In surfing parlance, a "kook" refers to a hopeless beginner in the sport, an ignorant newbie flailing about in the lineup, a danger to all around him. It is not a polite term. I must admit, however, that in the 20 years or so that I’ve been surfing, I’ve never actually heard anyone called a kook out in the water.
Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, And Catching The Perfect Wave is also the title of a new book by outdoor writer Peter Heller. Approaching middle-age and not wishing to antagonize his girlfriend by purchasing a red Maserati, Heller decides to take up surfing.
Did I mention he lives in Denver, Colorado?
Together with his aforementioned and infinitely patient girlfriend, Kim, Heller buys a VW van dubbed “The Beast,” heads out to California and takes up surfing. Or, to put it more accurately, surfing takes him up... and down the California coast into Mexico. Along the way he meets up with a motley but mostly lovable cast of characters, eccentrics and artists of the sport: shapers, teachers and Zen surf masters, all of whom guide our bumptious hero on his quest to the ultimate surfing high: getting tubed.
Kook is a whimsical journey of self-exploration and a tribute to one of the most spiritual of sports and the people who follow their bliss by walking on water.
