[Essay] Sunday Service

By Julie Springston

The old Schwinn sped right off the sandy sidewalk and directly into the deep sand.

Forward momentum faded quickly and now I threw my weight into pushing through the deep dry sand toward the berm. My eyes narrowed, assessing swell, tide, wind speed and direction, sweeping north and south. The Pacific glittered one hundred yards in front of me. Thirty plus disciples shared the view, some from the beach and others sitting, paddling, standing on the water.

I laid the bike down gently, fished a combo lock out of the rusty basket, and threaded the chain through the wheels, looping through shuffled-off tar-specked sandals before clicking the latch shut. A frayed and faded t-shirt was sloughed off; slick black neoprene swallowed torso and arms and shoulders. Pulling the long white board from its cradle on the side of the bike I hoisted it delicately upward and overhead, clearing gears, pedals and handlebars, and set it back down, burying the fin on the open sand, nose of the board pointed toward the sea like an eager Lab.

I stopped surveying the water, focusing instead on preparation. Pried the bar of wax off

the bottom of the basket and meticulously massaged it onto the deck of the board in steady small circles. Leash leisurely untangled from the fin and nimbly secured to ankle. I did not hurry, nor did I stall. A hop, a skip, and a small splash later I paddled out, just one more bright head bobbing between lines of white wash. Back on the beach the lifeguard truck wove through towels, and sandpipers bobbed for bugs in the wet grit. Sand crabs squirmed away from the tide, digging deep. One paddler spotted an incoming set and moved out to sea, setting in motion the congregation of surfers, including me, following faithfully.

Julie Springston lives and surfs in South Orange County, California. As a high school Spanish teacher with the summers off, she heads out of town to surf the world as often as possible. Julie is an armchair linguist and has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction.