Friendship in Motion

Friendship in Motion

 The steady movement belies its ever-changing story.  The ocean shows up in a different way every day and often ever hour.  Good friendships can be like that, they are there in a consistent manner and yet they too are changing as they move through time.  We were roommates in college.  He was a gifted photographer exploring ways to better his craft and do the expected – get a degree..  We had a little too much fun filming surfers and comedy sequences for his movies.  In our spare time we stapled posters of our upcoming screenings on telephone poles in Santa Barbara.  Amazingly we sold out high school auditoriums.  He left the university in his second year to pursue his passion.  I considered it and took the idea to my father -- I received a hard no.  I always thought I had missed my calling as a comedic actor but I remained in school and Greg departed to create an incredible career.   After a string of successful but not recognized surfing genre movies, he produced his last surfing movie Five Summer Stories.  Considered a cult classic, it featured an original music score by Honk and music contributed by The Beach Boys.  Since then, Greg MacGillivray has filmed and produced over 50 films, 35 of which are in the IMAX format which has been acknowledged by many rewards.

 I received an email from Greg a few weeks back inviting me to come to Laguna to experience a presentation of a remastered classic along with a live concert by the band who scored the soundtrack.  The soundtrack was the first of its kind for the surf movie genre.  I decided to go.  Booked my fights.   Greg had generously offered to have me stay in one of his apartments overlooking the ocean.  By the way when I say overlooking, I mean on the ocean as in the water is washing up on your feet.  Laguna has become very expensive, yet there is an unmistakable “vibe” that has remained.  As an example, I bought  coffee at The Laguna Coffee Company on the PCH.  The woman behind the counter, although perhaps a few years older, was still the perfect blond beach girl that we all treasured and wish they would pick us.  The coffee was great too! 

I digress…

I settled into the apartment on that afternoon.  In a few moments Greg arrived and we sat in the living room and had a terrific catch up.  I immediately recognized what I liked about Greg—He is empathetic.  He is one of those people who is genuinely interested in you and  your life.  It is during this wonderful afternoon of defining our history that I came to appreciate the steadiness of good friends.  It does not really matter  which path you took or what chapter you wrote, friendships are like the ocean.  They are in constant motion, steadily moving in and out of our lives.  Sometimes they are unpredictable and sometimes they are perfectly formed, allowing you to ride along in perfect harmony.  But the overarching theme is movement.  They retreat and then come forward forming the perfect  wave of experience.  And so, it was that on this weekend I experienced a rediscovery of California I once called home and the realization that my friendship was still there – it was just in motion….

Surf’s up ….