North Jetty Continued

Thanks for going through North Jetty mania with me!

Next week I promise we will travel somewhere else in the world, but for now... where were we??

Oh yeah, it was a long night of fishing but no catching.

I was wandering up the beach with Mark, my E Muzeki bandmate. It was like squinting into stage lights when the sun burst over the horizon blasting blinding strokes of yellow white along the water.

Among the small waves breaking on the beach, emerged a large body covered in silver skin. At first I thought it was a bottle nosed dolphin but thought that couldn't be.

Mark waded into the shallows and bent down to investigate, and next thing I know he's standing there holding an enormous shark by the tail!

It was a black tip shark. Maybe it was just the hunger, or maybe it's because my Dad used to catch those surf fishing by Bob Haul pier, and would throw the meat straight on the grill like a beef steak, but I was already imagining camp fire roast shark at this point.

When we turned to head back up to camp, we saw that we were no longer alone on the island. Jetty Boat must have just made the first journey of the day.

A Mom with two kids running in orbit led the pack while Dad trailed far behind with big headphones over his ears swiping left and right with a metal detector.

The little boy called out, "Whoa Mom look he has a shark!!"

Mark lay the shark on the beach so they could safely see.

They were crouched down from a few feet away, and then Mom looked around as if confused and slowly said, "Where is yall's fishing pole???"

They were stunned when we explained what happened. This was the era when Steve Irwin was really big. Mom exclaims, "Oh my gosh, you're just like croc hunter!! Kids!! Today is the day we met SHARK MAN!"

The Dad had finally caught up and Mom goes, "Honey! This is SHARK MAN! He caught this with his bare hands!"

But Dad was focused on his task with the metal detector moving smoothly onward, and the family soon followed him down the beach.

It only got stranger from there!

Mark got his filet knife and began to clean the beautiful shark so we could eat something with our carrots and onions we brought.

He said, "Look, there's something big in the stomach!"

Through translucent pearly film I could see a silver fish of some kind. He cut a small opening and the creature slid out onto the beach. As we looked closer we learned that this was indeed NOT the stomach, and this fish that slithered out was not the shark's last meal.

It was a perfectly formed little silver shark just longer than my foot!

Our hearts sank as we processed that this big shark would soon have been a mama!

This was a terrible realization that maybe she was in the shallow water because she was having trouble trying to birth this baby!

Then Mark solemnly said, "Oh, I think there are more."

Shark after shark came out until there were nine laying still on the sand.

We stood sadly speechless for a little while.

And then we were startled by a popping sound as one of them jumped to life with a mighty flick of the tail! Slowly they all started to move!

We carried their wiggly bodies in our hands into the water and boom! They were off swimming gaining strength every second! Our hopes soared high, but then they were dashed again when the little guys started washing right up on the beach.

For the next hour (or maybe two!) we just stood on the beach watching, and when one would wash to shore, we'd swim it out a little further past the breaking waves until eventually none of them returned.

Maybe ten years from now this Patreon will be able to fund a short film about this that will start with this story. Then turn in to a kind of a Jaw's parody but on the Texas coast.

It ends with me alone on the hull of the sinking Jetty Boat and the shark has already eaten the whole back of it into smitherines. The giant shark mouth opens ready to bite me in half, but then those beady black eyes rest on me for an extra moment and that's where you'd see a twinkle of warmth and perhaps a hint of fond toothy smile.

Roll the memory montage! We've met before!

And we all lived happily ever after.

Violinists please enjoy this early release draft of The North Jetty sheet music! A nice clean digital rendering with tab will be ready soon thanks to a Patron here who is good with Musescore!

Happy weekend!
Jenny