In the Florida Keys, each night around two hours before sunset masses of people flock to the water’s edge to experience a soul-soothing, gorgeous, spiritual happening to play homage to the sun as it sank into the Gulf of Mexico. Vendors set up little trinkets shops and performing artists like jugglers, animal acts, high-wire artists, acrobats, and fire-eaters all began working for tips. The worshiping finally ends with the mesmerizing ohs and aws of the circus event when the Green Flash concluded.
Okay … thank God, this did not filter to WindanSea.
At WindanSea, there was none of this spiritual BS (but there were a bunch of clowns) sunsets were taken for granted; it just another end of a day where locals headed to the Liquor Box or Dick’s Liquor. For under $1 you got a 2-pack of Coors (.50), pack of cigarettes (.25) and a bag of chips (.10). If you plan to be there longer then an hour, and were cheap (right Lebos), did not smoke, or just ate, $2 got you two 6-packs of Brown Derby.
And then armed with sunset material headed to WindanSea to shoot the shit with their friends and to find out the local gossip, like who got busted this week, how big was that White Sea Bass, and what fucking asshole was selling the dirt weed?
It was a time in the day where the beaches social networking was at its best. If a Convention or party was brewing, this is where it spread faster than the clap in a whorehouse.
Everyone had a bathing suit. Changing in cars or outside put Superman’s phone booth act to shame. It was common to take a drip in the water and/or do some early evening body whomping.
Green Flashes occurred almost daily (air was a lot cleaner back then) and no big deal, except some were just bigger than others … just depended on how much smog had filtered down from LA or came screaming in during a Santa Ana.
WindanSea’s A-team held up the wall, stairs somehow held the people, the parking lot was overfilled with surfers, drunks and those beach bums who had nowhere else to go.
On a Saturday or Sunday late afternoon it became traffic jam that mimic a miniature Sunset Blvd.
Hammer:
Researching the Callender family in California. My phone #’s 949/525-5859.
Craig Lockwood
This photo is a work of art! It looks like something out of a John Steinbeck novel…
One year (1987??)…Jack asked Butch Cornelius (who was then the house cartoonist for the Branding Iron, and did the artwork on some of the BI’s best teeshirts) if he could put together a cartoon for him…it featured Hammer, Jack and Danny duck hunting in Mexico…it shows Danny standing up out of his wheelchair, with the caption “Who’s the Dummy now?”…like Danny could walk and they had been pushing him around for naught…Butch Cornelius did a great job…and Jack had it framed and the Duck Hunting Cartoon joined the rest of Jack’s private collection of beloved photos….
If Mac Meda, Dave, or Doug are interested in viewing well over 100 photos of Jack, and many other “old La Jolla friends”, give me a call. Cold adult beverages on me–Doug has my number.
By the way, I couldn’t care less who gets credit for them.
Dave,I certainly don’t care who gets credit for what.Jaime stated in the first comment that she wasn’t sure where/when the shot was taken so I just wanted to clear it up. Fact is, I wanted to tell you and Doug that I have over a hundred photos of Mac and many others taken over the years that only a few have ever seen. They include pictures of “The Wobbly Wheels”, our Tacate-Ensenada bike group, years of summer camp including the first when Mac, T.D., and I found the place in 73′, hunting trips in Baja,73′-late 80’s, and many assorted others. If you and Doug want to get together with me to go over them, have Doug give me a call anytime-he’s got my #.
I don’t think I have told you this ..About a year ago while driving down the highway in Vancouver Washington, there was a big Cadillac SUV that was driving next to me waving at me to pull over..I didn’t have a clue what he could possibly want..He had a family in his car so I wasn’t too intimidated..I pulled over and got out and he walked up to me and asked “Who are you and where did you get that Macmeda sticker?”…Anyway, he new alot of you from a zillion years ago..His name is John McLaughlin
I just thought it was like a lot of my photos, I don’t know who took them, I also thought it might be credited to me because of what you stated…..I was surprised anyone noticed, no big deal..DAVE
Hammer, I never saw the photo before it appeared on this site, I don’t know why I was given credit for the photo.
Dave Osborn
Sorry about that Dave – this photo was one you sent me along with many others a while back – I should have said, photo “provided” by Dave Osborn. I know that you had said, that many of the photos you had, you were not quite sure who took them…
This shot of Mac and I was taken at Colonet, B.C., during a duck hunt in Dec.,70′. It was taken by Dan Sacrenty, our mutual hunting friend who lived life more than most while confined to a wheelchair.
The Stairs = “The Penalty Box”! Who named it such? Anybody know?
Those were some of the best days of my life. I miss those Windensea sunsets and can’t wait to see some when I come down in June. Thanks Pinky for sharing.
The location might be Mexico, but the style was honed and refined at Windansea…
Kip…What a nice piece on Windansea Sunsets! The top photo is a classic…Jack is on the right, Hammer on the left. The location might be Summer Camp…Date? 70s… Classic…