Shark Week! OR Why I'm not getting much sleep!

So, 9:00 on a Sunday night rolls around, and I'm just flipping through the channels, minding my own business, when all of the sudden I pass the Discovery Channel and realize, to both my joy and dismay, that Shark Week has indeed begun.

For the uninitiated (and culturally out of touch), Shark Week is a week-long programming theme for the Discovery Channel where most every show is about sharks. These shows range from documentaries about different sharks, to Mythbusters episodes where they test the plausibility of Jaws.

Now, I'm not sure why this week-long theme is so popular with the masses or why it captivates me so. All I know is that between 9:00 pm and 1:00 am last night, I watched shows ranging from the "Oceans of Fear" (about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in shark infested waters during World War II) to "Air Jaws" (about Great White Sharks breaching the surface of the water as the feed on seals and sea lions), and I was enthralled for every minute. There is just something about sharks that touches a chord within us. Perhaps we pause and examine our own humanity. Maybe there is a touch of "shark" in all of us. Or maybe I just think that watching a Great White Shark fly through the air is frickin cool.

As I write this post, bleary-eyed at work, I can't help but look forward to this week with equal parts excitement and dread. I'm sure I will spend hours gorging on shark-related programming. I'll probably cheer out loud and make comments such as "dude, that was awesome" to no one in particular. I'll relish each and every minute I watch these predators of the deep do something cool. All while I neglect both my wife and sleep. Which is why I'm grateful that it is called Shark "Week" and not Shark "Month". I'm not sure my marriage or job can survive my addiction.