Photo by Jim Pankey "WildSpirit"
__________________________
I wasn't very good at this. For the tenth time today I was being knocked around by this monstrous water. Why was I even agreeing to this? I mean, I've always been the one with no talent...
"Hey, you wanna go again?" my twin beckoned to me, walking up the sand, salty water dripping from his hair.
"Ok." I said, hesitating.
"Awe come-on, you'll get it." He said, handing me my board that I had dropped before plopping myself onto the sand to toast in the sun a bit. The board was warm and almost inviting. But...as I looked up it seemed that the water still was angry with me. It roared at me. Didn't look very inviting.
Matt was already splashing into the water. He looked back at me and waved me forward. Sighing, I started toward my fate again. Maybe this time I'll get really slammed and he'll let me go home.
We swam out together, he and I. I couldn't help smiling a little at how eager he was. What was it about this sport that made him glow so much? His eyes sparkled in excitement as he looked at me and grinned.
"Ok...here we go. Just concentrate and let the water do the work."
And her came the wave. I worked to keep my body on the board. It was wet and slippery. How did he ever stay on it? The water came up and I couldn't see Matt anymore. But I was really going to try this time. I kept my feet on the board and felt the water lift me. A spray of water hit my face and I put out my hands to block it.
Whoosh. The air seemed to crystallize on my face and hair. My heartbeat raced with exhilaration and it was a release I had never felt before.
Amazing.
Then it was over.
I looked up to see Matt still out in the water. He hadn't caught the wave. Throwing his hands into the air he let out a big WHOOOP for me and I felt a warm glow growing inside my chest.
Running and splashing back out in the water to him, I yelled, "Let's go again!"
~Dani
One week after the photo or picture is posted I will pick one offering to put beneath the image. This is a way of celebrating exceptional creativity. Any and all posts are available for your creative mind to make an offering at any time (even ones where a writing has been placed on the front page like this one). If you are new here and want to offer to every image here, feel free. We are writers, WRITE! If this is your exceptional writing posted here on the Front Page Pictures, Poetry & Prose invites you to include the Exceptional Writing Award Button on your blog. Visit the Exceptional Writing Award post for the details and the button to download.
7 comments:
Imagine my surprise when I walk down to the beach
I am the only surfer today and the waves are beackoning me
I have my wet suit on and prepare my board
I lay flat on the board when I dip my hands in the cool crisp water to get further out
I pick my wave and than another
I am out there
I am
As I head to the shore for the last time
I realize what a terrific day I had surfing the best time
I am looking forward to my next surfing adventure
Whereever that takes me
Wave crest
Board turn
Swoosh
Wave sweeps up
I shoot to shore
On a wave of joy.
Every day is the same old grind. Put on my suit. Grab a bagel. Another cup of coffee. Congested traffic. Wait for the overcrowded elevator. Put on a fake smile. Good morning, coworkers. Deal with angry clients. Meetings and phone calls all day. Fire an employee. Interview ten more. Day in. Day out. The same routine every day. I am who I hate: I am corporate America.
But on Saturdays .... Saturday is my day. I am up before the sun. I am driving the away from the city on a nearly empty road. At the beach, I zip up my suit, my favorite type of suit. Grabbing my board, I run into the water. I paddle out. I ride small waves, big waves, colossal waves. I wipe out, and I don't care. I paddle out and ride back to shore. Back and forth. The same routine over and over again.
This routine is a great routine. It repeats hour after hour, every Saturday. On Saturdays, I am who I love: I am a surfer.
I wasn't very good at this. For the tenth time today I was being knocked around by this monstrous water. Why was I even agreeing to this? I mean, I've always been the one with no talent...
"Hey, you wanna go again?" my twin beckoned to me, walking up the sand, salty water dripping from his hair.
"Ok." I said, hesitating.
"Awe come-on, you'll get it." He said, handing me my board that I had dropped before plopping myself onto the sand to toast in the sun a bit. The board was warm and almost inviting. But...as I looked up it seemed that the water still was angry with me. It roared at me. Didn't look very inviting.
Matt was already splashing into the water. He looked back at me and waved me forward. Sighing, I started toward my fate again. Maybe this time I'll get really slammed and he'll let me go home.
We swam out together, he and I. I couldn't help smiling a little at how eager he was. What was it about this sport that made him glow so much? His eyes sparkled in excitement as he looked at me and grinned.
"Ok...here we go. Just concentrate and let the water do the work."
And her came the wave. I worked to keep my body on the board. It was wet and slippery. How did he ever stay on it? The water came up and I couldn't see Matt anymore. But I was really going to try this time. I kept my feet on the board and felt the water lift me. A spray of water hit my face and I put out my hands to block it.
Whoosh. The air seemed to crystallize on my face and hair. My heartbeat raced with exhilaration and it was a release I had never felt before.
Amazing.
Then it was over.
I looked up to see Matt still out in the water. He hadn't caught the wave. Throwing his hands into the air he let out a big WHOOOP for me and I felt a warm glow growing inside my chest.
Running and splashing back out in the water to him, I yelled, "Let's go again!"
Adrenaline...it is all about adrenaline. Or is it knowing that I am toying with disaster...right on the edge of destruction. I experience the same euphoria whether I am standing in an open field during a lightening storm or grabbing the largest, most powerful wave I can find. To challenge nature and live for another day fills me with a sense of power of control...false sense though it may be, I can't stop.
Dan
The gentle surf of Mission Beach in California lends itself to novice surfers, and I decided to give it a try on boot camp (Navy) leave.
After being bowled over by a wave larger than the others, my friends on shore howled with laughter when they saw my board shoot 30 feet into the air when I disappeared.
I vaguely remember the pain in my neck as the pounding surf drove my head into the sand time and time again. It was then that I decided to stay out of the water (the thought of an encounter with a shark was terrifying enough) with the exception of the showers. I had more luck impressing the girls there anyway; one of them, a beauty I remember named Teresa, was with whom I thought was her little brother...'that's my date,' she told me. She was just 16. Damn the luck!! I just stayed away from the beach from then on, preferring the bars where I had much better luck...and a liquid I could live with. Funny thing, though, my head still hurts!
I'll ride these surging waves
Until my final days;
They'll call me The Old Man,
I'll tell them to eat sand.
With the sun on my face
These liquid lines I'll trace;
I always feel my best,
Standing atop a crest.
Death cannot catch me here,
These waves give him the Fear;
So I'll live forever,
Hanging ten with Big Sur.
Post a Comment