Reflecting on two lives lost

The phone rang early Sunday morning on three different occasions before it was evident that whoever was calling really wanted to get a hold of us despite the fact that we were in Mexico. I took one look at my friend John, who had finally picked up the phone, and in an instant I knew by the expression on his face that something was wrong.

Tragically wrong.

A sudden hollowness fell through my veins from head to toe. It was news you never expect to hear: Two school friends had died in a plane crash just off the coast of Dana Point.

Jason Baldwin and Jeff TenEyck were returning from the Baja 1000, in which Jason had placed 19th out of 342 racers. Their plane suddenly plunged from 3,500 feet and spiraled into the chilly Pacific Ocean only a few miles from where both had grown up in Emerald Bay.

Jason and Jeff both enjoyed and lived life to the fullest through their love of the beach and mountains. Surfing, fishing, snowboarding and off-road racing -- the two lived happy, charmed lives that ended abruptly in the ocean they both had loved so much.

I visited the crash site at first light Monday morning as three floating red-flagged buoys marked where the plane rested 207 feet below, 2.8 miles off the coast.

I could smell the aviation fluid and see a small oil slick floating on top of the water, as though I was looking into a sort of mirror reflection of death. My thoughts fluttered away to old memories of the two, my mind began to rewind in time to snapshot pictures of them smiling and extending thumb and pinkie in the “shaka” sign. In sharp contrast was the feeling of supreme loneliness: Why were they still down there with no boats guarding the area, which had been widely reported as a crash site?

Perhaps it was that I knew they were down there and I could do nothing to help them. It was too late, and I began to grieve for my fallen friends and their loving families. Two men who had lived and experienced a smiling lifetime full of dreamlike memories.

Peace.

* James Pribram is a professional surfer and teaches surfing through his Aloha School of Surfing. He can be reached at jamo@alohaschool ofsurfing.com.

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