Keep That Chum Line Going Chief

Its the Fourth of July and I am watching Jaws...again. I like good movies for a bunch of reasons...the biggest being is that if you pay attention you are able to get something new out of the movie each time you watch them.

This time I realized that part of Jaws' appeal is that our perception of the natural order of things is turned upside down. Our place on top of the food chain is challenged by a great white shark. Instead of our plying the ocean for food instead we became food. The citizens of Amity are panicked and don't understand why the order of things have changed. The mayor (who is, next to Quint, is my favorite character) refuses to recognize that the great white had turned the tables on him and that his island's beach goers and fishermen had become prey.

Sitting here watching the movie I realized that I have become prey. A series of personal, financial, and professional setbacks has left me bewildered and confused. I had grown accustomed to having at least the illusion of being on top of the food chain. I ran my own business. I made my own deals. I set my own schedule. I lived life on my terms. I used to make life happen and now life is happening to me. I changed without realizing it, and a lot of blood, my blood, spilled into the water while I refused to recognize that I had become prey.

So, in a manner of speaking I am now off to hunt the great white. I am going to have to re-invent myself if I am going to reclaim my accustomed place in the food chain. I only hope I do not end up like Captain Quint.