The Ritual

Photo: Jeff Berting

Published By: Southbay magazine

It’s 6 a.m. on a cold South Bay morning in February. The sun has yet to grace its warmth over the coastal rooflines facing seaward. I look at the thermostat from inside my well-heated car. It reads 47º outside and a toasty 80º inside. The ocean surface is calm with a light Santa Ana breeze coming off the desert, giving the ocean surface that sharp, crisp, textured appearance. Not a soul in sight. Something inside me exhales. Ah yes … this is why I live here.