What Lurks Below
June 12,1992
I was on vacation with my family when the unexplainable happened.
Me and my family were visiting Florida and my mom and I went to the beach while my dad
checked us in the hotel. It was a sunny afternoon and I was swimming about
five yards away from the shore and I was with my friends who were visiting, too.
my friends were just inviting me to play with them when there was a large bump that
hit my leg. The water was very cloudy and there was hardly any attacks in decades so
I thought it was a current. Then I felt a terrible stinging in my right leg and the water around me turned bright red. When my friends saw the disturbing color they knew what was going on.
they dashed out of the water as quick as possible screaming,”shark, get out of the water!”
when I saw the black fin coming closer to me I knew I had to go. I tried kicking my legs but there was excruciating pain in my right leg. So I started kicking with my other leg and started to
head back to shore. When finally got back everything was blurry and then all of a second
It was black. Just black.
When I woke up, the light from a hospital was blinding.”John?.......John are you alright?” she said. “I’m really dizzy and my head really hurts” I told her. Then she handed me a book and it was titled, SHARKS: How to Avoid Them. She told me she read it and she realized that sharks are attracted to the color yellow. I realized I was wearing my swim team shorts called the Hornets. She also told me splashing will make the shark think that there are many fish around.
Then I felt something really uncomfortable rubbing against my right thigh. When I told her, she hesitated. She told me my leg had such deep cuts it was impossible to fix so it was amputated. I threw off the covers to reveal a large plastic replica of my right leg.Then I found out
From the doctor that I would be taking several classes a day to help me learn how to walk normally with my new leg.Then I knew everything was going to be alright.
After my first class I realized walking with a plastic leg was harder than it looks.The bright side is I am able to watch some TV and rest for a while in my bed.Even if there was only one channel on the television I still watched it. I was shocked with what I saw. The TV said, “SHARK ATTACK: Governor Michele Graves was killed by 13 ft. Great White shark.There were severe punctures in her neck and spinal cords.” My mom was with me in the room and when I looked over at her, she looked more terrified than I did. Her face was like porcelain and her eyes were glued to the screen. When I shut off the TV it was like she was coming back from another world. When she finally snapped out of it she told me she thought it was a good idea for me to meet a marine biologist who had the same experience. I agreed.The next morning the marine biologist arrived to the hospital. When he came to my room I realized he looked like someone’s uncle. He was a thinning man and looked about 50 years old. “Hello,my name is Richard Paczkowski.” Turned out, he was a really nice guy. I realized I wanted to do exactly what he does. And that's exactly what I decided to do.
May 16,2002
Many years passed. There were more attacks through the years than ever seen. And I’m still trying to figure it out today. I got a major in marine biology. I continued my studies in the institute of marine biology in Florida. While I was trying to find my old text book, I found the first shark book I was given SHARKS: How to Avoid Them. While I was flipping through the pages, I realized the TV was left on. I decided I should take a break. So I sat down on the couch and started to flip the channels.when I found the news I was shocked to see the headlines. “SHARK ATTACK: Marine biologist, Richard Paczkowski was on the beach with his grandchildren and daughter and Paczkowski was killed by a 13 ft. great white shark.” I couldn’t believe it. He was the one person who understood me. He would come over to my house for about an hour and told me all about sharks along with their history. He would bring me maps of where the would breed and so many books about them.Then, I thought of something.The plan I just thought of was so good it was bound to work. I had to capture the shark.
Meanwhile, that evening around sunset, a group of teenagers went out to go swimming in the ocean.One person had completely ignored the sign which was strictly forbidding them to go into the water. Only one person in the group chose to go swimming. He was about 5 yards away when something yanked him down. He was losing sight of the surface. There were only dark clouds of red filling the spaces of what he could see. Everything just blanked out just as quick as it had started. The rest of the group went by the water's edge where they saw hints of red rolling with the waves. The were shocked to see what was floating above the water. A single forearm bobbed against the waves. That's when they knew they had to tell someone.
When I heard the news from a neighbor, I dashed out of my house, and gathered enough money to rent a boat with a shark cage. I told the renters I was an experienced marine biologist who understood how to use it. They sent another trained expert to help me with it. As a discount they gave me 10 buckets of chum and a speargun. We boarded the boat and set off. We were about 12 miles away from shore and covered the water with chum. When I spotted the 13 ft. shark, I knew it was time to get in the water.The man lowered me into the water. I had my speargun in hand, which was loaded with sleeping gas. If I shot him, I would give a signal by pulling on the rope attached to the boat so the man on deck would through a net down to catch the shark. When I was lowered in the water, the shark was coming straight toward me in full speed. He was going so fast I had no time to shoot him. He hit the shark cage with great force and there was such a big dent that it looked like a car had run into it. Before he could strike again, I shot him with the spear and I saw the the shark stop swimming. I gave the signal and the net shot into the water gathering the unconscious shark. While the shark was unconscious I gathered a blood sample while he was laying on the boat. On top of the dorsal fin was a tag, but this tag was an old one. I took off the old one and headed to my desk to check the blood sample.
When I looked down at the microscope I saw something odd. In his blood stream there was neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide.Those chemicals make your brain think you’re hungry all the time. I checked the old tag and saw that it had both chemicals in it to see how the shark reacted to it. I had to something, but the only thing left to do was to kill it.
I thought about it all night.The shark had woken up and was swimming in a tank. Then I realized I was able to create an antidote for him. For the rest of the night I was working to create the antidote.It was about two in the morning when I finally finished. I built a stronger, more flexible tag that would contain the antidote. It took me about an hour to get the tag on the shark. I installed a camera on the tag so I could track where he was and how he connected with other sharks. I set off to the new location. It took me about a week, but I had enough food and water for me and the shark. When we made it there, I tipped over the tank releasing the shark into the water. I went over to my computer and watched the film. After about 10 minutes I thought I should turn it off, then I saw the camera was shaking vigorously.The shark was trying to get the tag off. I was absolutely scared. Then the absolute worst happened...I saw the tag falling down to the bottom. I saw the faint image of the shark swimming became smaller as the camera fell deeper.Then the screen went black.There was no way to get him back...And he will forever lurk below….
I was on vacation with my family when the unexplainable happened.
Me and my family were visiting Florida and my mom and I went to the beach while my dad
checked us in the hotel. It was a sunny afternoon and I was swimming about
five yards away from the shore and I was with my friends who were visiting, too.
my friends were just inviting me to play with them when there was a large bump that
hit my leg. The water was very cloudy and there was hardly any attacks in decades so
I thought it was a current. Then I felt a terrible stinging in my right leg and the water around me turned bright red. When my friends saw the disturbing color they knew what was going on.
they dashed out of the water as quick as possible screaming,”shark, get out of the water!”
when I saw the black fin coming closer to me I knew I had to go. I tried kicking my legs but there was excruciating pain in my right leg. So I started kicking with my other leg and started to
head back to shore. When finally got back everything was blurry and then all of a second
It was black. Just black.
When I woke up, the light from a hospital was blinding.”John?.......John are you alright?” she said. “I’m really dizzy and my head really hurts” I told her. Then she handed me a book and it was titled, SHARKS: How to Avoid Them. She told me she read it and she realized that sharks are attracted to the color yellow. I realized I was wearing my swim team shorts called the Hornets. She also told me splashing will make the shark think that there are many fish around.
Then I felt something really uncomfortable rubbing against my right thigh. When I told her, she hesitated. She told me my leg had such deep cuts it was impossible to fix so it was amputated. I threw off the covers to reveal a large plastic replica of my right leg.Then I found out
From the doctor that I would be taking several classes a day to help me learn how to walk normally with my new leg.Then I knew everything was going to be alright.
After my first class I realized walking with a plastic leg was harder than it looks.The bright side is I am able to watch some TV and rest for a while in my bed.Even if there was only one channel on the television I still watched it. I was shocked with what I saw. The TV said, “SHARK ATTACK: Governor Michele Graves was killed by 13 ft. Great White shark.There were severe punctures in her neck and spinal cords.” My mom was with me in the room and when I looked over at her, she looked more terrified than I did. Her face was like porcelain and her eyes were glued to the screen. When I shut off the TV it was like she was coming back from another world. When she finally snapped out of it she told me she thought it was a good idea for me to meet a marine biologist who had the same experience. I agreed.The next morning the marine biologist arrived to the hospital. When he came to my room I realized he looked like someone’s uncle. He was a thinning man and looked about 50 years old. “Hello,my name is Richard Paczkowski.” Turned out, he was a really nice guy. I realized I wanted to do exactly what he does. And that's exactly what I decided to do.
May 16,2002
Many years passed. There were more attacks through the years than ever seen. And I’m still trying to figure it out today. I got a major in marine biology. I continued my studies in the institute of marine biology in Florida. While I was trying to find my old text book, I found the first shark book I was given SHARKS: How to Avoid Them. While I was flipping through the pages, I realized the TV was left on. I decided I should take a break. So I sat down on the couch and started to flip the channels.when I found the news I was shocked to see the headlines. “SHARK ATTACK: Marine biologist, Richard Paczkowski was on the beach with his grandchildren and daughter and Paczkowski was killed by a 13 ft. great white shark.” I couldn’t believe it. He was the one person who understood me. He would come over to my house for about an hour and told me all about sharks along with their history. He would bring me maps of where the would breed and so many books about them.Then, I thought of something.The plan I just thought of was so good it was bound to work. I had to capture the shark.
Meanwhile, that evening around sunset, a group of teenagers went out to go swimming in the ocean.One person had completely ignored the sign which was strictly forbidding them to go into the water. Only one person in the group chose to go swimming. He was about 5 yards away when something yanked him down. He was losing sight of the surface. There were only dark clouds of red filling the spaces of what he could see. Everything just blanked out just as quick as it had started. The rest of the group went by the water's edge where they saw hints of red rolling with the waves. The were shocked to see what was floating above the water. A single forearm bobbed against the waves. That's when they knew they had to tell someone.
When I heard the news from a neighbor, I dashed out of my house, and gathered enough money to rent a boat with a shark cage. I told the renters I was an experienced marine biologist who understood how to use it. They sent another trained expert to help me with it. As a discount they gave me 10 buckets of chum and a speargun. We boarded the boat and set off. We were about 12 miles away from shore and covered the water with chum. When I spotted the 13 ft. shark, I knew it was time to get in the water.The man lowered me into the water. I had my speargun in hand, which was loaded with sleeping gas. If I shot him, I would give a signal by pulling on the rope attached to the boat so the man on deck would through a net down to catch the shark. When I was lowered in the water, the shark was coming straight toward me in full speed. He was going so fast I had no time to shoot him. He hit the shark cage with great force and there was such a big dent that it looked like a car had run into it. Before he could strike again, I shot him with the spear and I saw the the shark stop swimming. I gave the signal and the net shot into the water gathering the unconscious shark. While the shark was unconscious I gathered a blood sample while he was laying on the boat. On top of the dorsal fin was a tag, but this tag was an old one. I took off the old one and headed to my desk to check the blood sample.
When I looked down at the microscope I saw something odd. In his blood stream there was neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide.Those chemicals make your brain think you’re hungry all the time. I checked the old tag and saw that it had both chemicals in it to see how the shark reacted to it. I had to something, but the only thing left to do was to kill it.
I thought about it all night.The shark had woken up and was swimming in a tank. Then I realized I was able to create an antidote for him. For the rest of the night I was working to create the antidote.It was about two in the morning when I finally finished. I built a stronger, more flexible tag that would contain the antidote. It took me about an hour to get the tag on the shark. I installed a camera on the tag so I could track where he was and how he connected with other sharks. I set off to the new location. It took me about a week, but I had enough food and water for me and the shark. When we made it there, I tipped over the tank releasing the shark into the water. I went over to my computer and watched the film. After about 10 minutes I thought I should turn it off, then I saw the camera was shaking vigorously.The shark was trying to get the tag off. I was absolutely scared. Then the absolute worst happened...I saw the tag falling down to the bottom. I saw the faint image of the shark swimming became smaller as the camera fell deeper.Then the screen went black.There was no way to get him back...And he will forever lurk below….
one way to avoid an attack is to not were yellow or JEWELRY in the water. |
when in shark territorySTAY STILL
Swimming away will provoke the shark.Staying still will tell the shark that your not a threat.You must stay still and stay calm.
|
when it doesn't workPUNCH
When the shark is coming dangerously close,punch the shark on the tip of the nose,the eyes,or the gills.
|
and lastlyREMEMBER
A shark doesn't want to hurt you.The only time it will attack is when you are in it's territory.
|