Shark Attack

[birdhouse]

I just received this from someone at work and its not true.
See wannano6's post.



> Subject: Could it be true ????
>
> I received this from a friend of mine in Pensacola, read on....
>
> To All my buddies and friends that have called me about the truth
> on the
> shark attack here on Pensacola Beach, the truth is coming out!
> There is
> a reason that the "hero" of the attack that wrestled that 7
> footshark to
> shore is not giving any interviews, and is hard to find. There
> is a
> reason that this 7 foot shark was in 2 feet of water, and there
> is a reason
> that the family is "acting funny" about taking money from those
> that want to help
> ....here it is.....hard truth...Sit down...
>
> THE UNCLE THAT WRESTLED THE SHARK ASHORE WAS FISHING
> FOR SHARKS, HAD IT ON A LINE AND HAD BEEN FIGHTING IT FOR
> TWO HOURS PLUS.
>
> The unidentified stranger that helped him also helped him fight
> the fish
> to shore.When the shark got into two feet of water, the kids all
> ran into
> the water in jubilation and the shark lunged from off the ground
> and hit
> Jessie Arbogast twice, took his arm off and bit into his leg.
> !!!!!!! The
> man had CHUM in the water, and heavy tackle built to fish for
> sharks.
> His nephew got bit because the entire family went into the water
> trying to wrestle
> the fish to land. There is big money on a shark that size.
> THIS IS THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT
> THE TRUTH
> The press has suppressed the real truth, because they are afraid
> that it
> will effect the contributions for Jessie and the uncle is so
> filled with
> guilt, he has tried to commit suicide once already....Now it all
> makes
> sense.
> NO MAN is going to wrestle a shark that large to shore in two
> feet of
> water, that is one powerful animal, and they had cut the cable,
> and hide the
> rods by the time the Medic's got there. The ranger that shot the
> shark
> testified that the shark still had the hook in his mouth and "put
> up a big
> fight because his mouth was all bloody and torn up"....(that is
> why the shark had
> blood all over it's mouth in the TV photo's, it was it's own
> blood !!)I am not
> lessening the horror of the event. Jessie did get an arm bit off
> and is
> going to recover, but I am tired of Pensacola Beach taking it in
> the shorts
> because of the "whole truth not being told"....The money, in my
> opinion
> would still come in, and the uncle will have to accept that it
> was a tragic
> accident and a mistake.[Edited by birdhouse on August 10th, 2001 at 12:09 PM]

[malphas]

Well...now I guess the truth can now be told about my incident, as well. Two years ago I was out fishing for Blue Whales with my granny, and we had hooked us the MOTHER of all whales. I struggled for what seemed like hours to get that thing close enough to shore for us to snatch him. Of course when I finally got him to about 20 feet out, I told Granny to get in there and club the bastard with her walker--but that's when things got ugly: he proceeded to swallow Granny whole. At that point, I jumped in and poked the bugger's eye out with my pool cue (I knew there was a good reason I carried that thing around). He whipped me around somethin' good, but it paid off: Granny came a shootin' up through the beast's ungodly blowhole. To this day, Granny still has nightmares about that enormous, slimy tongue.

I was reluctant to have the world know that we were hunting endangered whales, but in light of this recent shark fishing revelation, I think people are gonna be more accepting. I'm sure the dozens of people who witnessed this frightening event will also be relieved that they can finally tell the real story without fear of people boycotting the beaches of the Great Lakes. Thank you all for sticking with us over the years.

-Malfus (Malphas' uncle)<<< This "uncle" claim has not yet been verified. However, everything else is true, to the best of my knowledge.[Edited by malphas on August 9th, 2001 at 12:07 PM]

[mmwt]

That's the first time I've ever heard "Granny" and "blowhole" used in the same sentence!!!!

[ac4zu]

I've fished off of the beach down their my whole life and have never had or seen a problem (I don't fish for sharks). I generally start fishing before sunlight and stop around 8:30am. I will start fishing again that evening around 7:00pm.

Are the extremist going to attempt to ban surf fishing?

I have seen sharks that large (or close enough) swimming in the crest of waves in knee deep water as close as 15 feet of the beach. Once my wife and I were close enough to see their eyes way too clearly. We were about 3 to 5 feet from them. They swim fairly fast and if we had blinked our eyes we would have never noticed them. I was playing in the surf with my wife and daughter and I had not been fishing that day.

The sharks are there every day, but most people never notice them.

Orange Beach, Al. is my home away from home.

I wonder if the boats I see dragging their nets so close to the beach every morning has anything do with it? My experience over the years convinces me that they are and have been depleting the Gulf of Mexico of it’s stock. I know it’s hard to believe that you could fish out a body of water so large, but I believe they have done it. I feel this depletion ends up leaving a bunch of hungry sharks swimming around with nothing to eat. I might be wrong, but it’s my theory.

Oh well, I guess Sh#t happens and sometimes you end being the unlucky one.

If the guy was really chumming the water and specifically fishing for sharks that close to beach goers then he needs his butt kicked in a bad way.

I hope the boy heals up ok.

[wannano6]

Completely false, here's the skinny on the real story written by a respected reporter in a respected paper who has to get his facts checked.


Modest hero facing another vicious attack

July 31, 2001

BY RICHARD ROEPER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST



Vance Flosenzier of Mobile, Ala., performed two amazing feats this summer. You probably have heard about the first one. On July 6, Flosenzier was on the beach in Pensacola, Fla., when he heard his 8-year-old nephew, Jessie Arbogast, screaming that a shark was biting him. The strapping Flosenzier, a veteran triathlete, raced out to the boy and managed to pry the shark away as it clamped down on Jessie's arm, tearing it off. He then grabbed the 7-foot, 200-pound bull shark by its tail and wrestled it to shore.

A short while later, as Jessie was being helicoptered to the hospital, a National Park Service ranger shot the shark in the head in order to loosen its grip on Jessie's severed arm, which was then packed in ice and taken away by ambulance. In something approaching a medical miracle, the arm was reattached.

Jessie remains in a coma, though he has responded to touch and his eyes are open. If not for the brave and quick actions of his uncle and others, Jessie surely would not have survived the attack.

The story quickly went national in a big way. Hundreds of kids are seriously injured every summer--but drive-by shootings and auto accidents are far too commonplace to attract the nation's attention. A shark attack, though--that's something cinematically dramatic in its awfulness. That's something that'll make the cover of Time magazine.

But as millions monitor Jessie's progress and pray for his recovery, his uncle Vince has been conspicuously invisible. No ''exclusive'' interviews with his favorite local newscaster, no appearances on ''Nightline'' or ''Larry King Live,'' no cash deals to tell his first-person story to the National Enquirer or the Star. Not even a guest shot on something like ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show,'' where you know Flosenzier would be treated like the hero he is and showered with applause and gifts.

In other words, we finally have a shining example of a non-celebrity who is thrust into the news via circumstances beyond his control--yet refuses to yammer for the benefit of every cable news show and morning chat-fest just because they asked. As far as I'm concerned, that's nearly as impressive as wresting a shark away from your nephew and dragging it to shore.

And how is Flosenzier rewarded for such restraint? He becomes the victim of a nasty, Internet-fueled rumor.

Maybe you received the e-mail in the last week or so, as it makes the rounds. It reads, in part:

''There is a reason that the 'hero' [who] wrestled the 7-ft. shark to shore is not giving interviews and is hard to find . . . here it is . . . hard truth: THE UNCLE THAT WRESTLED THE SHARK ASHORE WAS FISHING FOR SHARKS, HAD IT ON A LINE AND HAD BEEN FIGHTING IT FOR TWO PLUS HOURS.

''When the shark had been pulled in to the shallow water, the kids all ran into the water in jubilation and [that's when] the shark lunged from off the ground and hit Jessie Abrogate twice, took his arm off and bit into his leg!!!!

''The press has suppressed the real truth, because they are afraid it will affect the contributions for Jessie . . . The uncle is so filled with guilt, he has tried to commit suicide . . . The ranger that shot the shark [has] testified that the shark still had the hook in its mouth . . .

''I am not lessening the horror of this event. Jessie did get an arm bit off . . . but I am tired of the whole truth not being told . . .''

Of course, the gutless wonder who penned this unfounded pile of lies and allegations doesn't identify himself. But his words are streams of garbage. When you discount all the false information--including the ludicrous claim about the shark having a hook in its mouth, the fictional ''testimony'' from the ranger and the nonsense about the kids running into the water, all of which contradicts eyewitness accounts--there's nothing left.

And, of course, the assertion about a media conspiracy, like all claims of media conspiracies, fails to take into account the reality that most hard news reporters are too busy trying to kill each other for scoops to engage in any kind of sweeping agreement to suppress information for some greater agenda. Please.

Apparently there was a man fishing with light tackle on the beach that day--but according to published reports and eyewitness accounts, it wasn't Jessie's uncle, it was a guy who was about 100 yards east of the point of the shark attack.

Everything else is just cynical rumor-mongering. Authorities are trying to trace the source of the e-mail, but don't hold your breath.

Cowards are great at hiding under multiple layers of anonymity.




When I first read this I believed it as I had not followed the story but had heard of it. Now to get the hook out of my mouth and edit my first post.....Wanna

[birdhouse]

Thank you wannann06 for some solid information on this story. I'm sending this to the person who sent me the wrong story. Now I have to get my foot out of my mouth.. "When I first read this I believed it as I had not followed the story but had heard of it. Now to get the hook out of my
mouth".

[quaddawg]

Don't blame yourself, the bogus (MAYBE) story sounded very believable, I have lectured on the benefits of the internet, now maybe it is time for some oratory on the drawbacks, such as the incredible rate at which rumours spread!


Quaddout!!!

[birdhouse]

Originally posted by quaddawg
Don't blame yourself, the bogus (MAYBE) story sounded very believable, I have lectured on the benefits of the internet, now maybe it is time for some oratory on the drawbacks, such as the incredible rate at which rumours spread!

Thanks quaddawg. The person who mailed this to me is of reputable character and I've know them for years.As a rule I usually don't jump on the rumor wagon but this time I took the hook, line and sinker. LOL

[birdhouse]

Quote from ac4zu "I wonder if the boats I see dragging their nets so close to the beach every morning has anything do with it? My experience over the years convinces me that they are and have been depleting the Gulf of Mexico of it’s stock. I know it’s hard to believe that you could fish out a body of water so large, but they did.

I used buy whiteing on the east coast for $15 a 50lb crate and smoke them. At one time you could go out on a party boat and catch 100lbs yourself.
Now your lucky to catch a dozen fish all winter.
The reason, over fished by foreign factor ships.
,