“There’s a terrible hopelessness in watching something you value so deeply slip away–whether it be a place to surf or a memory of a better time.” Photo: Bryce Johnson
I feel for the surfers of Trestles who have found themselves in a state that’s struggling with change, expanding populations and evaporating free land. I feel for the people dealing with the inner struggle of change, especially with change that’s essentially beyond their control. There’s a terrible hopelessness in watching something you value so deeply slip away–whether it be a place to surf or a memory of a better time.
How strange it is in autumn, winter and sometimes spring, that the beaches are empty but the lineups are full? The surfers are there year-round.
But what happens if you can’t afford to live near the beach? What do you do when you’re priced out of the market? I wonder, unfairly perhaps, how often the people in those rich houses by the beach even step foot on the sand. Do they even do that? Is this location a prize they’ve won, not to be enjoyed, but to be owned–a piece of property whose value will accrue in time and with a nice view to show off to the Joneses.
I could be wrong. Maybe the rich don’t surf there themselves or have any interest in surfing, but their kids might. Their kids might be blessed with having found surfing by pure luck, inclination, through friends or happy circumstances. Who knows? And if they get the bug, perhaps they’ll go on to enjoy the waves with the rest of the lucky ones. I know it’s arrogant and untrue to think that surfers are the only ones to enjoy the ocean. I suppose that I’m talking about having the ocean as a central part of your life, the way you live life, something that occupies a central place in your heart, something that makes you feel remiss when you’re separated.
Maybe I’m afraid of what will happen to me if I’m separated from the ocean. I might slide into a state of unbalance, stressed and unhappy. Perhaps that’s the fear that’s driving this whole thought process.
What would you do without the ocean?
And of course they’ll say. ‘Don’t be stupid, that’ll never happen. You’re over-reacting. The beach will always be free. This is a good thing. Progress, you know.’
But is it?
