re: #64 Amory Blaine

Once, I stepped on a sand shark at Black’s Beach in San Diego. Scared the shit out of me.

We used to go to the coast at least once a year, sometimes more. The ocean doesn’t bother me nearly as much as fresh water, but then I’ve never stepped on a shark. I guess it bothers me less because for the most part you can’t see what’s in there with you.

The only time the ocean gt really icky back in TX was when 1.) thick black oil like tar would wash up on the beach, 2.) you got there during a weird time when there was tons of seaweed floating in the water (which I just now learned is called Sargassum), and 3.) when there were jellyfish infestations—the big white blobby “moon” ones were mostly just gross, but when there were swarms of Portuguese man o’ war it was too dangerous to go swimming.

Jellyfish swarms and environmental change