December 6, 2012

"I managed to get my head up and scream 'croc' and then this giant dragged me under again."

"I got my head above water again and this time I was swearing and saying get this thing off me. I was just screaming for help. I couldn't feel any pain but I could see his teeth sinking into my leg. I thought I was going to die. I could only see about four centimetres of the top of my leg and the rest was in the croc's gob."

Well, clearly she survived, since we have that quote, but how did she survive? (The saltwater crocodile was 3 meters long.) Her friend on the shore — Al Sartori — went in:
"I jumped into the water and on to its back and stuck my thumbs into its eyes until I felt it start to slacken off.... I picked up the croc and chucked it back into the water and it came back at me. It was pretty heavy."
Great heroism by Satori! A euonym? "Satori is considered a 'first step' or embarkation toward nirvana."
The student's mind must be prepared by rigorous study, with the use of koans, and the practice of meditation to concentrate the mind, under the guidance of a teacher.... Chinese Zen master Wumen Hui-k'ai (無門慧開)... struggled for six years with koan "Zhaozhou’s dog"...
The koan is: "Does a dog have Buddha nature or not?" Does a crocodile?

Wumen, having understood the koan wrote this poem:
A thunderclap under the clear blue sky
All beings on earth open their eyes;
Everything under heaven bows together;
Mount Sumeru leaps up and dances.
I know a poem about a crocodile:
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!

16 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

It's her own fault if she didn't know to never smile at a crocodile.

rhhardin said...

It seems like the newspaper is pandering.

I'd like to hear the crocodile's side.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Surfing in Costa Rica I had just kicked out of a wave in the middle of the river mouth at Witches Rock. As my surfboard bobbed up there it was, a 6 foot croc floating between the sandbars looking for fishes. It disappeared underwater. I paddled my ass off back to the sandbar. I've seen and surfed with dolphins on the waves. Not interrested in sharing the line up with Costa Rican crocs.

rhhardin said...

Ogden Nash, The Purist

edutcher said...

Mitch, you stole my idea.

PS You need a "courage" tag.

Also, a "masculine bravery" one.

William said...

It's very difficult to achieve zen awareness whilst being eaten by a crocodile. Takes a truly tremendous amount of concentration. Even a mosquito bite can put you off your game.

Methadras said...

Hmmm, I'd like her leg in my gob. Although I'm gonna have to go after big Al afterwards. Win?

Big Mike said...

Five pictures of "Brave Tara's" pretty face and svelte figure, two of her leg, and one with her boyfriend and rescuer.

Any chance that the Mail is a tabloid?

Scott M said...

Only a day after a Monty Python thread, Ann embarks on a stream of consciousness.

Don said...

I believe that his name is "Big Al" Sartori, as in the Sartorius Muscle (which received significant injury) or in sartorial.

ricpic said...

Did Sartori have time for Satori prep before diving in to gouge the croc's eyes? No. All he needed was courage. That's the highest western value. Or was until the wisdom of the east was used to rationalize all the crap that started polluting the west in the '60's and is now in the driver's seat. Not that there isn't wisdom in the east. Climb Mount Fujiyama, one step at a time, an example that needs no deep training to understand or put into practice. But the wisdom of the west is greater still, When courage is lost all is lost, German proverb. Which Sartori understood in his bones, and acted on.

BarrySanders20 said...

That is some quick thinking gouging the reptile's eyes. Nothing else would have worked.

I think I'd go after the eyes (all the way deep into the brain if I had to) if an animal got ahold of one of my kids and would not let go. It might be the only way to get it off. You could do real damage with your thumbs if you needed to and their biting parts were busy with someone else.

You have to think ahead about these things or you won't be prepared to do what's necessary when the time comes.

BarrySanders20 said...

That is some quick thinking gouging the reptile's eyes. Nothing else would have worked.

I think I'd go after the eyes (all the way deep into the brain if I had to) if an animal got ahold of one of my kids and would not let go. It might be the only way to get it off. You could do real damage with your thumbs if you needed to and their biting parts were busy with someone else.

You have to think ahead about these things or you won't be prepared to do what's necessary when the time comes.

Methadras said...

Sometimes when my dog and I play tug of war with one his toys that he just won't ever let go of, I take one hand and point out my index finger and slowly move it in front of him like I'm going to put it i his ear. He just sits there pulling on his toy while his eyes are following my finger. Then I put my finger in his ear slightly to tickle it and then he can't stand it anymore and opens his mouth to move his head away from my finger. Then I yell, "HAHAHA!!! I WIN!!!" which is immediately rewarded with him getting another one of his toys and teasing me to tug of war with it, until I gently ask him, "Can I have it?" and then he just takes it and runs away.

James said...

Never smile at a crocodile.
Never tip your hat and start to talk a while.
Don't be taken in by his built-in grin.
He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin.