Morning Coffee – Casa Azul, El Rancho, Guerrero State, Mexico 2023 

The three friends woke to thundering in the distance. Wave against reef grinding stones along the shoreline. The white noise of five thousand miles of energy violently declaring itself to our senses. Sleepy eyes pried awake by the low drone as a sense of anxiousness mixes with excitement. 


The swell arrived in the night. They always do for some reason. Ground shaking with each impact even though the waves broke half a mile out to sea.  

“Today, I will not surf.”

The thought carried uniformly amongst the friends. They all thought it. None dared to actually say it aloud. Even after twenty years of surfing, twenty years of lessons learned and wisdom gained. No one wanted to be the face of reality. Of age. Of hard earned experience. 

Outwardly at least, all three were resigned to try. Even if “try” was a word each used only in their own heads. Conveniently omitted and not audibly mentioned.

As dawn approached the reality of the situation became clear. Things looked serious. Someone could die. No one said anything. Coffee was brewed and drank. Too much probably. Bananas were peeled. Direct talk of the swell and the obvious waves of consequence was put to bed. An uneasy reality of predictable finality had settled in.  

They would go.   

There would be fear. 

There could be horror.   

Perhaps a wave would be caught.  

Glory in pain and suffering and so on and so forth. 

The three all took sips from their hot coffees. Too hot, on that early summer day in the lower latitudes. That day when the swell arrived. Bigger than anticipated. Cleaner than predicted. All conditions set for launch.  

Who would say it first?

The three friends all continued to sip their coffee.

Eddie lives with his wife Erin and daughter Evie on the southwest Oregon coast.  His thoughts and stories are informed by his travels and consulting work in the outdoor recreation industry, which brings him into communities all across these United States.