Riding The Barrel Of Military Memories & Getting Pitted (So Pitted) In San Diego
Video 2 out of 4 is up from ZeroBlogThirty’s trip across the country with Starbucks & it was an extra special episode for me.
Growing up in PA, the Jersey shore was my exotic vacation land and it was rare to leave the tri-state area. Until I joined the military I’d never traveled much or gone out West, so I felt lucky to get stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA. Seeing my first ‘real, out in the world’ palm trees & cactuses was exciting enough (#sad), let alone having perfect weather year round where you could surf & snowboard in the same day if you wanted. Bar crawls in PB, snorkeling with seals in La Jolla, hitting on SEALS in Coronado, the desert, the mountains… I fell in love.
In my free time I’d be cruising down the Coast HWY in my forest green Hyundai Sonata blaring Cage The Elephant CDs (kewl) with a 9 foot tie-dyed Terry Senate longboard sticking out the back windows very illegally & dangerously.
Then as an upgrade one of my Marine buddies bought a huge old conversion van with rotating captain’s chairs, shag carpeting, curtains & a 4 foot stick shift. The four of us named it ‘The Prospector’ & jammed our boards in every weekend to find new spots. Despite all the time in the water I never got good at catching waves but I looooved spending time with my friends bullshitting out past the breakers. It was heaven…
Try to surf a little, laugh a lot, get burritos, repeat. (Getting that framed in the ‘Live, Laugh, Love!’ style & putting over my bed as a red flag for dudes).
The importance & appreciation of that time in my life with those guys really hit home for me when our surf group all left for our second deployment. On the long, repetitive, dusty days I’d dream of being out on my board by Oceanside Pier watching the pelicans come swooping by & cheering on my friends as they dropped in on waves that I was too chicken to.
But then we didn’t all make it back home. One of our guys was KIA a few weeks from redeployment & it ripped my heart out. He was an only child & one of the best Marines & people you’d ever meet.
Maybe it sounds corny or cliche but it was really never the same after that. We’d still go surfing but after a few attempts I kind of fell off. I brought my boards back to NY after getting out but never used them again.. I went to the beach a lot but they stayed in the Bronx collecting dust.
A few months ago upon hearing I’d get to go back to San Diego for ZeroBlog30 & go surfing with One More Wave, enough time had passed that I actually felt excited again. When the day finally arrived I squeezed into my wetsuit (which apparently gives me beaver tail bewbs (#BTBs), sry)…
…and hit the beach. The folks at One More Wave could not have been nicer. Active duty & veterans from different branches, ranks, physical abilities & backgrounds getting in the water & enjoying life together… once again, heaven. The org provides wounded or disabled veterans access to surfing by providing them with customized surfing equipment and assistance and I got to learn about some of the custom boards. Some have handles & adjusted fins for people who need to stay in the prone among other tweaks, but my favorite part was the designs. Whenever a vet gets a board no expense is spared to truly make it theirs.
One vet had a board with shrapnel in it that had been removed from his body, and others had scenes, quotes or touches that were extremely personal to them. At one point I was reading a board that had a memorial of sorts on it & recognized two of the names from Marines I’d served with on my second tour & honestly it took my breath away for a moment. I know I’m a cornball but it was powerful. You move on in life because you kind of have to, & you get separated from those events & people, & sometimes you forget that you’re not the only one who mourns or holds those names with them. There’s a lot of hearts hurting far more than yours & you can choose to be a light.
Out in the water I found two other Marines who were at my skill level (awkward novice) & once we started talking I felt right at home. They’d both just gotten out but we still had a lot to talk about & from the outside you’d have thought we were old friends. By the time we were done shooting I was having so much fun I didn’t want to stop… we had our two film guys, our producer & Chaps back on shore waiting & every now & then I’d come to the shallow part to shout, “one more wave?!”
*Not me in GIF. Sad.
If you have a chance, check the video out. It was a great time with a really wonderful organization (that you can support here). And speaking of wonderful, we had Navy veteran & TBI conquerer Amanda Burrill on the podcast today. Whether you were in the military or not, anyone who’s suffered a brain injury can relate to her struggles & get some hope from her triumphs. Check it out!