From the Editor
Our friend the Basking shark
News that a shark was patrolling Long Sands Beach last week may have set off a few jitters, and possibly some grumbling from those most affected by the closure of the beach that temporarily ensued. York Parks and Recreation Director Mike Sullivan, who is also a certified Maine Guide, speculated that the visitor may have been a Basking shark, based on the description given. That news may have been some comfort for local beachgoers in that the giant Basking shark, while in size the second largest of all sharks, is no man-eater, and is instead a largely peaceful plankton-eater. But even had last week's shark been the more dangerous Mako, or the more common but also dangerous blue shark, the reminder that there are sharks out there came as not necessarily bad news.We live by the ocean. But living by it, we all too often take it for granted, don't you think? How many of us really take the time to go out on it, or fish in it, or dive underneath it? Not many of us these days. Most of us are too busy running along it, or driving past it, or in the summer even staying away from it. We practically forget it is even there, a real live ocean just out the front door. Forget, that is, until something like a wandering shark comes along to give us a good jolt and make us remember why we live here and not Kansas: It's the ocean, stupid!
So while the news of sharks swimming around might temporarily give us a bit of the heebie-jeebies, it also reminds us that we do have neighbors out there, and that the mystery of the sea is something we have right at hand, even if we do take it for granted. From here then, thanks for the visit, Mr. Basking Shark - or whatever other relative you may have been.
Idiot Drivers
On a less welcome note, we take time to consider last Sunday's alleged drag race and Evel Knievel jump off Interstate 95 and into the York River. We wish no one physical harm, and we hope that the injured parties recover completely. But once they do, if the reports of their reckless driving prior to the crash prove true, we hope that they are fully and appropriately prosecuted and separated from their right to drive. There is more than enough danger lurking about these days without manufacturing more of it on an August Sunday morning over the York River.
