Week 21 - ending 5/27: An Ode to Indulgence

For 30 minutes I sat, watching nervously. Finally, my friend said, “you can’t just sit there. You have to at least try. Come on, I’ll go with you.”

I nodded in acknowledgement.

“This one,” he said.

I disagreed.

A few minutes later I turned to him and said, “this one, come on!”

We both paddled and caught the incoming head high wave. I popped up and glided easily down the smooth face. It was the first wave I rode on Big Red.

Big Red has since been retired and replaced by Mable and Palapalai. Even though I don’t ride my old surfboards, I can’t bear to part with them. Big Red is cut into pieces and her logo, measurements and personal note left by the shaper are framed and hanging on my wall.

Most of my surfboards these days only vary slightly in measurements, but their differences are felt in the ocean. To my parents, it’s an expensive indulgence to spend money on nine feet of epoxy or fiberglass. For me, it’s a necessary indulgence, so I can ride the waves of the ocean, instead of the waves of emotions life on shore can bring.