Live like Jay

 

By: Lori McMullin, APR
Director of Business Operations & Communications
Center for Business Excellence

On election night, my husband and I decided to take a break from all of the political tension and see a movie.  At first, I wasn’t too thrilled with his choice, “Chasing Mavericks.”  I mistakenly thought it was a horse movie (oh, joy, I am not 12), and when I found out it was a surfing movie, I wasn’t that much more excited.  I was wrong.

Yes, there were awesome waves and surfing action for those who crave the excitement.  However, this true story had far more significant meaning.

The story revolves around a father/son-like relationship between local surfer and family man Frosty Hesson and his pizza delivery kid neighbor Jay Moriarty.  Moriarty, raised by his troubled mother, finds sanctuary surfing in the waters off the coast of Santa Cruz, CA with a board his absent father left behind.  Although, he is quite good, he is no match for the seasonal, nearby Mavericks waves.

What are the Mavericks, you ask? After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, Mavericks waves have been known to crest at over 25 feet and top out at over 80 feet. The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.

Getting back to the point of my story, Hesson reluctantly agrees to prepare Moriarty to take on the Mavericks.  One would think preparation would primarily involve surfing, but this is further from the truth.  Hesson gave Moriarty a, “Four Pillars Challenge,” which he had to agree to. 

This involved mental, emotional, physical and spiritual (whatever that meant to Moriarty) components.  Moriarty had to write essays on what he observed while preparing for the Mavericks. He learned to hold his breath for four minutes.  He also had to face unresolved feelings about his father. You get the idea.

Moriarty made it to the Mavericks that season and lived life to the fullest until his untimely drowning in 2001 just one day shy of his 23^rd birthday. He owes much of who he became to a man who grew to become his real father – Frosty Hesson.  As Hesson’s wife said, “Some sons are born to you…others occur to you."

In conclusion, “Chasing Mavericks,” was a fantastic movie – a modern-day, “Karate Kid,” but even better.  Ironically, Elizabeth Shue plays Moriarty’s mother in the film.

So, as we approach a new year, we can all take on our own pillars challenge, whatever it may be!