surf

I love surfing. I haven't actually ever been surfing, but I love watching it and the whole culture that surrounds it. My friend Jeff Worthen took this picture... He has a whole set of really cool surfing pictures, but this one is my favorite. There's something so great about surfing. I think part of me loves the idea of taking on something so huge. I mean, if you think about the power the ocean has, not to mention the things the ocean contains (sharks!)... it's pretty intense to consider what it is that surfers are actually doing.

I remember when I took my road trip out to Cali... On the first night I was there, my friend Shelley and I headed down to Manhattan Beach. It was late, and it was almost closing time, but I remember standing on the pier, and hearing the sound of ocean waves - a sound I hadn't heard in a long time. The sound literally brought tears to my eyes. For anyone that knows me, they know I have a fascination with water. I seriously could sit and stare across the ocean for hours. And that night, the sound of the ocean was music to my ears. Then, a few days later, my friend Sara and I went to see the documentary "Riding Giants." It was a great documentary about big wave riding. However, it was also freaking scary. To see some of these guys drop in on 50-100 ft. waves... Chilling. While it was pretty intense, but amazing to watch, it started to instill a fear within me - a fear to ever try surfing. I remember reading the story about that 13 year old girl from Hawaii who got attacked by a shark and had her arm eaten off, but still surfs. However, I wasn't comforted... The thought of a) getting swallowed by the ocean, and b) getting eaten by a shark, made me fearful to try surfing. Not to mention the fact that it was pretty cold surfing weather while I was out there, and I didn't have a wetsuit. My friend Sara has just had her appendix out, and wasn't really in good form for surfing. However, she offered to let me use her surfboard, and said she'd watch me from the shore, yelling out helpful hints on how to surf. Surfing all alone - that frightened me even more.

Looking back on that experience, I regret the fact that I didn't even paddle out and at least just sit on the board. From what I hear, that's a tough enough task. I'm bummed I didn't even try. There's something so enticing about the surfing world. I'm not even sure if I could tell you why I'm so attracted to it, besides the aforementioned. All I know is some day - someday I will learn to surf. I am no where near in good enough shape to try it now, but one day I will be. I will work my butt off to get in shape, and one day, I will be out there... Just me and the waves. And I will soak in every ounce of glory it has to offer.