Who remembers beach parties that lasted well after midnight, huddled against the elements by the embers of a dying fire?
If you’re under 40 years old you probably have never drank and eaten with friends while singing and dancing on the beach in the moonlight.
Then, dogs barked and friends ran into the ocean, most of us with clothes on.
We never felt restricted in any way, but those who came before us told us that we were.
They did everything we ever did as well as making dinner over open fires and camping in the sand without payment. It was a time with far fewer people living near our beaches and those who visited there regulated themselves.
When I moved to Cardiff in 1970 there was still a great deal of freedom. Campers and converted school buses, including Cheryl East’s “Gospel Ship,” spent weeks in the unpaved lot at Cardiff Reef while Seaside Reef and Swami’s were both dirt lots that flooded whenever it rained for more than an inch.
Jim Jenks, Slick Dowdy and their co-conspirators held the Stone Steps Surfing Contest, where it was mandatory to drink a resin bucket of beer before each heat.
Winners included the original Mister Pipeline, Butch Van Artsdalen, and more often, Donald Takayama.
They prevailed simply by getting to their feet when others could not.
Things were still fairly free by 1980 when I held an event to break a world’s record for the most surfers on one wave. Later, a rock band played on the beach. Permits? We didn’t need no stinking permits!
Dogs roamed freely and waited in the sand for their humans to return after catching a few waves so they could again chase tennis balls.
The summers were packed, but after Labor Day the beaches were returned to the residents. Most everyone knew one another.
I think it was sometime in the late ’70s when the drinking of alcohol was first prohibited.
This was not in response to friends gathering to watch the sunset over a beer, but to a rowdy few who ruined things for the rest of us.
A similar situation occurred when leashless dogs were outlawed — that in response to those who didn’t clean up after them.
Beach fires were extinguished at state beaches and they were closed after sunset.
According to a past Encinitas City Council member, “We can’t have teenagers on the beach after dark; think of the liability!” I understand there are risks to people and fire mixing.
It is also risky for teenagers to be allowed to do whatever teenagers do on the sand late at night. It’s clear that we who have raised them do not trust them. Sure, there are risks, but the bigger risk is having no place for our children to hang out on a Saturday night.
Once cities made our beaches off limits to our children, shouldn’t they open up places where they can hang out and socialize?
Sorry if this deteriorated into a nostalgic reminiscence and an angry rant.
My purpose in writing this piece is to warn that we risk our freedoms when we abuse them, and don’t consider the possible negatives of legislating fun.
We all know that our right to extend our fists ends at or neighbor’s chin, but that does not mean we should still be allowed to unfold our arms to the limit without injuring anyone.
May we be considerate in exercising our freedoms and thoughtful when writing our laws.
When freedom rings and consideration rules, the people respond with pure stoke.
