I can hear Quint whispering faintly into my ear, over and over; “Eleven-hundred men went into the water; 316 men came out; sharks took the rest; June the 29th, 1945.”

I got the fear, bad. Then the memory hits: Medina Lake, 5-year-old me, middle of the lake, floaties begin to fail, boat is nowhere in site, Mom fails to reassure, fish bumps my leg, certainty of eminent shark/crocodile attack.

I spend the next 20 minutes screaming my head off trying to climb onto the top of my mom's head until the boat comes to retrieve us. Day at the lake ruined? Not likely. Think of it, Me: 1; Sharks: 0.

Oddly enough, this scene would be repeated seven years later at a Sizzler's salad bar when I was asked to leave for insisting on taking the Thousand Island dressing bucket to my table as a dipping sauce for my steak. A different story for a different time, but no less deadly than today's subject. Sharks!

Beginning July 29 on The Discovery Channel, Shark Week kicks off and is celebrating its 20th year.

Running through Aug. 4, this year's programming will be from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. each day. That adds up to about 130 hours of pure shark glorification! And at 20 years, Discovery's Shark Week is cable TV's longest-running event.

This year, we can look forward to programs such as “Shark Feeding Frenzy;” “Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever;” “Deadly Stripes: Tiger Sharks;” “Top 5 Eaten Alive;” and many others.

Every summer, I get twitchy in anticipation of Shark Week. By the time the first program kicks off, I am wound into a crazed frenzy. Then I veg at the tube, eating baskets of Fred's Fish Fry while occasionally throwing tater tots at the TV whenever unusually vicious sharks are shown.

It is straight up awesome, man. There is almost nothing I love more than Shark Week. TV shows about marine life get me like cheese gets bread. And those featuring sharks have always been my favorite. Since I sat in terror the first time I saw “Jaws,” I have been hooked on all things sharks.

But it is through Shark Week that I have learned to fear sharks less and respect the science behind them.

I mean, I would still faint into my own waste product if I ever came face to face with a great white shark. But I think, as I were being ripped to shreds and eaten, I would better grasp the peril these sharks face by man's hand and not concentrate as much on the stereotypes sharks endure.

After all, our global community includes more than just Homo sapiens. Think about it, if sharks had feet and could live out of water, we would have to learn to live with them or face a war the likes of which no one can comprehend.

So science is good. And the aqua science in Shark Week is double good.