Saturday June 25, 2005
Saturday June 25, 2005
What's Up, Dudes ?
Yesterday, someone said to me "well ... you look like a surfer, but you certainly don't act like one ..."
It's a funny thing being known as a "surfer" and sometimes the image or conceptual model it creates in peoples minds when they think of you... and it's usually not a positive one (although the tan you can get looks really, really good). I think I blame Hollywood for that. Although all the Gidget movies were actually pretty tame, movies like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" brought you Jeff Spicoli, and while this was a great performance by Shawn Penn, it created an image of the surfer as a "stoner" and waste of human tissue ("All I need is a cool buzz, some tasty waves, and I'm fine...").
A possibly interesting but pointless fact ... at my home break in San Diego, I'm in the water fairly regularly with a really nice lady who just so happens used to be the young girl who did stunt doubling for "Gidget goes Hawaiian" way back when : Linda Benson ... read the article ... a "Spicoli" she is definitely not ...
The truth is that, sure while there are a few of the Spicoli variant wandering about, most of those don't actually surf (they just hang out at the beach). It takes physical stamina, coordination, endurance and mental alertness to surf ... Jeff Spicoli in real life would eventually find out (personally) about Darwinian theories related to survival of the fittest.
For example, my wife also surfs ... and is a member of a women's surf club in San Diego. The women in this club (young and old) include attorneys, doctors, educators, entrepreneurs and women who work in the computer field, journalism and as students. They are all extremely bright, capable an hard working people and the notion that being a surfer equates to inherent laziness or sloth is misplaced (in fact, I usually have to get up at 5AM if I want to go surfing on a weekday so I can make it back to work by 8AM or so ... and usually, when I'm out in the line-up at 6AM, I'm out there floating around with a bunch of working professionals, trying to catch one last ride before heading to the showers and then the office ... ).
It's amazing what people will do for what they love to do ...
Until next time ... "Aloha, Mr. Hand" ... Posted by brewin Jun 25 2005, 09:45:10 AM PDT Permalink
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