I Admit; Sneaker Waves Don’t Scare Me

The officials along the Oregon Coast have issued a warning today; “watch out for sneaker waves.”  Apparently there is a storm off the coast that is perfectly positioned to send extra-powerful waves shooting up onto our beaches, and the warning is in effect through today.

I’m a logical guy, but I admit that warnings like this feel like they only apply to other people and not me.  That’s just arrogance, and I know it, but it’s true.

I can come up with a million justifications why this is true.  I’m a big guy; a wave needs to be extra powerful to get me to budge.  I’m sharp; I am aware of my surroundings, and a wave couldn’t ever catch me off guard.  I’m a strong swimmer; even if a wave pulled me in, I’d swim my way out (it’s only water after all).  I’ve got big lungs; even if a wave somehow pulled me under, I could hold my breath long enough to make my way up.

See?  That’s all hubris.  That’s just me acting like a teenager and still thinking I’m invincible.  (On the beach, that is…  I have no illusions of toughness anywhere else.  I won’t even try to climb over fences any more because I’m positive I’ll hurt myself.)  But in the water, I don’t think anything can hurt me.

BUT…  I’m also logical.  I know this is silly and dangerous thinking.  I can’t beat Mother Nature.  Nobody can.  Everybody needs to take precautions and listen to experts.

In short…  watch out for sneaker waves, even if you don’t think you need to.

~Jake from 98.7 The Bull