I grew up in Atlantic City surfing. We’re the first kids to buy surfboards in about 1965. We bought these big old pop – outs at the sporting goods store. We surfed at Brigantine Coast. We served every summer and surfing made it a great summer. I was living the Beach Boys lifestyle.

There was a period for about fifteen years when I didn’t surf. But when I came back to Santa Cruz I picked it up again. Today, I like nose riding. I like walking the board, and hanging five.

I don’t have any short boards; I ride a custom GP surfboard. In waves that are head – high or double – overhead, I have to really be careful. That’s when it starts getting iffy. I could die in this stuff.

I’m not an extreme guy but I am a pretty good surfer and I love the feeling.


“My Father and I Were Magnetic Opposites”

During those early years I don’t recall much interaction with my father in a warm or loving way. It was the same for my relationship with my mother.

At eleven or twelve years old I hit my first turning point. Growing up in a Jewish family, my mother and father were serious about religion, but they were serious about the culture. For example, one was supposed to marry a Jew.

I never liked it, never accepted it, and never believed in it. There was a part of me that never believed in any of the teaching, not even once. I thought it was bullshit, an elitist theory. As I look back on my life I can say now that this was a momentous turning point.

I had to go to Hebrew school so that I could receive bar mitzvah at thirteen years old. I hated it, every moment of it. My father and I butted heads and the more we butted heads, the more I withdrew.

Rather than ask me what I liked or what I was interested in, or where did I see myself, I was simply coerced. A lot of this was the sign of the times; that was the way we grew up.

My father and I were like magnetic opposites. My mother always defended me but she believed that you needed to do these things to be a successful person. I didn’t buy it.

I did get bar mitzvah’d and it was a great time. It was like a great gray and Saturday night fair. One good thing about my father was that he was not a cheapskate, and he went full – tilt, black tie. My memories of that day are vivid.

But if I had to go through it again, I wouldn’t. Even at twelve or thirteen years old I recognize that this was all about saving face in the Jewish community. I had strong feelings about this event. I couldn’t interpret those feelings, but I knew it was churning inside of me.


After my Bar Mitzvah, Things go Downhill

From the bar mitzvah on things went completely downhill. Along with that, I wasn’t doing well in school. I didn’t like school; I never liked school, not one minute of it.

But no one ever asked me what I’d like to do, or what my talents were. I felt that. And the more I felt that, the more we butted heads.

For three or four years ago, I was the undefeated diving champion in our community. This happened beginning at about age six, and my father was always proud of me.

From the time I was twelve years old, there was constant friction between my father and I. I remember running away from home when I was fourteen. I ran away to Florida one time when I was fifteen. I hitchhiked, took a train, and took a plane.

When I got down there I had about $300.00 in my pocket because I had been working as a dishwasher. I didn’t realize though that Miami and Miami Beach are two different places. I was scared, on the streets, fifteen, and in Miami. I figured out that this wasn’t going to work too well so I called home.

My father said: “OK, home, but you’re going to pay for it.”

So I caught a plane came home. As a kid it takes a lot to hitch I can to train, and a plane and go 1500 miles. In those days, hitchhiking was a lot more prevalent.


Fond Memories of Being 13, 14, 15, 16

Some of my fondest early years from the time I was thirteen until my dad died when I was sixteen. We were kids growing up, and my friend’s parents had a house on the jersey shore. These parents were very liberal, and let us do whatever we want. So we had a house when we are fourteen years old, by ourselves. His parents had a boat so would hang out on the boat and get all f____ed up, and drink.

Every summer: fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, we were on our own. It was all about fun. I had a bunch of girlfriends. I did have one girlfriend for years and years. As a matter of fact, we hooked up again.

Twenty – some years ago there was a reunion back east but I couldn’t make it. Well, I never graduated, so I couldn’t make it any way but they called me. It was the week of the San Francisco earthquake in 1989. I talked with her, and from that point on we stayed in touch. I went to see her in Florida about five years ago and we have stayed loosely in touch.

Last year she sent me all the letters that I had sent to her when I was fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. They were full of: “I love you. Let’s get married and runaway together.”

Talk about feelings!

I had a surge of incredible feelings; these were the fondest years.