Beach Fights stories

[soulrebel007]

Ron these stories are cool. They reveal interesting life experiences as well as the many places you'v'e lived and surfed through the years...Rich

[filmpanda]

The 5th story is now online! This story is called "Giving Slaps".

www.clubofthewaves.com/surf_culture_beach_fights.php#five

This one's "slap slap good!" ~ filmpanda

[devsma03]

Interesting stories going back almost 40 years and covering many locations. Because of the varying degrees of violence/anger in them, I hate to say that they are "entertaining," but they sure are! Looking forward to reading the next one![/quote]
[quote]Yikes. There are some serious consequences for not respecting eachother out there...too bad no one could save face in time.

[filmpanda]

Yikes. There are some serious consequences for not respecting eachother out there...too bad no one could save face in time.

[lotusponds]

alot of these are particular incidents of peculiar circumstances. tho i've seen mucho aggression on the beach, still it is a very aggressive sport & vigorous lifestyle, w hordes of strange riffs & various personalitys at play in intense environs. not everyone gets down w this action. + there is tons of shit on the line for beings to push thru to these levels of activity. doesn't hamper the beauty, it actually enhances it. brings it more real in the flows of beings. all those aspects & the relaxing as well the cruising in the sun & exploring the ranges of behaviors available to tune in on. it is a veritable storehouse of bizarre characters & odd souls, also so many curious manifestations of different cultures & realms of spirits. there are beings out there guiding all kinds of surfers & beach freaks. living & dead & between & in dream & variegate states of mind & potent awareness. such active flows of pursuit & power come into really strong display at times. bursts of weird in energys of zones that carry vibes far more than we realize. aiy ah!

[anon]

Below are some anonymous comments sent to the author of the Beach Fights stories (Ron Croci)...

Though the stories bother me, I am glad you are writing them. I think that this series is a wonderful way to incorporate real life experience with art and then get the community to interact - it's extremely clever. I'm impressed!

Do any of these have a happy ending? It makes me sad to learn that there is such violence and uncaring in the world. Damn! These people should be ashamed of themselves!

This is one of the reasons I don't really like to go to Hawaii anymore - there's too much of this stuff happening. And even though it doesn't happen to me, I don't want to be around people who do it.

Thanks for sharing!

Ronnie boy
These are really fun.
I especially like the Flying Bike painting and Topanga Anger.
You got the colors of Topanga just right.
The slap story was the funniest so far.
I can just see those guys in the parking lot going at it, then next day business as usual.
I liked the ending too where the girl dumps both of them and goes off with a bronzed Aussie.

Keep it up.

Some harrowing, nasty stories there!

I hate that shit.

Hey, sucka - it's wanders inn! What'sa mata u, fooll dog idiot! Shoreview sump bum rat! No class clown lump brain stooge! Good luck, why don't u move to l a, so u can fit in with thoz chumps! Yeah, & don't come bk! ever! See yah, bunch of stomp ass storys that don't stomp! Worthless piece of crap! I've had it w u! 10 4, joke! Go hang w seals & get shark bit! Do something w yor life, feed the environ w ur blood! Before i do! Had the course w rip off raps! Join the crowds at the beach & get boiled by the sun, lobster head! Tired of ur sorry ass anyway! Fin, we're thru! Lotsa luck, loser! see ya!

I read em Ron....

Didn't really enjoy them as you can imagine why... I got beat up at S Mission by some gang members. Not a good day... and the other fights I witnessed have always made me sick to watch. Such bullies and big baby's. Blowhards and cowards mostly....

But your writing is great and the story board illustrations rock.

[filmpanda]

Do any of these have a happy ending? It makes me sad to learn that there is such violence and uncaring in the world. Damn! These people should be ashamed of themselves!

This is one of the reasons I don't really like to go to Hawaii anymore - there's too much of this stuff happening. And even though it doesn't happen to me, I don't want to be around people who do it.

Thanks for sharing!

I'd have to disagree w/"Anon" about Hawaii. and especially that people should be 'ashamed of themselves" what the hell does that even mean? It's life sistah, roll with it. these stories are from back years ago anyway, so any harsh judgments about the Aloha state are rather unecessary. Ron, thanks for pumping out these great gems, and of course the rad illustrations to match! Aloha! ~ filmpanda

[joeadz]

"KILLER" stories! I think there should be rules put in place where as each party is required to stand erect on his or her board and face off in at least 4 feet of water and whoever is left standing wins. The water colors lend humor to these tragedies of aggression that soil our beaches with blood running cold in the sand. May your words and pictures foster peace, reminding us all, that anger is futile.

[Tricky]

I'm sure Ron's stories are just scratching the surface of Beach fight stories. I'm sure there are hundreds out there. Ron could illustrate and write a book on the topic but I'd prefer a more peaceful topic.

[filmpanda]

glad you sandwiched this one in before the next one! much mo betta than 'shoulda used the bat on the girl' in the next installment ! yikes. I liked Tricky's comment about you doing a more peaceful topic! Tricky, the topic is GRATITUDE! Mahalo!

[McKibben Studios]

Attitude Adjustment Required,

My name is Steve McKibben, founder/owner of McKibben Studios and long time resident in Southern California beach communities for more than 5 decades.
I have been requested by one of my Artists, 10 that are on Club of the Waves to make a comment about this topic and consequences of the over all perspective the public has of the Surfing Community/Culture since I see approximately 2000 prospective clients a month that walk through my Laguna Beach ART Gallery.
First, I want to make it clear that the following is not my opinion, but facts relayed to me in personal conversations I have had with thousands of people over the last 3 years.
This is one of those conversations; One day a family walked into the Gallery and their 12 year old son’s face was completely bandaged up as though he had been in a car accident and his face had gone through the windshield.

McKibben: Welcome to the Gallery, how are you folks today ?
Client: After entering they said “Is this a Surf ART Gallery ?”
McKibben: I represent more than 30 Artists with WATER being the focal point to all of the Artists compositions, and Surfing is part of the total Beach experience.
(The client starts walking towards the door to exit)
Client: Well, we don’t want to have anything to do with Surfing after what we experienced at the Huntington Beach Pier !
McKibben: I’m sorry to hear that, what happened ?
Client: We are from New York and my son has dreamed for years of coming to Huntington Beach to Surf and get some tips from more experienced Surfers than he to improve his skill level. After a short time in the water my son returned to our spot close to the pier with his face a bloody mess and a broken nose !
McKibben: What happened ?
Client: My son doesn’t really know, as he surfaced after riding one wave he was met with a fist to the face several times by a much older person and told to go back to where ever he came from, these are our waves ! Crying from the pain and having his dream shattered by this moron we left the beach and proceeded to the nearest hospital for treatment for his injuries inflicted by this bully. What kind of sport is this anyway ? I have NEVER experienced anything like this on any playing surface I have competed on anywhere ! What kind of people come to your beaches here in Southern California ?
McKibben: Did you report this to the lifeguard ?
Client: NO, we were so distort we just wanted to leave in fear of any other retaliation this bully had in mind and my primary concern was my families safety and immediate medical assistance for my son.
McKibben: At that point I was also in shock and did not know what to say to the client to comfort them as they just experienced the sport of Surfing at its worst.
Client: They turned to exit the Gallery saying that they did not want to have anything to do with Surfing, ART and it’s so called laid-back lifestyle !

This is one of several negative stories that have been conveyed to me over the past several years, but by far has been the most influential to me and my marketing of my incredible TEAM of ARTISTS.
I have since stopped accepting any art that has Surfing as the primary focus of their compositions.
To further validate the public’s perception of the Surfing culture I have another short story.
One of my artists Norm Daniels had painted a beautiful large Oil painting that I had at least a dozen people VERY interested in buying it over a 30 month time period, but did not sell because it had two surfers approximately 1x2 inch walking on the beach.
After the 13th prospective buyer walked out the door I asked the artist if he would consider painting out the two surfers ?
The artist said that it would completely change the concept of the painting as it was titled “What-A-Day” !
Anyway, after further conversation with the artist he agreed to paint out the surfers. The painting was SOLD in 3 days !
The facts are what they are; until ALL Surfers make an “Attitude Adjustment” to change their moronic attitude about their so called territory (like a wild animal) the sport will not achieve the respect that many of us would like to see it reach.
Surfers STUPID actions have consequences that affect many who are not in “their” waters in an economical way; in my case it is the 10 very talented artists that I represent having extreme difficulty selling their work because of the public’s negative perspective about the sport & culture that surrounds it. On the flip side; those same artists that paint imagery that is not surf related sell well.

Mahalo,
Steve McKibben

SteveM@McKibbenStudios.com

[RXS]

Ron:

Great stories! Your art work really makes the stories a more complete package. In most of the stories 3 elements seem to be a constant. 1. youth. 2. alcohol. 3. women. I can hardly wait for the next story with accompanying art work. Great job! Rich from Shoreview.

[cotw]

Attitude Adjustment Required

Wow, that's awful what happened to that poor kid! It's really sad when things like that happen, and I agree with Steve, it was a stupid thing to do and I hope the offender is brought to justice at some point for his moronic actions. He thought he was defending 'his spot' or 'his honor', or something else equally as daft, but the only thing he was doing was being a bully... and in doing so negatively impacting on surfers and surf culture as a whole.

While COTW and Ron are very clear that we in no way condone this sort of behavior... Violence is a sad part of any culture, and obviously features more in some parts of the world than others... It's not a part of surf culture (the majority of us) are proud of, but it's very real... COTW has covered many other parts of surf history/culture, so why not cover this part too? Ignoring it and not covering it won't make it any less real (unfortunately). Ron's stories are not celebrating these events, they are raising awareness of them, which can be a good thing. It's a controversial subject sure (!), but I think Ron's done a great job with this feature and it's an interesting way to convey such stories with illustrations.

But again, I agree with Steve, a lot of surfers do need to change their attitude, and the events he spoke of are totally unacceptable!

I hope though that people can understand that events like this happen from time to time, way too much in fact, but unfortunately it's human nature to be horrible to each other, in and out of the water... A lot of surfers go their whole lives without ever encountering (or even witnessing) any such events... It's an unfortunate cocktail of bad attitudes, gang culture and as RXS rightly pointed out; factors like youth, alcohol and women can be a catalyst... the same way they can be in a bar, night club, street corner etc... It's just an extension of street/city/gang/school playground culture, but in the water! It's not representative of the wider surf culture.

...It's sad to hear (but not surprising) that people would turn their back on surfing, surfers and surf culture because of the actions of a few 'hot heads'. But here's a thought... I've witnessed countless fights (and worse) in bars and clubs (and in the street, on the football field etc...) ... but I still go to these places. These things happen, but it's the result of individuals. Every culture has them. This unfortunately cannot be avoided, it's human nature to be violent and unkind... in the streets, in our bars, at home... and in the water too.

Not all surfers are like this. Surfing has many wonderful things to it too!

Peace

[Birdlegs]

Hi Ron, I remember you when you were a gremlin here in Northern California. I actually remember seeing some of the fights you described. Glad to see you're still surfing and painting and spinning some good yarns.
Aloha,
Birdlegs

[anon]

Another comment sent to Ron on the Beach Fights feature...

Ron,

I have been reading your stories. One of my favorite sentences is: "These were the days before Ano was a park, before sharks and before the sea elephants returned. Just a wild, wonderful, wind swept and grassy farmland."

For what it's worth these are my insights:

You know your subject matter. That's a good thing. I think when surfers read these stories, they are going to connect to you.

Unfortunately, I don't surf so I don't understand the characters' motivation, or the waves, or the the whole scene. I need more details. But when I click on your paintings. WOW! I understand. The illustrations make the stories come alive. The picture of the Flying Bicycle is a real eye catcher. (I may use with my class) The story makes it all the more appealing.

I think the difference between your art and your writing is that your art is personal. Your emotions show through. When you write you are objective, almost like a reporter. I enjoyed seeing the two together.

P.S.
The surfer's world is intriguing.
You should continue to write about it.

Mary