THE MONGOOSE LIVES 8-15-07
By Corky Carroll
It seems that lately I have had to write way too many columns about somebody passing away. So many great surfers and cool dudes have been doing that lately that it has been scary. We just lost the great Leslie “Birdman” Williams who was once called “the best there is at Malibu” by Mickey Dora himself. And also legendary big wave rider Tommy Lee who became famous for his horrible cannon ball wipeout at Waimea Bay back in the early 1960’s. This morning my neighbor, the Iguana, and I had to check the obits just to make sure we were still here. Thankfully, we are. I have one foot on the banana peel and he has both, but we are still standin’.
And then I am going through today’s email and one pops up with the subject “Mickey Munoz.” My heart stops. “Oh nooooooo, not Mickey too?” I am thinking. But, happily, it wasn’t bad news. In fact it was great news. Mickey, aka the “Mongoose,” Munoz is turning seventy years old and is having a birthday party. Seventy? Wow, that’s almost a hundred. It seems like just the other day he was a mere child of sixty-seven. And now a full seventy. Incredible!
Mickey is one of the real legends of surfing. He was one of my childhood idols and a real role model for me when I was a kid. I can still remember one day when I saw him coming up the beach and he was a surf star and I was a little puck nothing. I ran up to him and said “Hey Mickey, what’s cha been up to?” Just like I knew the dude or somethin’.
He looked at me up and down, well mostly up because he was only like four foot four and I was bigger than him even at twelve years old, and he matter of factly said, “Drinkin’, smokin’, swearin’ and something to do with women that I can’t print here.”
I thought to myself, “Wowie, so that’s what those dudes do. I wanna be a surf star too.” And my life was forever changed from that moment on. The drinkin’, smokin’ and swearin’parts didn’t intrigue me so much but that thing to do with the women had my attention big time. I knew I wanted some of that stuff. The Mongoose and I have been pals ever since and I can proudly say that I learned really a lot from that guy both about surfing and enjoying life. He, like me, is one of us loco people who choose lifestyle over wealth and possessions.
One of the more important things I learned from Mickey Munoz is how to laugh at just about anything. That little dude has one of the biggest senses of humor on the planet. He once baked my water watch in the oven one day and had me laughing about it. When he was younger and in his very prominent party animal stage you could hear his distinctive laugh three bars away.
He also, along with Mike Doyle, taught me how to compete. Mickey was an expert at how to get the very most out of a wave no matter how big or small it was.
Mickey has been a surf star since the days when you had to cut down a tree to shape a surfboard. And he is one of the all time greatest surfboard shapers on Earth. Got a good tree in your backyard? He’s the dude to shape it. Along with Hobie Alter and Phil Edwards he was co-inventor of the “noserider” model longboard that is still in use today. He parlayed his fame from a very successful competitive surfing career and his skills as a craftsman into a lifetime surfboard shaping and designing career.
One of the many classic things that this guy did during his endless career was being the surfing double for Sandra Dee in the movie “Gidget.” They dressed him in a bikini and put a blonde girl’s wig on him and was the one really riding the waves. As I remember it there was actually one shot of him sitting on Mickey Dora’s shoulders.
On August 24th a few of the Mongooses close pals are gathering at Doheny State Beach between noon and 10 P.M. to celebrate the big 70. It’s a bring all your own stuff kinda party, no glass please, and they are asking for no presents. But there is a silent auction to raise money for a worthy cause that has something to do with Doheny State Park.
THEY WILL SURF AGAIN AND EAT CHILI
The Wave ~ 8-15-07
By Corky Carroll
I love it when I get information about something really cool. Especially when it has to do with surfing and doing something productive for society at the same time. Today I got an email from Garrett Hamblin who is Co-Captain of the Sons Of the Beach Surf Club here in Surf City. They are involved in helping raise money for beach wheelchairs. Local surf star Robert August is also a part of that movement in Costa Rica. Here is information from Garrett on the Club and a coming event to raise some funds for the cause.
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“A little more than a year ago, I had a crazy idea of starting a surf club within the Huntington Beach Elks lodge of which I am a proud member. To me, it just made sense. Our lodge is in Surf City and we are known as the Sons of the Beaches. It started with four of us who surfed together on the weekends to fifteen members. Not all the members surf, but they are all very supportive of the lifestyle and help us on our monthly beach cleanups.
But it really wasn’t until I happen to read an article in the Outdoor page of the Sports Section of the Register on ‘They Will Surf Again’ that we found our mission as a club. It was about an event they were having at Bolsa Chica State Beach. So we got our club together and went to see if we could help out. Little did I know that it would literally change our lives. As volunteers, we connected with a handful of injured surfers together for a day of excitement, joy, and best of all, surf. Seeing the stoked looks on their faces as they charged down the waves was just priceless. We couldn’t get over how fearless they were. Some have not surfed since their injury, some have never surfed, some surf all the time despite their varying mobility. This Adaptive Surfing Program that TWSA (They Will Surf Again) provides is so important -- making it possible for injured athletes from around the country to converge for a day of surfing!
We decided to make it our club’s pet project to help TWSA where we can. Seeing it first hand, we knew they needed equipment. As more and more adaptive surfers want to participate, the need for Beach Wheel Chairs is becoming increasingly urgent. This wheelchair is lightweight with specialized oversized tires for easy beach access that can get them into the water and ready to surf.
On Saturday August 25th, The Sons of The Beaches Surf Club in association with Huntington Beach Lodge # 1959 will be hosting the Orange County Elks Chili Cook-off and Classic Car Show at the Huntington Beach Elks Lodge at 7711 Talbert Ave, Huntington Beach, 92647 (between Beach & Gothard). This will be a fundraiser to purchase a Beach Wheelchair to benefit THEY WILL SURF AGAIN, a division of the Life Rolls On Foundation. The event is also to raise awareness of TWSA efforts. They will have an information booth as well as their ambassadors present.
This should be a great day. Not only will there be great chili, but also an antique Car Show featuring 60 classic models from 1969 and older, a Salsa Making Contest, Live Entertainment, Raffles, Vendor Booths and a Silent Auction. All ten Elk’s lodges have been cordially invited and are challenged to bring four of their best chili teams to compete. There will be trophies, $600 in cash prizes and of course bragging rights for the winners and the answer to which Elks in Orange County makes the Best Chili. The event will be open to the public, but only Elks in the Orange Coast District can compete in the cook-off. The Salsa Making Contest and the car show are open to anyone. The event will be from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission is $5, which includes the car show and an opportunity to taste all the competing chili and vote on your favorite. Other food and beverages will be available to purchase. “
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Well this certainly seems like a great event and one that we all ought to support. So get out of the house that day and get down there and eat, drink, meet new friends and help out. The person in that beach wheelchair could be you. Or worse…..me.