Salt Water, Strong Arms and the Quest to Save the Planet
Today was the 17th Annual Paddle for Clean Water - an awesome event put together by San Diego Surfrider. The basic premise is we want clean ocean water and we're willing to paddle around the Ocean Beach Pier (about 3/4 of a mile) to make our voices heard. I'm not sure how long I've been participating, probably since the second or third paddle.
One day
many years ago (back in the early nineties), I was surfing in Pacific Beach and when I exited the water this man handed me a flyer and asked me to participate in the upcoming paddle. I tried to explain to him that I suck as a surfer, catching a wave seems as much luck as anything, and no one needed me cluttering up the surf.
He was undetered. His mission: increase female participation in the event. For those who don't remember, there weren't too many women surfing back then and I guess even fewer participating in the paddle. We spoke for a while and I told him I would think about it. For reasons I can't fathom, I went that year and paddled out in a crowd of people hooting and hollering and drumming on their boards to let the world know that clean water is our birth right and we're here to be loud and proud. I got goosebumps from the collective energy and the unity between a group, which normally flies solo, joining arms for the future.
To this day I still do the paddle and I'm still friends with Tom. Only this year, the water is full of women. Two year old girls riding on their daddy's boards, grandma's and retirees laughing and gliding through the water with the love of the ocean shining in their eyes. Young women paddling up a storm and Moms paddling alongside their children. It's hard and I love it. As long as I can paddle around the OB Pier with six hundred or one thousand people, who are tired of pollution, then I know I'm alive. I'll be sore tomorrow, but for tonight if you missed the twelve foot wooden boards from the fifties, the beautiful tattoos, or the smiles on so many faces, you missed out on what community feels like.
One day
many years ago (back in the early nineties), I was surfing in Pacific Beach and when I exited the water this man handed me a flyer and asked me to participate in the upcoming paddle. I tried to explain to him that I suck as a surfer, catching a wave seems as much luck as anything, and no one needed me cluttering up the surf.He was undetered. His mission: increase female participation in the event. For those who don't remember, there weren't too many women surfing back then and I guess even fewer participating in the paddle. We spoke for a while and I told him I would think about it. For reasons I can't fathom, I went that year and paddled out in a crowd of people hooting and hollering and drumming on their boards to let the world know that clean water is our birth right and we're here to be loud and proud. I got goosebumps from the collective energy and the unity between a group, which normally flies solo, joining arms for the future.
To this day I still do the paddle and I'm still friends with Tom. Only this year, the water is full of women. Two year old girls riding on their daddy's boards, grandma's and retirees laughing and gliding through the water with the love of the ocean shining in their eyes. Young women paddling up a storm and Moms paddling alongside their children. It's hard and I love it. As long as I can paddle around the OB Pier with six hundred or one thousand people, who are tired of pollution, then I know I'm alive. I'll be sore tomorrow, but for tonight if you missed the twelve foot wooden boards from the fifties, the beautiful tattoos, or the smiles on so many faces, you missed out on what community feels like.
Labels: Activism, Environment
posted by Karin Zirk at
8:15 PM
1 Comments:
Wow, that's fantastic Karin. I'm proud of you for doing that. Sore or not, you know you did something imnportant today.
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