Have you ever heard of Dale Webster? No? Well, to be honest, I hadn't either until recently, but if you surf -- and even if you don't -- this man is an inspiration. Why? Because, since September of 1975, Dale has surfed every single day. Yes, every single day. That's something like over 14,000 of them. Over forty years. He's only stopping now because he has to have minor surgery, and then, at some point, he says he'll get back in the water. But still -- 14,000 days of surfing! Man, we should all be so lucky. Dale surfed on good days and bad. Dale surfed when the sun was shining and when storms were so brutal the wind and rain slashed and bloodied his face. Now that's perseverance. Also Dale had something else to say in this recent interview in Surfer Magazine that struck a few chords. He had to surf three good waves in order to count the surf session as complete, and he was asked how he came to the three-wave idea. Dale said the idea came from Doc Paskowitz (another surf legend...Google him) and surfer Phil Edwards, who didn't consider the wave real unless you surfed it all the way in to the beach, with you fins scraping into the sand. That's where I really started paying attention, because that's still a huge goal for me. To get a long enough ride on one wave is an accomplishment for me. To ride three all the way into the beach is something I would love to be able to do. Okay, so new goal: to surf at least one wave all the way into the beach because I generally wipe out about halfway. I wish I could be like Dale and surf every day, but right now that's not possible. Still, it's always good to have goal. Oh, and Dale also had this to say, which I totally relate to -- When asked what surfing taught him, Dale said this: "Surfing is really a challenge. Sometimes you end up looking for perfect waves that only exist in magazines. But when you go to the beach, you have to surf the waves you have on hand. It may not be barreling, but the act of putting on a suit, going out there, and just being in the water feels wonderful." It's that last part that really struck a chord. I have such a long way to go in my surfing life, but just getting out there does, indeed, always feel wonderful.
Dale is old school, and I've been on a sort of old school eating kick these days too. Like after a recent session I was hungry for good, old school fried chicken, which brought to mind Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. Roscoe's is totally old-school. The menu has stayed pretty much the same, as has the restaurant itself, at least the one on Gower. They stick with what works, really good fried chicken and really good waffles. But I also love all the sides at Roscoe's. Here was lunch:
It's the three-wing combo, with greens, but instead of corn bread I got the Mac and Cheese. It was all, as usual, delicious, the wings crisp on the outside, moist within, the mac and cheese super creamy, and the greens long-simmered until ultra tender. When you do something long enough -- like Dale or like Roscoe's, you usually get it right.
So read about Dale in Surfer Magazine:
www.surfermag.com
And if you want to hit up Roscoe's:
www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com
