12/14/2017
At 10 years old and walking from my Home down Imperial Ave to Beach Blvd stick out my "thumb" and started to Hitchhike to Huntington Beach to Surf for my very very FIRST TIME! Fortunately I was picked up by a beautiful waitress (she would have made a great surfer girl) who saw my Determination and Passion to accomplish my Mission which was to Surf!!! She and I engaged in very delightful conversation and she had the Legendary Chuck Berry playing on her cassette tape to give the moment some pazzaz! When the song "My Dingiling" came on she smiled and said to me, "Do you know what this song is about"? I was embarrassed and Oh No! got excited to which she noticed and smiled back to me saying, "I see you do." It was quite the drive as she took me all the way there .... to the Beach!
Upon arriving I spotted two older Surfer guys ..... laugh laugh as they were 17-18 years old. So I walked up to them told them what I have to do! I looked one of them in the eyes and said "Can I borrow your Surfboard"? The one surfer looks at me and says, "Kid you got some balls on you" this is my new Surfboard ..... but then he says to me ... go ahead take it "Go knock yourself out" (almost prophetic) . So I did it I went Surfing ......Yesss! It was wonderful but at first I did almost 'knock' myself out. I was not yet understanding of the "Duck Dive" a technique used to go thru the waves. So when the first wave came in and I attempted to go thru it the surfboard slammed itself into my Nose pretty hard almost knocking myself out!! Haa Haa ....but I recovered and did it! I did not stop ... I did it and it was wonderful!!!!!!
Well fast forward 12 years later and I am 22 years old and having returned from Surfing really huge waves up to over 40 ft in both Ecuador and San Salvador I was at Newport Beach at a spot that is called "Newport the Point" which was breaking very large! I rode a Russell Surfboard and took off on 7 great waves to which I've always have surfed without a leash was able to get in the Tube get spit out and go do it again!! Yee haa Surfing!! After those wave rides I went in and upon going over to get my beach towel I see a Man approaching me asking "Who are you"? I looked at him and replied I am Nobody .... to which he replies back to me, "I been watching for hours and those waves nobody ridding were making it thru the barrel and I saw 'somebody' ride to completion those 7 waves. He said you are Somebody because Nobody was making those tubes". I told him my name (and how to spell it right) lol .... we then shook hands as he told me his name .... I was unbelievably happy to meet the REAL Bruce Brown!! He told me of the Venture he did and the whole thing who, how, why where etc. I let him know it was his Creation of the Endless Summer years prior that took my breath away and the "Feeling it gave to me I had to ACT upon which was Go SURFING!!! Mr. Brown was very gracious to me and told me he had several Friends coming over to his place and would I like to join them all for dinner? He modestly said "Were having chicken and I like to share it with you". Gosh I don't remember what I had going on but my Life has always been a little fast forward .... I regrettably now but then gratefully declined. However it was a Full Circle for me to meet him after all these years! A REAL thrill and the special 'Feeling that only Surfing can add to you for your Soul's satisfaction .... And still to this Day it can still give to you such a Special Special feeling!
I must 'Tip my Hat to that MAN- Bruce Brown as he pioneered a "Feeling" that will never go away ..... Never! Thank You Sir for Sharing with us your Dream that you made and shared it with us in order to help us create a Dream of our own!
Respectively Yours,
Krag Ross
aka. the "Rockman" San O's
Bruce Brown, a pioneering filmmaker whose story of two surfers chasing after the perfect wave in "The Endless Summer" helped introduce America to surfing, has died.
