Say It With Me: Lemmings

That's what we were this morning. How else can you explain a handful of people sitting out in cold-ass water on a flat New Year's Day? We stood around staring at it for a long time. It started out with three of us. Eventually the crowd grew to about seven. We were there commiserating with one another about the lack of swell. No one said it, but it was clear we were waiting for someone to make the first move. Eventually, one of the original three, the one who'd gone home to get her board, was back and heading toward the water. Then another one spoke up, saying he was in. That's all it took. Off we went to our cars to suit up. No, it wasn't worth it. It was flat and probably the coldest it's been in the water this winter. I've yet to wear my booties (Beavis and Butthead, "He he, she said 'booty'"), but I was giving them serious thought after today's session. I was going in no matter what. I wanted to bring in 2008 on a surfboard. I only got two rides. One was on my bonzer. The other was on Ria's longboard. Those two were enough when you're in the water for about 40 minutes and it's flat.

I checked another spot before going to the home break. It was there that I ran into Whiff. We watched one lone surfer to the north working hard to catch something, anything, on his shortboard. We wanted him to succeed. He was our gladiator. We wanted him to win. But the ocean would not be defeated; she was kicking his ass with those little waves. Whiff threw in the towel. Smart man. I moved on to the home break. To be a surfing lemming.

Happy New Year!