Cowabunga! The Day Before Christmas

 

A Surfrider Christmas Story

By SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

 It was the day before Christmas and all through the beach

The seagulls were flying and eating everything in reach.

 

The stockings and beach cleanup bags were hung by the recycler with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Photo by Ric Magdaug

The surfers were all up from their beds

While visions of waves danced in their heads.

KC and Roberta, Richard and John were out at the shore gathering litter

And Gilbert was making sure the morning coffee didn’t taste bitter.

 When out past the breakers there arose such a clatter,

The Surfrider volunteers strained to see what was the matter.

Off down the pier they raced like a flash,

Fearful that the vision they saw might crash.

 

For there in the light of day what did appear,

But a surfing Santa without his reindeer.

Toes on the nose, he was lively and quick.

Shooting the curl, it really was St. Nick!

 

Surfing Santa Michael Pless

Decked out in his red hat and board shorts by Hurley,

He shouted, “Cowabunga, dudes! I got in early.”

Before anyone knew what to say,

Santa was well on his way.

His white beard flowing, he shifted his sack,

Leaving the surfers to stare at his back.

 

 

 Over the roar of the waves, they heard him chuckle with glee,

“Don’t worry. Tomorrow your presents will be under the tree.”

 Wishing you these gifts of the holiday season:

Family and friends, clean beaches and joy without reason.

 

Photo by Greg Kishel

SurfWriter Girls Sunny & Patti

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another website, contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com

http://www.surfwritergirls.blogspot.com

 

A Christmas You Can Book On!

 

Books Leave Lasting Memories

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

 

When the holiday lights are shining, the eggnog glasses are clinking and we're feeling good cheer, part of the joy of the season is staking out a comfy chair or garden bench and reading a book that takes you on an adventure.

 

SurfWriter Girls have fond memories of books that captured our fancy and gave us a break from the yuletide hustle and bustle. As children, The Wizard of Oz and Nancy Drew. And a book Patti and her sister Eileen loved about a surf-crazy teen – Gidget. As adults, mysteries, thrillers, and more. 

 

 

Looking back, in the 1960s the bestselling books to read on a cold winter's night were Harper Lee's soon to be American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, Michael Chrichton's debut thriller The Andromeda Strain, and Ken Kesey's riveting One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

 

 

In the 1970s and 80s Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal, about an assassin plotting to kill Charles de Gaulle, Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October Russian submarine tale, and Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity spy novel had millions of readers glued to their chairs while waiting for Santa. 

 

 

The 1990s and a new millennium immersed readers in a world of wizards, witches and secret societies with the introduction of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. Plus, Michael Connelly's The Concrete Blonde, featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch, made a splash. 

 

 

By the 2010s and 20s Suzanne Collins' futuristic The Hunger Games took center stage alongside Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club series about senior citizens in a British retirement village solving crimes. 

   

 

For this Christmas, SurfWriter Girls recommend Maria Brophy’s powerful memoir, Covid: A Love Story, about how she and her husband, renowned surf artist Drew Brophy, battled to save his life when he was struck by the illness.

 

 

It’s a story about love, faith and miracles. And how, in saving Drew, Maria became “a warrior, an advocate, and a witness for all who suffered loss during the pandemic.”

 

 

 

Books and memories wrapped up in gift ribbons. Who knows what new books will make lasting impressions? Let the reading adventures begin and make it a holiday season you can book on! 

 

 

We wish you a Beary Merry Christmas!

 

 

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.