"Everybody in Indonesia always wanted to know if I was married. It was rude to answer, “Tidak”—No. That was too blunt. It disrespected marriage. Better to say “Belum”—Not yet."

BARBARIAN DAYS: A SURFING LIFE by WILLIAM FINNEGAN

“Surfers have a perfection fetish. The perfect wave, etcetera. There is no such thing. Waves are not stationary objects in nature like roses or diamonds.”

BARBARIAN DAYS: A SURFING LIFE by WILLIAM FINNEGAN

“I should say something here about Los Angeles, moving back to. It was an article of faith among our circle of young ex-residents that L.A. equaled living death. If Ireland was the sow that ate its farrow, L.A. was the John Wayne Gacy of cities, smothering its children with a toxic beach towel of poisoned air, mindless growth, and bad values. Whatever we were looking for—beauty, wisdom, uncrowded surf—it wasn’t there. Or so we believed.”

BARBARIAN DAYS: A SURFING LIFE by WILLIAM FINNEGAN