In the latest issue of The Surfer's Journal, there's a compelling article written by Jaimal Yogis about Carol Schuldt, a.k.a. The Queen of Ocean Beach.
Carol is 75 years old and has surfed Ocean Beach since she was a child - always without a wetsuit. Carol passed along some very meaningful words to the author...
"Get close to the earth".
"It was like a family," says Carol. "Your generation has such a hard time understanding because you're so into technology. But people didn't just drive to the beach, call their friends on their cell phones, surf, and drive away. We lived on the beach and lived with the beach.
There was a community around the fire. We needed the fire. We couldn't just change in our cars and head back to our cars and turn on the heat. We had to live with the elements. We had to feel."
"Just feel the earth" she says as we head down to her secret spot, "that's the secret. That's it. People want to talk about chakras and energy and all this. But you want to know how I have so much energy, just get close to the earth. That's it."
She pauses and keeps walking. "Oh, and keep surfing," she chuckles, giddy that we're getting closer to the waves.
All photos taken by Loomis Dean in 1950 in California, for Life magazine. The series was called, "Beach Bums".
LONG LIVE BEACH BUMS!
