Riding Giants

My friends and I went to see this movie, playing at Cinema 21 last night, and it's completely and utterly amazing.  I cannot even start to expound on the athleticism, sheer courage, and amazing ability to face fear that these athletes experience every time they drop into a big wave.  It makes me want to surf and it makes me want to travel as much as humanly possible.  I want to see these places for myself and feel that power from the water.

I started to cry when they were talking about Mark Foo's death at Maverick's.  I've been to Maverick's--I joke that my friend and I made our pilgrimage there last September when I was staying with her in San Francisco.  It's a beautiful and eerie place.  Even when it isn't going off, as it wasn't the day we were there, there is this energy about the place.  It's hard to describe, but it's evident that there are things going on below the surface that are stronger and deeper than we could ever imagine.  It seems that when you are standing on the beach, looking out at the break, you can almost hear the shouts from lineups past.  I'm planning to go down to visit again, but I'm going to make sure that it's going off that day just so I can see it for myself.  I can't surf it, but I still want to see it. 

Listening to the people who were there when Mark Foo died, you can hear the strain in their voices.  He was a hero, a legend, and they aren't supposed to die that way.  I remember the first time one of my heroes died and it still brings a lump to my throat.  It sucks sometimes, to have to remember that even those people who seem larger than life are still mortal and still face the end of life the same as the rest of us.

Either way, you don't have to be a surfer to appreciate the film, but it helps.

Quote of the Day: "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." Jon Kabat-Zinn