While sunning myself on the beach in Jamaica and drinking one of those sugary alcohol drinks with pineapples, I began reading a book I recently ordered from the Web titled "Surfing Women of the Waves." My day was beautiful. The sun was out and despite a cool evening yesterday, it had warmed to the upper 70s and was the perfect weather for sunning oneself. I could hear and see the waves coming up the shore. As I listened to the glorious sound, I read about the women who had helped shape surfing; those who had made it possible for a woman like me to think I could learn what was once a predominantly male sport. I read about the original Gidget, a woman named Kathy Kohner now Kathy Zuckerman, who, with her father, wrote the Gidget book based on many of her experiences. Needless to say, Gidget "took off," becoming a TV series and several movies. In fact, reruns of the old Gidget TV series was probably my first introduction to surfing. The book tells the stories of many inspirational women surfers; some who have died and some who still surf today. It mentions documentaries I must now try to find and tells about incredible places that I wouldn't mind visiting, not necessarily for me to surf since I doubt I'll learn everything I need to know during my week in March, but just to visit. Who knows, maybe I'll get so addicted to surfing that I can't stop doing it; maybe I'll ride the big waves in all the places I read about; or maybe I'll just ride them in my dreams.
"In their 1960s hit, "Surf City," Jan and Dean sang of this mythical place where 'they're either out surfing, or they got a party going.' Huntington Beach, generally understood to be the inspiration for the tune, has long been the epicenter of California surf culture."
"Surfing Women of the Waves"
p. 97
