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was the question, are the sharks close to us? When any fish touched us we wondered whether it was a shark. We tried not to communicate these feelings to our kids because we did not want them to be afraid to go in the ocean but at the same time we as parents had to teach them how to protect themselves as they got older.

It was time to learn about sharks. My husband and I as well as our children absolutely loved the ocean and we had no intention to spop going. In that particular trip we made it a point to find out how to avoid sharks where we were. Luckily we had friends who had been residents for a couple of decades and friends of ours owened the condominium we were staying in.

Our friends and those we met on the resort who were regulars adviced us to not swim before 9:00 A.M. nor past 6:00 P.M.. Luckily we had not since we always went in the water when the lifeguards were there and this is the time they were there. We were stupid enough to go in when we first arrived to the resort past six o'clock in the evening but no more. We shared all the information with our kids so they could start facing the reality of the danger of the ocean as well as the pleasure.

Before this time my husband and I always wondered why people were not swimming early in the morning or in the evening. Now we knew! Resorts, condominiums, hotels, and houses were on shore and yet people were sitting on lawn chairs away from shore or just walking or running on the beach. Many walked their pets and not even the pets went in. Many rode their bikes. No one was in the water but we did see many fishing boats. People started walking at dawn and way after dusk. Once in a while we did see people jumping in or even swimming in moonlight. It may have been their first time. It was very tempting to go in since the moolight was beautiful and the water was smooth as ice and warm. This seductive beauty of the ocean would not seduce us any more.

My husband and I began reading the shark books we had in our library and watch programs that National Geographic provided about sharks. We also paid attention to the news and newspapers on shark attacts. Usually it was in places we had been or planned to go but with caution. We continued to go to those beaches but did not do anything stupid since we were no longer stupid. We did not hide anything from our kids and they viewed the news and read the articles with us. The programs of National Geographic taught them and us much about sharks. The simple fact was that sharks

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