Tom Stone, a Rebel Changes

Reading the story on Tome Stone hit home for me. I grew up in Carpinteria, CA., with Rincon in my backyard. Growing up in a small surf community, there are two kinds of people; the gangsters and the surfers. What most people don't realize is that they are two of the same. I was fortunate enough to have a surf rat dad who made sure my education was my first priority growing up. But because of his upbringing, I was able to spend summers surfing and doing nothing but laying on the beach with him. His stories about the 1970's and doing nothing during his twenties but chase the wave had parallels with the neighborhood boys. Going back home now is an interesting sight, most of the people do nothing but surf and can't maintain a minimum wage job because when the surf is good, they don't go to work. Reading the article on Stone held some significance, and maybe even some hope for the boys back home, because he was able to shake the lifestyle he had created by being somewhat of an asshole, and turned it into something that gave back to the community.
The article was also really interesting because it taught me a ton about the cultural aspect of surfing in Hawaii. Surfing is more than just a sport and it obviously contains a culture that isn't exactly very well known. I think that he brings up a good point by saying "There are courses offered in the UK and in Australia that acutally result in a degree in surfing" but none of them exist where the culture and history are originated, in Hawaii. Surfing consists of a way of life, a dream; the chase.