OUTDOORS Reel Men: Quint of 1975’s ‘Jaws’

From the first moment he appears on the screen in the 1975 blockbuster movie “Jaws,” he commands respect. He bides his time listening to the town folk complain and whine and have their pity party before running his fingernails down a chalkboard to get their attention and announcing, “You all know me. You all know what I do.”

They do.

Because he’s Quint, the onenamed, foul-mouthed, grizzled shark fisherman, and he’s the only man that can save the town from a monstrous man-eating Great White.

For a price.

Quint’s not a hero. He’s a businessman. And his character is one of the greatest Reel Men to ever appear on screen. He is the epitome of the Hemingway hero come to life, a man’s man that knows his way is the only way, that action speaks louder than words, and that the world that came after him is as soft as a baby’s butt.

Following his introduction, viewers see nothing of Quint until everything hits the fan and the Fourth of July has been turned into an all-you-can-eat human — and dog — buffet. Knowing that the shark that’s ruining the island’s tourist industry must be killed, the town hires Quint.

The audience then sees that Quint lives alone in a rundown

Outdoors On End

By Gayne C. Young

shack, distills and drinks his own booze, and loves boiling out shark jaws for fun and profit.

Quint explains to the not-nearly-as-manly-as-he powers that be that he plans to catch the shark alone. Chief Brody, who represents the town, insists that he and his nerdy shark-studying buddy Hooper go along with him.

Quint relents and starts packing. When the Chief’s wife drops off her husband for the voyage, Quint always the gentleman, recites poetry.

“Here lies the body of Mary Lee; died at the age of a hundred and three. For fifteen years she kept her virginity; not a bad record for this vicinity.”

The Chief’s wife is not a fan of poetry or Quint. She finds him vile and sends her husband on his way. Quint takes the two men to sea and shares with them his knowledge.

Among the items he shares:

“Front, bow. Back, stern. If ya don’t get it right, squirt, I throw your ass out the little round window on the side”; “You have city hands, Mr. Hooper. You been countin’ money all your life”; “This shark, swallow you whole,”; “Women today, they can’t handle nothin’. Young girls just ain’t quite smart… like their grandmothers were”; and, “Well it proves one thing, Mr. Hooper. It proves that you wealthy college boys don’t have the education enough to admit when you’re wrong.”

Yes, Quint is knowledgeable beyond his years and rightfully finds Hooper an idiot.

Later, Quint drinks enough to drop a normal man three times over and tells the story of his service in World War II. Quint served on the USS Indianapolis which was sunk by the Japanese. “So, eleven hundred men went into the water, three hundred sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest.” Quint wasn’t one of the latter and he’s hated sharks ever since. Can ya’ blame him? He unleashes this hatred upon the shark once it appears. Quint harpoons the 25-foot behemoth with a length of rope attached to a barrel. Then another. Then another. This is to slow the shark and to keep it from being able to dive below the surface. Quint promises, “He can’t go down with three barrels ... not with three barrels on he can’t.”

He does.

Then he gets more or less free of the barrels, attacks the ship, and bites Quint in half.

The audience is horrified.

Here, at the end of the film, dies a character that represents all that is good and just in the Amer- ican male and he’s halved by the demonic forces of nature. Quint will be missed. Thank God you can still learn the lessons he has to teach through DVD and streaming.

Young is a Fredericksburg resident and avid outdoorsman whose work appears in the paper, Rock & Vine magazine, and other outdoor publications.

As we are in the midst of a drought with little relief in sight, I am reminded of the fact that as much as 60% of municipal water demand in the summer is for outside use—watering lawns, landscape plants, washing cars, etc. A large part of this use is unnecessary and wasteful.

Here are some ideas that will not only save water, but will also save you some work.

Driving around Kerrville I have noticed people mowing lawns that have largely gone dormant due to the hot, dry conditions. I ask myself, if the grass has pretty much quit growing, why mow it? I think some of this is just habit, part of the weekly routine.

But it is also counterproductive. Mowing frequently, and especially with the mower set to cut the grass short is harder on the grass and leads to the rapid loss of soil moisture.

Mowing less frequently, and especially with the mower set at a high setting, allows the grass to grow a little longer. Longer grass shades the ground more, keeping it very much cooler (30-40 degrees) and thus reducing evaporation. This means taller grass needs less water, and it requires less work on your part as well.

Never cut more than a third of the grass during mowing, as doing so weakens the grass plant, including the roots. Also, allowing the grass clippings to accumulate, at least up to a point, also adds to the shading/insulating effect, keeping the ground even cooler.

If you happen to be at the stage of putting in a lawn, the most water-saving things you can do are to keep the size of the lawn to a minimum and to choose the most water-saving grass species.

Buffalograss requires much less water than does bermudagrass, which in turn requires much less water than

Hill Country Naturalist

Jim Stanley

the water-hog, St. Augustine. The latter two are non-native and require fertilizer, whereas buffalograss does not.

Generally, watering is best done early in the morning.

Many of us who live in the country and thus don’t have to worry about what the neighbors will say, have “lawns” of mixtures of native grasses, i.e. whatever native grasses happen to grow there. These “lawns” usually get mowed only once or twice a year, maybe 2” or 3” high, and in many cases, don’t get watered at all!

Another water-saving idea is to use mulch on flower beds, around perennials, shrubs and trees. Mulch provides the same function as taller grass does, it shades the soil and reduces evaporation. Too much mulch can be counterproductive, however, because it soaks up too much of light rains which never reach the soil and during wet periods can support mold and mildew. I think one to two inches of mulch is ideal. And once the mulch is in place, there will be fewer weeds to pull, and less watering to do, so again, less work.

The installation of drip irrigation for your trees, shrubs and flower beds is another water-saver that is also, long term, a time saver. Drip irrigation (using hoses that are porous and allow water to slowly seep out) is more efficient because the water drips directly onto the surface of the ground at a rate that it can soak into the ground. This eliminates the evaporation in the air when sprinklers are used. I don’t like the idea of automatic timers for landscapes because they can cause water to be used when it is not needed, but using a timer that will turn off the drip after a certain amount of time can be useful.

As one whose cars are perpetually dirty, I find it easy to forgo the habit of washing cars. During times of water restrictions, everyone can have a dirty car with a clean conscience. And we can all certainly refrain from washing driveways, patios, etc., during these times.

Of course, rainwater harvesting, even if it is just a few rain barrels, is the ultimate water-saving practice and something we should all think seriously about. That subject is a bit too complicated to discuss here today, but I will come back to it in a subsequent column.

Benjamin Franklin said it best, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”

FHS CLASS OF ‘67 REUNION

The Fredericksburg High School Class of 1967 recently gathered for a class reunion, celebrating the 55th anniversary of graduation.

A pre-party was hosted at the home of Linda and Gerald Ottmers and the reunion was held in the ballroom of the historic Nimitz Hotel.

Thirty-eight of the original 127 graduates were in attendance.

Shown in the photo, are (front row, from left): George Riba, Cheryl Maenius Bowers, Linda

Schuch Ottmers, Carol

Wahrmund Birmingham, Judy Ahrens Wuensche, Karen Alberthal

Barrington, Imogene

Heiner Schollian, Corrine Klein Jung.

Second row: Tommy Leyendecker, Rafael

Joseffy Nichols, Sharon Arlitt Brown, Betty Frantzen Hilderbran, Beverly Burg Anderson, “Otto” Sagebiel, Kay Tatum Geistweidt, Candy Anderegg Feller, Lynette Crenwelge Urquhart, Jennifer Everette Selmin, Wayne Menking.

Back row: Keith Wagner, Leroy Wunderlich, Leon Welgehausen, Dennis Kusenberger, Howard

Worrell, Jone Ward Harrison, Robert Gandre, Jonathan Baethge, Vernon Itz, Larry Reeh, Don Koenig, Chester Ellebracht, Steven Usener, David Usener, Happy Feller, Clyde Henke and Linvill Crenwelge. Not clearly visible in the back row are Jerry Althaus and Curtis Staudt. — Submitted photo www.honorveteransnow.org