I wonder if the 2010 Roger Corman-produced mashup Sharktopus had its  roots in a Fijian myth? (Trivia: Long before he produced Sharktopus, Corman made She Gods of Shark Reef.)

In the ancient story, Dakuwaqa, a shapeshifter and sometime shark patrols the islands hassling the innocent creatures of the reef and generally being a jerk. The Octopus God restores harmony to Fiji by wrapping  Dakuwaqa in a deadly tentacle hug until the shark  god agrees to not only protect the underwater creatures, but to guard Fiji’s divers and shark feeders as well.

1949’s Omoo-Omoo the Shark God, involves a ship captain who’s cursed when he steals the sacred pearl eyes from a shark god idol. Omoo-Omoo looks like one of those allegedly scary or cool movies that aired on Channel 56 and so vexed me as a child. I’d wait and wait for the monster promised in the title, only to find out its scenes had been mostly cut and the movie really consisted of two hours of ponderous dialogue between a buxom female scientist and an army captain who refused to take her seriously.

Today, I started thinking, as I do each time September rolls around, about a world beyond teaching. I am so excited about volunteering with Shark Angels. I started making a list of things I could do to help sharks. Then In a moment of synchronicity, just as I was wondering how I could I get started in non-profit work, an ad came on the radio for Antioch’s Masters Program in Nonprofit Management.

Maybe the shark gods are sending me a message.