Mom, Can We Keep Him?

My magnetic personality strikes again. This time, however, it wasn't a human who was following me around wanting to talk. My stalker was, in fact, a seal. Believe me when I tell you that it stayed with me throughout my mat session.

I'd seen the seal while I was surfing my board. I'd wondered what the seal's reaction would be if I switched to my mat. I really didn't give it that much thought; I assumed the seal would eventually swim off.

I was wrong.

I made an "ass of you and me"!

This little seal was quite smitten. I still haven't figured out why. Don't let the photos fool you. I knew the seal was there, but I had no idea it was that close. Each time it bumped me—and I counted six bumps/nudges before beating a hasty retreat—I would scream like a little girl. My big fear was that the seal would bite me. I realize now, of course, that if the seal wanted to bite or had wished to be aggressive, I wouldn't be sitting here calmly talking about the incident. My sense is that the seal wanted to play, that the nudges were its way of letting me know that. But when you're in the water being bumped by a seal, you're in no mood to think happy thoughts! The seal nudged by fins a few times before deciding it would brush up against my legs a few more times. I shudder to think what my reaction would have been had it popped its head up right in front of me. I'm sure the short silence when we were nose to nose would quickly have been shattered by me letting out a girly scream for the ages! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This little seal would not leave me be. It would lose sight of me, pop its head up, look around, spot me and then swim over. I kept yelling, "Go away, seal!" (I know. It's probably unlikely that seals speak English. So what was the point of that command?) I tried to kick/paddle away even though I knew the seal was much faster than I'd ever be. At one point, I even laughed.

  I wonder if our dog will be jealous of the seal that followed me home!

Style Counts!

Keep the kids away from the computer when you watch this. Yeah, they're talking about skating, but I think this is also true for surfing.

Eat Your Veggies

That Brother Right There . . .

is someone whose story I'm now on a mission to tell. He and I have never met. I'd seen a photo or two of him here and there. I knew he was a surfer. And that was all I knew . . .

until . . .

I watched Hal Jepsen's Cosmic Children and noted that the camera stayed on him for a bit. He was only sitting on the sand, but I was struck by the fact that he was obviously where he was supposed to be.

By that I mean, he wasn't a mere spectator who just happened to be watching a surf contest at Malibu in the late '60s or early '70s. He wasn't Malibu Carl. ("Gimme a dolla.") He was someone who was part of that scene.

He was a surfer.

In fact, he was a very good surfer. Those who surfed Malibu regularly knew him well. I recently asked an old-timer about him. His answer? Well, the words "Jimi Hendrix of surfing" were used.

This brother, the one with the crooked afro and missing front teeth, was a surfer of note.

He's not a young man anymore. And I do believe those teeth were fixed long ago. He is, thankfully, alive and well. Unfortunately, he does not live near the ocean.

I suppose I've now embarked on a journey. I don't even know where I'm going. All I know is that I'm on my way. His story will be told—by me—one way or the other.

I Don't Always Try to Pull Into Barrels

But when I do, I get my ass handed to me!