I used to routinely go boogie-boarding off the beach in Santa Monica in the ’80s and ’90s, but for some reason I stopped this ritual when the column got rolling in the late ’90s. I splashed around in the balmy Mediterranean when I visited Marina di Campo a quarter-century ago. Before today the last time I swam in the sea anywhere was at Jones Beach in ’06 or thereabouts.
An hour ago I strolled into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in decades, and the water was a shock to my system. Aaagghh! But it felt wonderful all the same. Because there I was, and the cold sensations were as real as it gets.
