SURFING SOAPBOX: Lots to be thankful for

Out of all the holidays, Thanksgiving may just be my favorite, for one simple reason: It is the one holiday that is all about rejoicing and giving thanks. A time spent with family and friends.

A time for moments of reflection of all that we should be thankful for and putting true perspective into our lives. It pained me to watch those poor families lose their homes during the recent fires. Sometimes you wish there was more you could do to help.

I can’t imagine what Thanksgiving will be like for those who so sadly lost or had their homes damaged. Perhaps for them they will find solace in the true essence of what Thanksgiving is all about. Spending a special day together with your loved ones, family and or friends, giving back to the very gift that gives us so much, life itself.

Thanksgiving in Laguna should be enough for anyone to be thankful. I love going to my parents’ home for the holiday. Sitting out on the deck and having a great meal with a couple of glasses of champagne. Looking out over the very beach that formed my life. It seems with each crashing wave, another memory passes through my mind.

I can sit up on my parents’ deck remembering all of the years that have passed by. The people, the voices and the laughter, all captured inside my mind.

I can still see those days like they were yesterday, like the first time my brother took me surfing out at the Arch.

Classic times like being the kids throwing ice plant and pee bombs at the lifeguards, who were like big brothers to me.

Really, when I think of Pearl Street beach and growing up there, we were all like one big family looking after one another and brought together for the love we hold for that beach.

Thank you, Laguna Beach.

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com