An incredible lack of social distance.
We, all of us, are extra aware of our precious senior citizens in these perilous days. When a fine grandpa or grandma walks, slowly, down the street or supermarket aisle we cut wide right or wide left, depending on our politics.
When a silver fox or a silver vixen sits we get up and move as far away as possible.
Not to be rude, of course, and quite the opposite. Out of genteel politeness. Out of providing a six foot plus buffer in this wicked time of Coronavirus.
But do you think Great White sharks, apex-predators, monsters of the sea practice this same level of self-aware social distancing?
Unfortunately they do not.
In a beautiful short film titled Near Miss we witness an extra-large man-eater getting near enough to an introspective senior to head-butt him.
Before…
And after…
Ron Elliot, our new hero, our updated North Star who loves diving alone along northern California’s dangerous shore described thusly.
I was swimming along the bottom and the visibility was pretty good. Then I looked behind me and as I turned my head this male white shark came right out of the gloom. It rammed me with its nose. In my head. Knocked the back of my head forward just enough and then the lower jaw knocked me pretty good. Knocked my head down towards the bottom. Once that happened I knew it was a white shark because I’ve been run into before from behind. So after that I swam around for a bit, just kind of filming it as it swam around me. And then it left. It looked like the shark had come out of an injection mold. It just looked perfect.
And be filled with a never-more-necessary sense of que sera, sera.
Whatever will be, will be.