Part 2
The Opening Scenes of the Film
In 2003 the film begins with a young girl walking down the road at Coast
Walk, just west of Torrey Pines Road.
She has a skateboard and rides a short way down the hill and then continues
walking. She looks down
at the slides as she walks, and we can hear the sound of surf, large surf.
the view from Coast Walk She watches the waves breaking at the Cove as she continues along the walkway. Crossing over the wooden
bridge, she looks down at the old soiled rope that allows explorers down to the rocks below.
Moving up the side of the hill, she breathes easily as with each step, the waves come closer to her. She
sees a surfer make the drop on a fifteen foot face before the white water crashes down on him and
then she stops walking, looking at Deadman or Deadman's. Or is it Deadmen? How many drunks have
died jumping off this cliff and how many living were paralyzed from their bottle courage? She turns to the CAMERA, the narrator of this part of the story: GIRL
This is where it happened. My mom told me
it was the late '70s. I'm not sure, it
might have been a movie or somethin', but
the guy jumped off there when his girl
friend--some girl friend--pulled a gun on him.
the Narrator @ the Slides
Bruce Byerly: walking on air.
GIRL
Now, I know you're thinking two things: one,
was it real or a movie; and two, did he die?
Because even if it was a movie, he could have died.
Happens all the time.
She is looking down the cliffs at the cormorants and the pelicans perched along the walls above the pounding surf.
GIRL
I think we should talk to some people.
Now this is the script that is written for the girl to speak, but some
of these actors go
extemporaneous when the Camera starts to roll, be it Super 8, 16mm, 35mm
or video.
So you really have to see the Director's Cut to get the precise language.
But she does start her investigation.
There is a quick shot of me under the shack at WindanSea, talking to
the girl in the summer of 2003.
Again, I paraphrase the lines, for you have to see the Director's Cut to
know the actual words said in the film:
JCW
Ahhh, the documentary. That was
before your time. Who told you about it?
GIRL
My mother. Said she learned about it when
she came back from Maui. What's the story?
JCW
The story. Ahhh, the story. It's probably your story.
GIRL
What do you mean?
JCW
You grow up in La Jolla?
GIRL
Yeah.
You go to the beach a lot?
GIRL
Yeah.
JCW
It's your story.
GIRL
Is it truth or fiction?
JCW
It's your story. A mixture of truth and fiction.
But don't ask me which is what. I only lived it.
GIRL
Tell me my story.
So in the film, we cut away from 2003 WindanSea to La Jolla in the late
70's, with me
driving my old Benz which I got from Jim Brown for legal fees when I was
first a lawyer
in '74. We flew into Catalina to attend the court hearings. But that
is another story,
which I will tell you another time.
We are at Whale Watch Way, above the Shores, a vacant lot back then selling
for 100 grand; now the site of a multi-million dollar home. Steve Barto
is the photographer.
view of the Cove from Whale Watch Way Steve rides shotgun as we ride down Camino del Oro, south on La Jolla Shores Drive. Steve is a a good athlete, one
of the longhairs on the REBA team. Good surfer and a shaper for Rusty. We move southwest on Torrey Pines Road,
and down Prospect to front the coast from the Cove up to Horseshoe.
low Tide exposing the Horseshoe Reef
Then inland and finally back to the Sea, running past Simmons, WindanSea and over to the Pumphouse.
view over the Pumphouse north to Twang (1979)
In the film, we cut down to the beach at Simmons, where Bruce and Chris
O'Rourke, a fine surfer,
are sitting on the beach, smoking a joint, getting in the mood for a surf.
Is it a real joint?
I wasn't in charge of props, so don't ask me.
Don't ask, don't tell.
It's only a movie, is anything real?
It's only life, is anything real?
Chris was shy of his twentieth birthday. He had contracted Hodgkin's disease.
He had undergone chemotherapy treatments.
He had a metal plate in his head to replace bone that had been removed
during an operation. He was one of the
earlier known practitioners of medical marijuana to alleviate the
nausea induced by chemotherapy.
I italicize and underline "known" to underscore the fact that my percipient
knowledge of things is finite.
There are more things in heaven and earth, dear Horatio, then are dreamt
of in your philosophy,
and just because you do not see and hear the tree fall in the woods, does
not mean that it did not happen.
And I am sure that for many centuries, whether by Native American or
by European white or by Black Sea
Turk, or by countless other tribe, the Herb has been widely used to alleviate
human suffering.
indigenous California Sensimilla
Always harassed, never endangered
On the beach, Simmons Reef to their west, they discourse about the waves,
the crowd in the water,
Bruce's girl friend in Los Angeles, and then they go for their surf
at WindanSea.
Chris O'Rourke: the Sea nourishes Life
WindanSea local told me one time, I won't tell you his name right now--he
died several years back in
a situation not related to surfing--said, "the ocean is a woman, and good
surfing is like good sex.
Only in surfing you can go for hours and hours and not get tired out, still
have the juice to reach a climax
on myriad waves. And if some clown is out there trying to ride your waves,
well, that ain't right.
I mean, you wouldn't want that guy riding your woman would you?
I didn't think so. So if you're not a local here, then don't surf here.
If you are local, respect the Lady and she'll treat you right."
the rising swells of the Sea invite the Surfer
He was an extremist. He had the strength and fighting skill to back it up.
But I never found the man that could beat the bottle for the duration.
When you're young, dumb and full of cum some people feel invincible.
Not to worry, the timeline will take care of that. But I digress----
local Gorilla My criminal law professor, the Honorable Robert Cooney, would frequently ask the question,
"What can a five hundred pound gorilla do?"
The answer: "Whatever he wants."
This Gorilla spent quality time on the beach in brief encounters of the fisticuffs kind.
Most locals are laid back. They don't mind good surfers riding the waves,
as long as there is respect.
Don't try to snake the waves, know your spot in the lineup, give the person
in position their wave, and respect the homeboys.
Reap what you sow. If you don't have the water skills to be surfing here
for the bigger waves, then remain a
spectator on the beach. Observe the good surfers, fine-tune your skills
at the Shores or Waikiki or Law Street;
then come out when you won't be a danger to yourself or those around
you. Earn your spot in the lineup.
warning signs posted by the City of San Diego, or maybe
the local WindanSea crew (circa 1978)
Waves are turbulent, powerful. Waves pick up man and board and propel
them across their surface.
Rider and equipment are often submerged and often exploded by the wave.
Boards flying through the air and water can strike people and equipment
and cause damage, death.
So be able to control your board for the water conditions.
Surfer Beware--the Life you save may be your Own.
So, in the film shot in the late 70's Bruce and Chris go out for a surf.
They get some rides. Other people get
some rides. Other people sit in the water like buoys, aware that they
are not qualified to be surfing these
waves that are only five to six foot faces on the sets.
TO BE CONTINUED
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