YONDER BREAKS

It was a big day at Redondo Beach, which is rare. The waves were breaking hard and fast on the south side of the jetty, while smaller and a little more predictable on the north side. I paddled out south along with about ten other guys who were already out, or filtering in. You could catch rights or lefts here, depending on how close you were to the jetty. But it was a steep drop no matter what, and so I hung out in places where it looked like I could get a good corner. Wipeouts abounded before I caught an amazing left. Big, long drop. I was flying - one of my fastest waves ever. My body was wound up perfectly to travel up the wave and do a big snap at the crest. Not that I'm great at doing snaps, but I've been learning. Unfortunately, on that day though, I enjoyed the drop and the speed so much that I didn't want to waste my ride on what would have likely been a failed snap. And so I absorbed the drop, tried to keep as much speed as I could, and rode it out. Unfortun...

"Trump won." This was the first thing I heard from my wife this morning. She has been following this election and been quite involved, which I'm proud of her for doing. We're both in disbelief really, and as I got ready for work and exited into a world that seemed changed somehow, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would there be rebel-rousin' folks driving around celebrating by shooting guns into the sky? Or would riots fills the streets of disappointed Democrats, lighting cars on fire and drinking forties? But as I drove in normal traffic down the streets I travel every day, I found nothing unusual, and that feeling started to leave. It seems drastic to have such an extreme man as our president, which leads to my drastic thoughts about what he may or may not do. Will immigrants be sent out forcefully? With The Wall actually be built? Will Muslims be put in concentration camps until they are deemed "safe" by the government? Extreme examples, but my ...