[Pennsy Guy]

True story---When I was Stationed at Naval Air Station, Rota, Spain back in late 50's, we'd take a couple "girls" to the beach for the afternoon..once I decided to swim out and see how deep/what the bottom was like...started down feet first..I'm guessing at about 12-15' I touched down-thought to myself--damn, that's a hard sand bottom,let me get a better feel..with no weight belt I naturally started up so with 4-5 arm strokes I'm back down--only there's no hard sand bottom...man, you talk about sh***' I came up started swimming for all I was worth...remembered navy told us don't make noise/splashes so started doing breast stroke..after 30 seconds I'm not moving fast enough--I just wanted out of there. looked back, didn't see a fin so started swimming my ass off..never looked back again...figured if it's going to get me I don't want to see it coming....Obviously, it didn't and I can only think it was one big shark never went that far out again.....

Another time, I worked in my father's asphalt plant for a summer job..16yrs old...we had a big contract so it was 12 hr days...lived in AC then so after work would take my blowup raft (28"X56" as best I can remember)down the beach and ride some waves in...this one late afternoon waves were tiny so I just drifted....woke up and it was pitch black, I look and I'm up beach about 2-3 miles almost to the steel Pier and out as far as the ocean end--where the Diving Horse did his thing...back then the pier was at it's original length...that scared the sh+t out of me...arms and lower legs in the water...I had visions of me being thought of as a seal...oh, yea, we knew about shark attacks back then from the movie news reels...they'd show the surf board with the huge chunk out of it and the guy in the hospital with the missing leg or mangled shoulder or tooth lacerations around his side....

Then the movie Jaws comes out....

That's why God made swimming pools...LOL