While most surfing buddies are found in the line up or are friends that you GO surfing with, this surfing buddy came about a very different path! In fact, we have NEVER surfed together… however, we have talked surf and shared a lot of our surfing experiences.
TheJudge is one COOL guy who came along in my life when I needed a friend! See I was a LONNNNNNNNG way away from the family on a military deployment for 12 months…yes, 12 months away from the ones you love is a LONGGGGGGGGGG time!
However, when I deployed in the summer of 2010, I wasn't sure what would keep me sane, but I figured it would be something to do with surfing (even if I wasn't going to catch any waves in the Persian Gulf. It was during this deployment I met and become LIFE LONG friends with TheJudge! See he too was deployed for 12 months and he was a SURFER!
During those long days of work when I needed a break, I'd head over to TheJudge's office for some surf talk. I can remember the first time I walked into his office and he had maps posted on his wall of ALL the Hawaiian Island surf spots. This is when I knew I had a "real surfer" in my presence. It turns out he had surfed Hawaii in the past and this was a reminder of the "good ole days".
For me, these surf spots were "dreams of the future" because I too wanted to surf some Hawaiian waves, which I did during my mid-tour break (15 days in Hawaii surfing Kaisers almost every day).
Additionally, TheJudge knew I would be "dry" from some time and to help me stay "stoked", he cut me a CD of all of his Jack Johnson tracks. This was music to my ears.
To TheJudge…THANKS for keeping me stoked for the 12 months in the war! I couldn't have made it through many days if you hadn't been there to keep my mind off of the daily grind with a little surf talk! Friends FOREVER!!!! and I can't wait until we someday get to paddle out into the lineup TOGETHER!
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| TheJudge with his bride in Morocco…I'm sure he was checking out the surf |
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