers disguised as sea lions.)
13 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:30 am
Thanks for the visit and comment! Yeah, while searching for images, I narrowed it down to this one and one of Bruce the mechanical shark eating the boat in the movie.
14 Steph // Jan 13, 2009 at 2:31 am
Oh I am there with you. I have the same internal dialogue EVERY time I go in the Gulf. Heck, every time a tiny fish bumps against my leg, I'm a wreck.
15 Mom // Jan 13, 2009 at 3:30 am
So that's why Suzy was always afraid of being in our above ground pool alone
even when I explained to her that the water came through the hose!!!!! ARGGGHHHHH
Mom
16 JennCallingHome // Jan 13, 2009 at 3:43 am
And another…"That's some bad hat, Harry."
17 All Rileyed Up // Jan 13, 2009 at 3:47 am
I used to be scared of sharks in the swimming pool. I know it was irrational, but hey, that's how I roll…
18 katdish // Jan 13, 2009 at 4:00 am
I have a brother that lives in Hawaii (on North Shore). He is an avid surfer and has seen numerous sharks. But I would agree with the earlier comment about more sharks in warmer waters. And jellyfish — lest we not forget the jellyfish! Thanks to Hurricane Ike, we don't have much of a beach to go to anymore. Even though describing the brown water that smashed against the rocks and diry sand in Galveston is incredibly generous at best. (I'm not a Galveston hater — just a realist!) I think you should move to Vegas and become a lounge singer/stand-up comedian. I'd pay a dollar to see that!
19 faemom // Jan 13, 2009 at 5:46 am
I remember a couple years ago watching a comedian who talked about how influencial Jaws was. His example, no one under fifty swims as far as they can out in the ocean any more. They used to do that! I used to love sharks when I was a kid, but when you're out in the middle of the ocean and a batch of seaweed brushes your leg, you scream like a little girl and run on water. Of course, I would deal with it for a move to Hawaii.
20 JennCallingHome // Jan 13, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hey, you pulled it off…a post, I mean. I'm trying to talk Hubby into a winter place in Florida. Funny, I lived in Florida, too, as a youngster; California coast after that. So I'm a beach girl all the way, but I don't really like swimming in the water either. Sharks are real, baby!
21 Nicole // Jan 14, 2009 at 2:59 am
Isn't Seattle too cold for sharks???
22 sherri // Jan 14, 2009 at 11:56 am
I was in the 6th grade when Jaws debuted and it has forever impacted my life.
It was the year I started taking showers instead of baths.
Our local beach ( at a LAKE) suffered in attendance. No one was going in the water.
Baptisms at my Dad's church dropped tremendously that year–his Baptist church started offering "sprinkling" for those suffering from sharkaphobia, just so they could still make heaven! It was pure madness, MADNESS I tell ya'!
Thanks for bringing back the memories.
(Good thing we both have Gabby for the free therapy!)
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