Honorable mention: In over my head
Honorable mention: “El Porto” by Mike Matthewes by Pete Whalon It was a typically gloomy morning in late June, 1966, when I received the fateful call from my best friend Larry. “Hey Pedro, surfs up! Waves are supposed to be 12- to 15- feet at 13th. Let’s go body-whompin’ man,” he chuckled. “Holy crap, Batman, that’s bitchin! Pick me up in 10, dude. Call Bob and Lenny. I’ll call Danny, John and Mike. Later, dude.” Fifteen foot waves at Hermosa Pier started my adrenalin racing. As a teen I was tough, but not muscular, fearless but not sensible, and bold but lacking sound judgment — all the necessary ingredients for an impending catastrophe. Soon after our conversation, John’s ’55 Chevy and Larry’s ’65 VW bus were crusin’ down Hermosa Avenue toward 13th Street and the Hermosa Pier. Although we occasionally surfed, we preferred bodysurfing. Since nearly all of our parents lived from paycheck-to-paycheck, our families couldn’t afford the luxury of buying us surfboards. We parked the cars and jogged to the shoreline to see if the reports were true. Our crew sat on the sand in awe as we witnessed the most gigantic waves we had ever observed. Three or four sets of menacing 8- to 10-foot…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com