We've been a country that's been fortunate to be protected by two oceans, to not have serious attacks on our territory for most of our history. And we were unfortunately reminded in a very devastating way of our vulnerability.
I feel, in 2015, when we see human beings and children dying to cross the ocean, trying to find safety, something more must be done to help them because refugees are just like me and you.
With care and protection, with safe havens in the ocean, there is still a good chance that we can turn things around.
I tried body surfing once, but how often do you find a corpse?
Sharks will scare me. I went out to Malibu a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful, clear day, out in five feet of water, going to surf, and there was this big ol' freakin' leopard shark... I'm looking at him and I'm thinking, 'OK, he won't hurt me.'
I am terrified of sharks, so I don't surf!
The first lesson my kids got about the ocean was to respect it. You can never turn your back on the ocean when you're dealing with tides and currents - factors beyond your control. You have to be the CEO of your family on the water. CEO stands for 'constant eyes on,' and it's something I never forget.
Surfing big waves is not an extreme sport to me. I fall off, tumble down, and come up. My heart's racing because I'm thinking I almost drowned, and I thank God I can breathe again, but I always think, 'What am I hitting?' Water.
Sharks don't target human beings, and they certainly don't hold grudges.
The rule of surfing is never tell anyone where you go.
Almost any shark, three or four feet long, could kill a human being if it chose to do it. It could make you bleed to death. But they don't.
I know it's odd. But when I was getting scuba certified, it was explained very early on that you never get to just strap on a tank and jump into the ocean. You have to know how deep you're going, and the deeper you go, the less amount of time you stay down there - and it takes longer to get to the surface.
We're humans. We live on land. Sharks live in water. So if you're swimming in the water and a shark bites you, that's called trespassing. That is called trespassing. That is not a shark attack.
So the hotel tells us that it is not safe to go in the water because its shark mating time. I know how I'd feel if someone interrupted me.
Movies like 'The Abyss' and 'Jaws' make people think the ocean is threatening. It's not. It's very tranquil.
