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!
15 comments:
Love this Jamie. so happy to have you in the fish bowl :)
2 things I should have done, taken Spanish in high school (not German) + learned to surf while growing up at the beach.
Love this !
What an awesome lady! I love sleeping on the beach, although we used to do it when we alll told our parents we were staying at each others houses and had nowhere to sleep :) Hahaha!
"We lived on the beach and lived with the beach."
true spirit. very cool.
txs jamie
Super cool.
How good does she look in that top photo too?!! I'd go for that style over a thonged reef girl any day.
(Thanks for the spelling change too!)
Style is forever
Wow- very cool!
yeah, long live beach bums!
i wish so bad that i was born in the 40's and could have been a surf bum in so cal in the 50's and 60's, it was so pure!
thanks Jamie - this is such a cool site - Stephen
Jamie, thank you for sharing.
So grateful that we get to experience this beauty in our lives. Surfing is a gift.
My parents know her from back in the day. I remember them pointing her out while she rode her bike near the beach. What a character!
aaaaah
I just found your blog through Shona/LALA and I love the energy that all the photos exhibit. Makes me want to go to the ocean, stat.
So amazing Mrs. Luv.
-pushingtide
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