Aren't Surfers Laid Back?

I like these fellas in the video - they are booing a rude person at their break.

I won't pretend that localism doesn't exist nor will I deny being a part of it when I was younger.

Today, I just don't care who is out there surfing. I don't want to be one of those elitists that think I'm the only one entitled to be in the water. I mind my own business and stay away from the main lineup unless there are a few of my buds in there.

There really is enough for all of us.

I had two very different experiences over the weekend. On Saturday I put my 6 year old niece on a surfboard for the first time. There are still tiny bruises on my arm from where she was holding on for the first few that hit us! She did get to the point where she trusted that the board would keep her floating. We came in because she was a bit too cold but she can't wait to get back out and try to stand up.

Yesterday I went to a break that I knew would be crowded but has a lot of space. I figured I could carve out a spot where I would be out of the main lineup. That didn't happen.

Before I could even get unpacked there was a yelling match in the parking lot. Ouch. It's a beautiful, sunny day and you don't have to go to work. One of the fellas that was yelling had his family with him. He didn't start it though, a guy waiting to park in the spot next to him did. He wanted him to hurry up and get his "sh*t" out of the way so that he could park. If Mr. Impatient had only looked down a few spots he would have noticed that there were 5 other spots.

It wasn't much better in the water. I saw people intentionally running over and cutting off others. Needless to say, I didn't go in. I like this break too - it has a close parking lot where hubby and the hound can watch me catch waves.

It's getting warmer and more people will be in the water. As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to come in no matter how good you are. Heck, I'm not very good at all. It would be nice if we could all extend a little courtesy to everyone. Why wait until someone gets hurt? How would you feel if you made it so that someone got a concussion or even drowned? If we're all courteous we can all have fun.

Sure, some folks will disagree and tell me I'm a kook.

So be it.

I don't even care if you judge me because I turtle instead of duck diving my long board.