After Some Reflection I've Decided That The Ocean Is Much Scarier Than The Woods

Ocean vs Woods has been a LONG standing debate on dogwalk ever since Eddie and I did the episode on "Onion Town". My position has always been that the woods were scarier mostly because there are people who live in the woods and there is nothing scarier than a creepy human being that makes things go bump in the night. This was my original blog

While there's still merit to that argument, the USS Indianapolis story tips the scales in favor of the ocean forever. Worst environment imaginable. If the name rings a bell it's probably because you watched Jaws this summer. One of the most famous scenes is when Quint details what it was like after the Indianapolis sank

As intense and as horrifying as that scene was, I don't even think it really does it justice. Unrelenting sunburn and heat poisoning during the day and fighting off hypothermia at night. Only food was whatever floating spam was bobbing up and down in the wreckage. No drinkable water for 4 days. Utter blackness at night. And then everyone around you either being eaten by sharks treating the sinking of a naval ship like an open buffet or losing their minds and swimming off to a mirage in the distance never to be seen again. I can not imagine a worse environment on this planet. We talked about Schackleton again in this episode because that situation was also obviously terrifying, but if I had the choice between shipwreck in Antarctica for a year followed by taking a rickety boat across the most dangerous ocean or spending 3 days in Pacific Ocean after the sinking of the Indianapolis I am taking the 24 hours of extreme blackness and bitter cold every time. 

So, credit to me. I took in a story and some facts and rather than dig my heels in about the woods I have decided that the USS Indianapolis story is compelling enough for me to change my opinion. The Ocean is the biggest and scariest thing imaginable. I want no part of the ocean unless I am falling asleep to waves crashing on apple music at night. That's as close as I want to get right now. Fuck the ocean.