I know this kid. Well, maybe he's not a kid. He's probably 24 or 25. We're not really friends. We say hello, talk a little. I met him because he waits tables at a restaurant in my neighborhood. It's not really a high class place, an Olive Garden. It's clean, foods OK, you don't have to wait too long. They move people in and out quick, without being rude about it. You can get a meal and a glass of wine without it taking all night or cleaning out your wallet. The kid stands out there because he's quick, friendly and attentive, without being too slick. I think he makes pretty good money, I always leave him more than I normally do and like I say, they move a lot of people through the place. He's there 3-4 nights a week.
Mornings, I see this kid sometimes down on the beach. Usually at the Bolsa Chica, where the crowd is a generation or more older than him but he hits all the spots. He never saw a surfboard before a few years ago, so he doesn't have all the moves. He's too tall and skinny to ever really be any good. He's strong though and has good balance. When he gets up, he follows the break and sometimes he stays up pretty good. He's learning fast. He's been down to Baja a few times. It's a lot less crowded down there, a different atmosphere. He says he'd like to go to Oahu and try riding a gun down the twenty footers on the North shore. I don't know if he'll ever be ready for that but who am I to say.
Later in the day, he's on Main, downtown, sitting in the sidewalk bistros, scheming on the little tramp stamped, tongue studded beauties that come out to play from their parents new McMansions in the old oilfields. He doesn't seem to have much trouble with them, there are always a few in attendance. I think he probably does a least as good with the young beauties as he does with the waves. He's kind of an impressive kid, calm and laid back. A lot of the beach bums today seem a lot like the guys on Jackass, all hip-hop, ADD and tattooed. I used to wonder what he was doing, just hanging around the beach, at his age. Not that it's a bad thing, just a little unusual, for a kid like that. Then I found out why.
He's a U.S. Army Ranger. Into Afghanistan at the very beginning, backing up Delta Force missions. Tora Bora and a lot more. Then into Iraq in the first wave, same thing. Three years in the field, well, maybe a little more, out of the last five. During his leave time, between deployments, he discovered our little corner of the world, with it's surf, pellucid sunlight, and the bold young beauties, with painted toes, bronze skin and golden studs, in so many amazing and improbable places.
He has completed his active duty, so he has more time to spend here. He's not tired of it yet, not by a long shot. Besides, there really is no point to getting on with his life. In the Spring, his reserve unit will be activated. He will be going back to Iraq or Afghanistan, for at least a year, maybe more. After that, he can come home again but he still has time for one more reserve deployment, after that, before his enlistment is up. This is not a kid who is shy about relating his combat experiences but he moves on, to more pleasant topics, after a while. He is not political, at all. As far as I can tell he has no real personal convictions about the War one way or another. I would be surprised if he's registered to vote. He freely admits that he feels he's done his share and would rather not go back, ever. He's signed up to go though, so he's going.
I gotta tell you, this is a really nice kid. Doesn't seem to be too messed up by what he's been through. He's no rocket scientist but his brain must be bolted together pretty good. He's a good lookin' boy, not a scratch on him. I know a lot of guys have come back from a lot less action in a lot worse shape and will be paying the price for the rest of their lives. No surf or studded beauties for them, ever. Still, I can't help but think he's right. He's done enough. He's paid the Devil his due. They need to find someone else to handmaiden Delta Force in the Spring.
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