Bockman's Barrels

Enjoy a realistic depiction of a dreamy session:

Bockman's Barrels from Marcus Bockman on Vimeo.

Video Copyright © 2012 Marcus Bockman

Pride Before the Fall

  Skateboarding at break-neck speed down The Strand pathway along the Hermosa beachfront, I noticed a hose strewn across path.  This would be inconsequential to a cyclist, who would just casually ride over the hose.  But the wheels of a skateboard are made of hard urethane, with no air-filled inner tube to cushion the wheels from terrain.  Even an errant pebble in one's path can sometimes upset one's balance.
  So, with few seconds to think, I decided I was going to try a "Hail Mary" and ollie over it.  It's not that I the ollie is an incredibly impressive trick--it's practically not a trick in the minds of some kids today.  Just keep in mind I'm not an incredibly impressive skateboarder by many standards--especially after a hiatus. 
  A second later, almost on top of the hose, I popped the tail of my board hard against the ground, and prepared to float over the hose gracefully.
  Three seconds later, a loud "CRACK!" is heard by everyone in a 15-foot radius from a body banging against the pavement.
  Luckily, that body didn't belong to me.  I successfully completed my pop-and-hop ollie over the hose, but was now 10 feet away. 
  However, a "bro" that was being dragged along The Strand by his dog was now in the post-accident, let's-play-this-off phase.
  "Ha, ha, so I guess there was as hose there!" he said to an attractive female jogger passing by him.  She noted his communication by looking at him, but didn't feel the need to reciprocate his gesture.
  The dog that was pulling him pants with its tongue hanging lazily out of its mouth, looking around like a happy moron, oblivious to the situation.
  "They make a good pair," I think, smirking.
  I wanted to crack up, but I just chuckled.  Looking back at him, I casually shrugged in his direction.  Inside of me, I thought he was a moron.
  "Who rides a skateboard tethered to a dog?  What an idiot!" I thought.  "Who falls going 5 mph on a skateboard?  WHAT AN I-D-I-O-T!"
 Fast forward a few minutes.  Another very apparent "CRACK!" reverberates down The Strand, along with the sound of a phone skidding along sand-powdered cement.  As the phone slowly slides to a halt, an overturned skateboard lies alone on the sidewalk, its wheels still spinning wildly and noisily.
  I look up from ground-level, and see an attractive female pedestrian coming my way.
  Humbly, I peeled myself off of the payment.  I grabbed my board---and phone--and hopped back on, and continued my way to the next pier over.  I don't bother justifying my situation to others around me, but I do make a mental note:
  "Karma, you're a bitch."

Manhattan Beach Isn't a Nudist Colony--Oops!

Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell a woman that Manhattan Beach is not a nudist colony before her casual walk across the beach became a birthday suit stroll.  Walking into the North side parking lot today, I was told I missed a spectacle.  The waves were okay, but I couldn't think of anything particularly amazing someone could have pulled out in the water--the breakers were pushing along at about 3', good for surfing, more or less useless for performance bodyboarding.  But, as it turned out, what I "missed" was a bit more risque.

Apparently a woman had started trotting down the sand, and eventually at least partially stripped as she made her way across the beach.  I didn't believe this had happened at Manhattan Beach, which caters to a more exclusive beach-goer with its expensive shops and restaurants.  A surf-side strip tease?  At Manhattan Beach?  Imagining this to the be case at a place with bike paths packed in the mornings with moms and strollers was a bit difficult.  It couldn't be--could it?

The naked truth, however, was proven by a glowing camera LCD someone flashed in my direction.

Stranger things have happened at this beach full of social aberrations, but this definitely tops the list of oddities that have transpired at Manhattan Beach.

Here are some less potentially offensive pictures from a stroll out on the Manhattan Beach Pier:

 

 A kneeboarder, a bodyboarder, a stroller, fishermen, ladies in bikinis--just another day at the beach.

 Was this your apple? (Click to enlarge the photo, and see what is hanging out in the bird's beak.)

 Slash...

 ...carve...

 ...and bash on the South side of the pier.

 This ocean swimmer looked like he was stuck in a rip while swimming in.  It took him a very long time to traverse the area just outside the lineup to the space just inside the waves.  He was swimming straight towards shore the entire time.  Remember--when you're caught in a rip, swim PARALLEL to the beach!  Swim straight in and risk drowning from exhaustion--or just getting sucked back out in the rip.  Luckily, this guy finally made it in safely.

Blues, black, and birds.

--FIN--

Pier and Cyclist

Proof that "The Barrel is the Safest Place To Be"...

...just ask this guy in the wrong-spot-at-the-wrong-time.  Straightening out doesn't generally pay off--and it really didn't work in this case.  Impact in 3, 2, 1................

--FIN--