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- Toes In The Sand
- Easter Sunday With Paige
- Oscar Sunday
- In Place of Words
- Searching For Meaning
- Playing In The Tidepools
- Grandpa Tom
- My New Religion
- Celebrating The Holidays
- The Fountain of Youth
- Barcelona and Rome
- By Any Other Name
- Ripples On A Pond
- Blame It On The Bossanova
- How Much Is Enough
- Serenity Amidst Changes
- Ojos de Brujo
- Watching For The Signs
- Easter Sunday
- Superbowl Sunday 2006
how it all started
I fell in love with Laguna Beach the moment I first stepped foot there back in the early days of 1983. I had just moved to California from Italy where I'd been studying music and teaching piano lessons. When I found myself more interested in taking pictures than I was in making music I moved to Hollywood where I hung out a shingle and started calling myself a photographer.
Somebody told me about an art school in Laguna Beach where I could learn more about Cibachrome, a printing process I was interested in learning. I decided to check it out and drove my old Chevy pickup down from Hollywood into Orange County where I passed through endless stretches of orange groves before getting off the freeway at Laguna Canyon Road.
The minute I started winding my way into the canyon I knew something was different. The alternating smells of sage and orange blossoms were intoxicating and the further I drove the more I could feel the ocean air beginning to take me over. I saw the school on my right but had to keep going until I got to the ocean - it was calling me like a siren song.
That first day in Laguna Beach was like discovering a treasure that I didn't even know existed. It was love at first sight and like countless people before me I was completely swept away by its magic. For years I would take my camera with me and photograph the surfers, artists, tourists and gay boys there who all claimed a piece of Laguna as their own. It was an amazing adventure every time I visited and in time Laguna began to feel like my home even though I wasn't living there.
I left California for a few years and when I returned in the fall of 1999 I made a beeline for Laguna Beach. Though some of it remained the same, a lot had changed. The new toll road had made getting there easier so tourists were more abundant than ever. With commute times shortened because of the improved access, those with money from all over Southern Callifornia had begun buying up the homes, driving prices into the stratosphere and pushing out a lot of the less affluent types who gave Laguna Beach its unique and colorful texture. The appearance of a Banana Republic in Laguna's downtown shopping area made it clear to me that things were probably never going to be the same.
My love affair with Laguna has continued undaunted though and today instead of just photographing the town and its people, I write about them too. It's all very personal of course and not meant to be a travelogue for a Chamber of Commerce brochure. I live about twelve minutes from Laguna and usually on Sunday mornings go there for breakfast at the Heidelberg Cafe`, a walk on the beach and some shopping. By late afternoon I'm home sitting at my computer and writing about the morning's adventures.
These essays are really more love letters about my affair with Laguna than anything else. I send them on to friends via email as a way of staying in touch and to share what's going on in my life. I've been a photographer for more than thirty years now and a writer since I was a little boy - so my pictures and stories are the easiest way I can think of to share this Pacific gem with you.
From the water's edge...
Tom
the stories
Superbowl Sunday
January 28th, 2001
I was in my favorite second-hand store in Laguna this morning and the guy there asked me what time kick-off was. I gave him one of those you've got to be kidding looks and said, "I don't have a clue." I guess there's no better way to tell someone you're gay than not knowing what time kickoff is for the Superbowl. Anyway, he didn't know either. I should have asked him out.
Toes In The Sand
Feb. 10th, 2001
The ocean was churning with activity this morning as a result of strong winds blowing in from the south. With high tide pushing the waves up against the rocks, I couldn't go too far but found a quiet spot in the sun, at the base of a cliff and sat and watched as a fisherman in a small boat checked his lobster cages just off shore. A large flock of brown pelicans kept him company, vying for the cast away fish which he tossed to them now and then. When he took off for his next group of cages, the pelicans would all take flight and follow him and then settle right back in next to the boat when he stopped again. It was so delightful to watch this little song & dance they were all doing out there in the ocean together.
Oscar Sunday
March 25th, 2001
Had a delicious breakfast in Laguna this morning and a short walk on the beach. It was overcast and cool and I didn't find myself wanting to hang out very long. I was feeling kind of tired and kind of blue but the siren song of the Pacific was calling me to the cliffs. So I walked to the bottom of the steps at Cliff Street, unstrapped my sandals and jumped down into the cool, wet sand and went for a walk.
I passed a mother and her two sons a ways down the beach. The older boy was probably 16 and the younger brother about 10 or 11. All three of them were very, very overweight, which seemed to serve the youngest boy well since he was splashing around in the freezing ocean water as if it were the middle of summer. Fat is a great insulator from the cold I guess.
Easter Sunday With Paige and Damian
Easter Sunday 2001
Today is one of those kind of days that reminds me of why Southern California is such a wonderful place to live - and why Laguna Beach is quite possibly, one of the most charming little towns on earth. Oh sure, the nouveau-riche are trying to claim it for their own these days. But with the recent catastrophic events in the stock market and the continuing collapse of the dot.com empires, Laguna may well be handed back to its natural inhabitants - the artists, the surfers, the "boys" and the laid back, easy going Southern Californians who've made it what it is and are still trying to hang on there. It doesn't take much to figure out why it's such a wonderful place to live and hang out - today for example, in the middle of April, the temperatures were in the eighties, the sun was warm, the air clear and the ocean a rich and spectacular palette of blues and greens. Paradise could well be defined by Laguna on a day like today.
White Designer Shorts
July 23rd, 2001
Today I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't really consider moving to Laguna Beach because then where would I have to go on Sundays to have adventures? Would Laguna become commonplace once I called it home? Somehow, today made me realize that nothing about Laguna Beach is ever going to be commonplace for me. I don't go to Laguna looking for trouble. I swear I don't.
In Place Of Words
August 19th, 2001
I watched a little boy about a year and a half old this morning running willy-nilly along the beach as fast as his tiny little legs could carry him, his arms flapping happily up and down and all around. He was screeching joyfully at the top of his lungs and laughing and smiling like he was the happiest little toddler in the whole wide world. And maybe he was for all I know. His grinning father and grandfather strolled along behind him, beaming from ear to ear and enjoying his little show of excitement as much as I was. He was too little to have any vocabulary yet so the sounds coming out of him were nothing more and nothing less than the pure and simple messengers of his delight - a delight completely unencumbered by the words that us bigger humans struggle so hopelessly with when we try to say how it is that we feel when we're happy.
Searching for Meaning in the Aftermath
Sept 16th 2001
I made one of my sort-of-rare stops at a drive-in in Laguna today to get a fish sandwich and as I pulled up to the drive-thru window, a young Arab kid that I'd seen in there before pulled open the slider and in his heavy accent said, "That will be $2.99 please." I was astonished at my reaction as I sat there feeling my heart pound faster and felt the surge of blood rushing up through my face and into my brain. He stepped back from the window after I'd paid him and I found myself wondering what his story was.
Playing In The Tidepools
Nov 18th, 2001
The fog rolled in from the Pacific Ocean this morning in silent, billowy puffs as my friend Arie` and I sat down outside for breakfast across the street from the beach in Laguna. Arie` (not to be confused with my daughter Auri) and his wife Sharron came in from Scottdsale this weekend so that Sharron could attend a seminar in Irvine and they chose to stay at my place instead of a hotel. With Sharron tucked happily away in her seminar, the boys were free to go play. And of course we chose to play in Laguna. Where else?
Grandpa Tom
February 10th, 2002
I don't mean to make anybody who doesn't live in Southern California envious by saying this - but it was so warm and sunny at the beach this morning (80+) that I thought I'd pulled a Rip Van Winkle and slept right through winter and spring and awakened with a start at the beginning of summer. (Whew - you try writing a sentence that long.) Tide was up and pounding against the rocks but I was prepared and had on my corduroy, non-see-thru shorts - so I just looked at the waves and said, "Bring it on Oceana Pacifica. You can't do me no harm today!"
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday 2002
While Christians are celebrating Easter and Jews Passover, I find myself instead celebrating the resurrection of the happy, sexy and spirited guy I used to be. The guy that I loved so much when I was in my twenties but who got lost for a couple of decades and has only recently begun to emerge again. I noticed he was back this morning when I woke up at six thirty and called my girlfriend Lisa, (before I was even out of bed) and told her we were going to Laguna for breakfast.
Lisa And Her Dolphins
August 4th, 2002
My friend Lisa and I went to West Beach in Laguna today where we sat in the sand at the water's edge for most of the day - she under the sun and me under my umbrella. Aside from enjoying the droves of beautiful bodies there and the warm sunny day, we also had a mission. Les died five years ago this weekend and although I had scattered most of his ashes in various places around the world, I still had a small vial of them that I had been holding onto. I wasn't sure what I would do with these remaining few ashes but felt that when the time was right, I'd know. This past week, in contemplating the anniversary that was approaching, I knew that it was time to scatter these last few ashes in the ocean and close this chapter of my life. I talked to Lisa about my idea and she enthusiastically supported it and wanted to be a part of the mission that was formulating in my thoughts.
My New Religion
November 17th, 2002
Every sunday morning I get my self out of bed early and into my sunday best; a pair of board shorts, a sleeveless t-shirt and my flip-flops. Then I drive the ten minutes to Laguna Beach where I sit outside at the Heidelberg Cafe` and take the sacrament which consists of cappuccino and some scrambled eggs and toast and follow it up with a walk on the beach where me and the celestial waters of the Pacific commune in blissful reverence.
Celebrating The Holidays
Holidays 2002
Wishing that there were more hours in my day today so that I could sit and write to each one of you individually and wish you happy holidays. But time is what it is and a certain amount of mine has to be dedicated to lying on the beach on Sundays and another portion of it dedicated to sleep. So I'll work with what I have left here. And yes, there is still some sand between my toes as I'm sitting here writing. It feels good.
Pelicans and Seagulls
March 16th, 2002
I listened to the ocean this morning - at first I thought she might be a little angry because of the storms and all - she was definitely worked up over something. But as I listened more closely, I realized that she was just very busy doing laundry and grumbling a little. The rains of the past couple of days have washed an enormous amount of junk down through the rivers and storm drains into her always open arms.
Drinking From The Fountain Of Youth
June 8th, 2003
Many religious people like to say they know things: "I know this is true, I know that so and so did such and such and I know that god has this in mind for me after I die." All of which is fine and dandy I guess. But you know, I've been wandering about this planet for almost fifty years now and for the life of me I can't figure out how people manage to know so much when I've come to the conclusion that I know so little. I must be slow getting to the party or something - maybe that's why I don't look like I'm almost fifty.
A Family By Any Other Name
August 14th, 2005
I sat on the beach today and watched a little family a few feet in front of me playing in the sand and the surf. The little boy was about a year and a half, maybe two years old and obviously adopted as he was black and his two daddies were white.
By Way 0f Barcelona and Rome
Nov. 23rd, 2003
Enjoying yet another one of these amazing Southern California days where the sun is shining, the air is warm, the Pacific Ocean is brilliantly blue and the pace is slow and easy. The rest of the world may make fun of us because of our laid back ways - but while they're all bundled up trying to stay warm, we're busy taking off yet another layer of clothing because we've overdressed for the day. Even with our earthquakes and fires and mudslides and smog, this is still an amazingly comfortable and beautiful place to live.
Ripples On A Pond
Dec. 14th, 2003
The winds have changed yet again, blowing warmth into an otherwise cold day. The ocean called, I visited. We sat there for a few minutes looking at each other; nothing much to say. Sometimes all you can do is sit still for a few minutes and be OK with that. Sometimes a friend whispers something into your ear, sometimes she doesn't. Either way you get up, you shake the sand from your sandals and keep moving.
Blame It On The Bossanova
April 18th 2004
Even after all this time it still sometimes surprises me how much I love being on the beach in Laguna. After about fifteen minutes of sitting in the sand this morning with friends, nestled in against some rocks to shield us from the cool breeze, I felt a rush of endorphins flood my body. It was as distinct a rush as when I'm being tattooed and the endorphins kick in to shield my body from the pain of the needle. I guess what surprised me this morning is that I wasn't in any pain and wouldn't have expected my body to be shielding me from anything.
How Much Is Enough
August 1st, 2004
This morning sitting on the beach I confessed to myself...[Tommy forgive me, for I have sinned...]...that I have experienced a little bit of disappointment since turning fifty last year. It's hard to be as aware of the world around me as I am and not realize that there are a lot of people my age who have a lot more security, both financial and otherwise, than I do. How did I get to this point in my life and be so seemingly behind the curve?
Serenity Amidst The Changes
December 5th, 2004
The past few weeks have seen changes in my Sunday mornings in Laguna. As I walked back up from the beach recently and headed towards Haster Grove, the nursery where I buy my orchids, I noticed from a distance that the place had been deserted - not a flower or plant anywhere in sight; shuttered and gone with a For Lease sign out front. My heart went sad - visits to the nursery have been a staple in my Sunday morning visits to the beach for five years now. The closing of Haster Grove comes on the heels of the closing of The Pottery Shack, a sixty year old Laguna Beach landmark next to the Heidelberg Cafe` a couple of blocks up the road from where the nursery used to be. The closing of The Pottery Shack drove home the reality that things are quickly changing in this town I love so much.
Ojos de Brujo
Valentines Day 2005
Hola`
I was in Laguna at the beach this morning and feeling a Sundays in Laguna coming on, but being fairly certain that nobody wants to hear about my laundry chores there I've decided to send along a little bit different kind of a Valentine from the water's edge this year. A few weeks ago I was at the Sound Spectrum in Laguna looking for some new music. Jim Otto has owned the store since the sixties and it's one of the last remaining shops from a bygone era along Coast Highway in Laguna. Sound Spectrum is a funky little music store that feels like you're in a time warp from the moment you step through the wooden front door - the smell of incense and the vintage music posters of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrisson on the walls totally blur the lines between thirty years ago and today.
Watching For The Signs
August 14th, 2005
Three hawks flew overhead as I was making my way to the ocean this morning, each one within a few minutes of the other. I had the top down on the car and it was quite wonderful looking up and seeing them flying so low directly above me. I figured something was up with that but wasn't sure what. In Indian Medicine hawk tells us to look for the signs that are coming to us, to be aware of what's being communicated. A little while after the hawks flew overhead I realized that I had totally forgotten the 8th anniversary of Les' death, which set in motion a whole cascade of thoughts and new emotions.
Picking Up Shells
December 2005
You know how sometimes when you're walking along the beach and you see a shell or something that catches your eye and you pick it up to give it a closer look? (Or if you're like me you hold it as far away from your face as you can so that you can actually take that closer look.) And then you kind of decide whether or not you're going to stick the shell in your pocket or toss it back into the sand or the water? Sometimes I find myself tucking little bits of broken shells into my pockets and tossing really nice, unbroken ones back - it's so weird sometimes what floats my boat.
Superbowl Sunday 2006
Superbowl Sunday 2006
I've been going to Laguna Beach every Sunday morning for breakfast for almost seven years now. This particular Superbowl Sunday marks the 5th anniversary of when I started writing about my adventures there and sharing these letters with friends. But there's another anniversary here too. It was 23 years ago this month that I first discovered Laguna Beach after moving to Hollywood with my ex-wife and two year old daughter Aurelia. We'd been living in Italy and chose to return to the states so that I could pursue my dream of being a photographer. Hollywood felt like the best place to do that and it didn't take me long after moving there to find Laguna Beach.
It's been quite a love affair...
BeanieCapGuys
Jed and Tom are the BeanieCapGuys. We make and sell luxurious beanie caps and Nekkers crafted from the very finest yarns on the planet. Each cap is one of a kind and crocheted by either Tom or Jed. The catalog and other information about our yarns is at: beaniecapguys.com