Growing up American. BasketBall and Saint Monica High School. Santa Monica, California

Saint Monica High School in Santa Monica provided much for this hack with a keyboard and yes, even pen and pencil. Believe or not junior there was at one time an instrument of recording one’s thoughts,emotions,observations etc by (drum roll please.)hand! This was known as a journal! Novel yes? No? (NYC accent) Go get me a Cannoli you shumuck and make it snappy! Now where was I? Oh yes Saint Monica High School. The Catholic institution of religion and education located at 7th and Lincoln Blvd in beautiful Santa Monica, California.

To begin,the good old McGinty family kids two doors down from grandma’s place, all attended Saint Monica High School.Thee girls and two boys, all red headed, milky,fair-skinned, and freckled all over. The sisters teased and punched me incessantly being 5 to 8 years older than I. The older brother already in college ( he made the BBall team at Washington U) would show up on vacation to show off  the fine art of the J. That left John. John 4 years older than yurz truly, the scrub,the ball boy, the constant buzzing in your ear, begging to get in the game.Begging,”Pick me . pick me, man!” John played for the Saint Monica Mariners, starting forward.

Carrying John’s gym bag, yammering on about the upcoming game as we walked down Lincoln Blvd past the park to the High School gym. I was a pest for sure but a useful pest, The iconic steeple and church in the nearby distance grew ever larger.

I was a body and this body worked all the drills. Weave, give and go, lay up lines, pick & roll, defense,
chasing loose balls,passing out towels, and everything else that I could do to play a little  basketball with the team.

Good old John McGinty, he turned me on to music as much as the 90′foot game. Artists such as David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix. The radio would blare these tunes as we passed the ball around, then I would attempt to guard John, he toyed with me dribbling the brown Wilson leather ball between his legs, around the back, suddenly rising like an elevator, straight up, releasing the ball so clean and effortless hanging in mid air,shouting, “Hawkins” and drain a 25′ foot J smooth as silk, the net snapping, cleanly, making that beautiful swish.

Rest in Peace, John McGinty.

Venice Surf-A-Thon Surf Contest. (Random musings and reflections )

Twenty years!  The words roll of my tongue yet only now register in the grey matter. T-e-w-e-n-t-y yearszzzzzz of producing and directing and yes even surfing several years in the Venice Surf-A-Thon  surf contest.  Doing the math the contest has averaged about 55 men, women, and children a year. The first contest we had about 12 contestants at the peak 165! Well as I calculate ,lets see now uhhhh 55 times 20 equals  ummm, a heck of allot of surfers!  Venice Surf-A-Thon has always been for you oh dear and loyal local. As the bourgeois and corporate devour the last vestigial remnants and even hijack and sell our memories to the Orwellian nightmare to the one world government’s Statsi aka Google, Surf-A-Thon remains true to you. Yes there have been many opportunities to sell out to the grotesque, the disgusting, and soulless monster that goes by the names of Quiksilver, or Hollister or the many other poisonous tentacles of silicon beach. However friend I have remained true to you. No banners, no suits, no posers. Just surfing and your dedication. Take a look at the dedication and craftsmanship of the trophies and the art work in the tshirt designs. This is love, love of surfing and community. T-w-e-n-t-y let the word roll, baby,  off your tongue and savor it. You deserve it!  Yeah! and you will be stoked to know the Quiksilver shop , that opened up on Venice blvd? Shuttered, it’s doors about a year ago. Not enough profit margin. http://gerilewis.wordpress.com/venice-surf-a-thon-surf-contest/

American Guide #33 Venice, CA Murals

Being  a native Angeleno the insight of a lifetime of exploration and a sixth sense of  the unique is at your beck and call. I’m warning you one could search for weeks maybe years and never uncover the nuggets of  wonder I write about. Well let’s get started shall we?  My surprise at the preservation of a mural completed during my adolescence is certainly cause for celebration. Tucked among the well to do enclaves in the now affluent Silicon Beach aka Venice, CA remains a wonderful and vibrant homage to the women of Los Angeles and their love of the beach and Venice.  Breath in the salt air and listen to the ocean in it’s moods as you view the  artists’ mindful and exuberant  portrayal. Allow your mind to rest and wonder as arm in arm the women from Flapper, Victorian and,1930 eras  joyfully wave in the surf , the archetypal 70s  skater  gracefully glides by and a  the bundled up and shawl glad grandma totes her basket along the boardwalk.