> The second part that caught my attention was:
> Ray stings are quite common among water enthusiasts on the Florida coast
> and in other stingray-rich locales. In Seal Beach, California, for
example,
> 200 to 500 stingray-related injuries are reported each summer along a
> stretch of coastline that is less than a mile long.
>
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

Before we got married.

Took my kids then about 14 and 10 to Port Aransas (N Padre Island/Corpus
Christi to the non-Texans).  One day we went out to the beach and put up a
tarp to keep the sun off - we were all pretty burned by this time - and went
wading looking for Sand Dollars.  As we left the water I heard Jeannie
scream/shriek and then saw her limping out of the water with her foot
bleeding.  By the time I got there, she had tho she denies it gone into
shock.  You could see a puncture on one side of her foot just below the big
toe and a bruised spot all the way on the other side of the foot.  She
thought it was a crab and I thought sure - one with a claw radius that size
would be huge.

Took her to the clinic and they took one look and said 'stingray.'  Guess
they have seen it a few times.  Hot water and Adolph's Meat Tenderizer
immediately relieved the pain.  Tetanus shot and benadryl and she was right
as rain the next day.

CH