A mellowness of surfers

I've never been very much attracted to surfing or surfers. Recently I've come to appreciate the genius of peak-performance Beach Boys but wondering at the layers and loops of God Only Knows or Wouldn't It Be Nice never really made me want to pick up a surf board and head to California or Hawaii.

But I realized this weekend that if the stars had aligned just right, I'd be sleeping on a beach and talking funny instead of surfing the web and, well, talking funny in a different way.

Backing up a bit. The last time we were in Nova Scotia we rented a cottage on Hell Bay, half-way down the South Shore. It was well named, actually. I swam in the surf at high tide and it was the most exhilerating experience I've had. Really. Not like Spaulding Gray's "perfect moment" in the rip-tide in South-East Asia (cf. Swimming to Cambodia) -- I never felt seriously in danger at any time. But I was being buffeted around by the forces of nature in a way that I've never been before or since. There were no intermediaries just water picking me up and throwing me around. Being alive feels more fragile and more powerful after that.

Last Sunday, on a whim, we took a ride over to Lawrencetown and Mauritius (I think) beaches. We were actually going somewhere else and changed our minds en route. That seems to be the way we operate. We drove over a hill and about 3km of Lawrencetown beach was laid out in front of us. The shore was packed with bathers and the water was speckled with surfers waiting for the next big wave. We walked the beach and got soaked (no swimsuits), but it looked like a lot of fun. I'm old enough that I don't mind an intermediary or two.

We had dinner at a chip stand down the road (off the road, in the bush, really) called Happy Dude's Fish and Chips. The bus was painted all funky and the fish was local, fresh and fried to within an inch of our lives. The fries were salted to suit the tastes of people who had been swallowing sea-water all day. I liked it, Cate not so much.

A surfer-guy, who was on a first name basis with the staff, sat down with us and started shooting the shit. His name was Buck. He's from Vancouver, but his family has a house in Hawaii. He's been surfing since he was young. Normally the constant references to "the Beach-House in Hawaii" would bug the crap out of me, but he just seemed so otherwise good-natured that it didn't put up my defences. I'm still not sure if he was bragging or appologizing. Nova-Scotia's short surfing season and relatively small waves might be some sort of penance.

Then we moved on to the next beach. It was after dinner and starting to chill out, but this beach still had surfers. One group left the water and started bedding down for the night. Some doing their evening yoga others just wrapping up in blankets and sleeping bags. It just seemed so mellow and nice.

When I was in my late teens, I might have easily fallen in with that sort of crowd. I'm not sure how mellow I was, but the surfing might have worn me out enough or gave me a bit of perspective so that I would have been more laid back.

Last Sunday was probably the last decent swimming weekend of the year. Next summer, I might rent a boogie board or something and try out the smaller waves. Cate wants to sign the kids up for Surfing Camp next year. Connor would probably think that it's "tight". He can't help but dance when his feet are in the Ocean. I can see him growing up to be a surfer. He won't really be able to brag about a beach-house in Hawaii, though.

Cheers

EDIT: Then again, Mika might be the surfer. On Monday she was bragging to her friends about how many times the waves knocked her over. She likes to be in the thick of things.

Oh, and I should probably hoard these so I can offer a new and improved Twisted Site of the Week on a regular basis, just like the old days. But I can't sit on this one:

Concept aside, the stunned looking kids don't give me much faith that the armor is working.

http://www.armorofgodpjs.com/

Again, thanks to Xine -- whose kids will thank her for surfing the web so much while she's on maternity leave.

-- The Management