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(May 30th, 2012, Swami's Lineup)
Glenn is a legend, it is known…ask anyone. He’s been surfing Swami’s for 44 years…that’s a long time. When he first slipped in the water, in 1968, Nixon was elected…Glenn’s got an Obama 2012 sticker on the back of his ride, so I don’t think he was too fond of the political environment in those days…
I’ll never act a scene with John Wayne, or open for Bob Dylan, but today, on a smallish swell with some freaky fun racy waves, I got to surf out there, just me and Glenn. A few years ago, he was out of the water, for 2 years or so…had to get a knee and hip replaced...most days, you’ll find him suiting up in the parking lot, throwing on his white helmet and paddling out.
When you almost lose something and get it back it means a whole lot more to you…ask anyone whose had a brush with death, almost lost a loved one…
When I get lost out there, I look to Glenn… he knows where to go, has a native sense of the place and waves, a lifetime spent looking at the lineup...I’m guessing sometimes, doesn’t even know why he's paddling there, positioning where he goes...but there he is, hands up, hooting into a wave...
I’m one of the most stoked surfers I know, Glenn has me beat with all spades, maybe by a factor of 10…I’ve been surfing over half my life at 37, lost girlfriends to the ocean, chasing swells.
He’s been doing it for more than twice as long as me… Glenn's been surfing through Vietnam, the space program, Kennedy's assassination, 70's Oil Crises, the Cold war and Communism’s fall, Carter, Regan, both Bushes, good old Billy and the Internet Bubble, the 2nd Great Recession…
Glenn’s been cranking bottom turns through 9/11 and I figure, the good lord willing, he might hit 50 years out there. That is a lot of dedication to a spot, a beautiful, sometimes angry wave and honestly I don’t know…I don’t know…
There are worse ways to spend your life then in pursuit of hoot and a smile, Glenn’s a legend, he takes the waves he wants, don't think I ever see him have to paddle but he respects the lineup. If you’re dedicated and lucky enough…some day, you might get to paddle out just the two of you into the lineup, like I did today with my personal hero...Glenn.
I’ll never act a scene with John Wayne, or open for Bob Dylan, but today, on a smallish swell with some freaky fun racy waves, I got to surf out there, just me and Glenn. A few years ago, he was out of the water, for 2 years or so…had to get a knee and hip replaced...most days, you’ll find him suiting up in the parking lot, throwing on his white helmet and paddling out.
When you almost lose something and get it back it means a whole lot more to you…ask anyone whose had a brush with death, almost lost a loved one…
When I get lost out there, I look to Glenn… he knows where to go, has a native sense of the place and waves, a lifetime spent looking at the lineup...I’m guessing sometimes, doesn’t even know why he's paddling there, positioning where he goes...but there he is, hands up, hooting into a wave...
I’m one of the most stoked surfers I know, Glenn has me beat with all spades, maybe by a factor of 10…I’ve been surfing over half my life at 37, lost girlfriends to the ocean, chasing swells.
He’s been doing it for more than twice as long as me… Glenn's been surfing through Vietnam, the space program, Kennedy's assassination, 70's Oil Crises, the Cold war and Communism’s fall, Carter, Regan, both Bushes, good old Billy and the Internet Bubble, the 2nd Great Recession…
Glenn’s been cranking bottom turns through 9/11 and I figure, the good lord willing, he might hit 50 years out there. That is a lot of dedication to a spot, a beautiful, sometimes angry wave and honestly I don’t know…I don’t know…
There are worse ways to spend your life then in pursuit of hoot and a smile, Glenn’s a legend, he takes the waves he wants, don't think I ever see him have to paddle but he respects the lineup. If you’re dedicated and lucky enough…some day, you might get to paddle out just the two of you into the lineup, like I did today with my personal hero...Glenn.
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