AS THE CROW FLIES

I wrote this when I was in photojournalism school in 2011/2012. A hard time for me, but in the end I learned a lot and even surfed some new waves.

Its over 135 miles to the ocean from my classroom. And I’m the only one who cares. See, I was born in California, raised in Hawaii and I’ve always had the big, blue security blanket of the Pacific. My classmates haven’t. They’re from Minnesota, or Nebraska or Iowa. Someplace with no ocean, no break from the sea of land.

Some of them have never even seen an ocean. A thought that blows my mind. It must be easy for them, coming to class every day, not thinking about the waves, the wind or the tide. Focusing on the task at hand and not wanting to dip a toe in the water and rinse off the day. It must be easy.

It’s been almost two months since I’ve surfed. My last session was in Hawaii, a quick hour at a small reef pass on the south shore. I rode a few waves, watched the sun set the sky on fire over Ka’ena Point and walked the two blocks home. Tradewinds drying the salt on my skin.

That night I got on a plane to come here. The East Coast. Might as well be Mars. Cold weather, cold people, cold water. I brought boards. I brought wetsuits. Fins, and leashes, keys and wax. And I haven’t surfed once. It’s too far, and it gets dark too early. But I think about it all the time. It hurts my heart.

After this, I’m moving to Boston. Definitely not Indonesia. More cold water, more cold people. Surfing doesn’t even register to most over there. Sports and drinking and BMW sports-cars. Money. Not surfing. Like in Hawaii? Yeah, like in Hawaii, like at home.

My quiver of North Shore pin-tails and South Shore fishes. Quads and Singles. All packed up in a little cocoon of foam, and bubble wrap. I’m sure they’re cold, traveling 6,000 miles. Not sure where they are going or why I haven’t played with them in such a long time.

I haven’t given up, I heard there’s something called a “Nor’easter”. It blows wind really hard against the Atlantic and makes waves for us over here. And people surf them. I hope they will share the wind-waves. So I can feel at home again. And think about the ocean.

-ross