From "Chicken Soup For The Soul"... a really cool story. Kowabunga baby~ - ThinnerTimes

sandi · 09-16-2004, 12:26 PM

This was today's story from Chicken Soup for the Soul that I get each day in my E-mail, I thought it was so appropriate after some had wanted Kim to teach them how to surf!
It's been WAY too many years, but, I STILL remember MY first time when I "stood up"
I hope you enjoy this!

Standing Tall on a Surfboard in Midlife
By Mike Gordon

A wave rose behind me, but it was barely a swell. If I had been standing instead of lying on a surfboard, it might have been tall enough to splash my calves.

Still, I stroked the water like a man about to be swallowed by a shark. If the board was moving, I couldn't tell. I started to think this was an awful idea, that maybe this was not meant to be.

Maybe I had waited too long to learn how to surf.

Middle-aged egos can be painful to watch. A man can turn forty, spot a few gray hairs and do all kinds of things to prove he's still younger. Some men have affairs with leggy redheads, others start jogging. I decided to make good on a promise I made to myself when I was twelve.

I was going to learn to surf.

I often told myself it wasn't right to have grown up in Hawai'i and not have learned how to surf. All my life, this concept got steady reinforcement. Everywhere, I saw people with surfboards - young people, old people, men, women. Once, I saw a five-year-old "carving wave." Another time, I saw a dog "hang ten." How hard could it be to learn this?

And yet, I didn't do anything about it. Instead, I made excuses about not having enough time and not knowing anyone who would teach me.

Then I saw a yellow flyer for a surf school in Waikiki, and the child in me spoke up, telling me it was time.

That was how I found myself floating off Diamond Head at a surf break called Tonggs. My arms were stroking the water as if my life had no other purpose. The wave scooped me up as my instructor grabbed the back of my surfboard and gave me a quick shove forward.

I was moving, but I wasn't surfing. Before I could persuade myself to react, the ride was over. I'd blown it on my first attempt.

My instructor didn't know what to make of this. Then he shoved my board toward shore so quickly, I thought he was angry. "Paddle, now!" he shouted.

What happened next didn't take long: I stood up. I fell down. The wave passed me by.

Each new wave generated the same result: a wipeout with all the grace of a drunken belly flop.

Another wave rose like a dare. And then it happened. It was over in twenty seconds, but I'll remember it forever. Even if it never happens again.

I'll remember the sky was slightly overcast, and the ocean was an undulating slab of gray-blue, streaked with white breakers. I'll remember the taste of salt water on my lips and the ache between my shoulder blades.

But most of all, I'll remember that I stood up. I surfed.

bridgetgirl · 09-16-2004, 12:31 PM

Thanks for sharing Sandi! It's me (at least) that wants to learn to surf. I was always scared of the water, and I want to overcome my fears. These days Im a little more courageous! Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

sandi · 09-16-2004, 12:37 PM

It's NEVER too late!!!! Go for it!!!!

watergirl · 09-16-2004, 01:29 PM

That is exactly how it is - for everyone just starting out. You'll never forget that first time. I'm getting everyone out there this Spring by golly!