Lessons from Solana Beach Coffee Company

It's Thanksgiving morning, I'm in San Diego waiting for everyone to wake up...I remember there is a coffee shop right down the street from the condo where we are staying.  Grateful they are open, I order my brewed coffee with half and half and a yogurt parfait.  I take a seat outside next to the regular and his Maltese, Bertie.  The owner of the shop comes out, grabs a chair and unfolds the paper. As I'm enjoying my Yoga mag article, I see another person approach the shop from the corner of my eye.  Instead of walking in the front door, he lifts the trash can lid and starts looking inside.  Once I take a better look, it's clear this man is either homeless or close to.   The owner shifts his eyes from under his glasses and the regular seems a little uneasy as Bertie trots up to greet this man.  I'm curious to see how the situation will unfold, as I've seen many "bums" asked to leave a public space like this one in Solana Beach.  To my surprise, the owner greets him and tells him, "Good thing you've got that rain coat on today...it could come in handy.  Have a seat, I'll go grab you a cup of coffee."

This year I'm especially thankful for other peoples' compassion and non-judgement.  We all need it from time to time.

Chuck Allen

This is Chuck Allen.  I heard his name today for the first time in years.  My husband Tarl is one of the bartenders at Bear Mountain.  A group of friends and I were taking a shot ski break after a few runs when Tarl let me know that he was going to be working a little bit later than usual.  The mountain was having a memorial starting at 5:30pm.  I asked who it was for and he told me Chuck Allen.  Chuck Allen...Chuck Allen...why did that name sound so very familiar?  Over the next 20 minutes, I couldn't stop hearing his name and feeling like I knew it.  Not just knew the name like I've heard it, but I felt at a loss because I felt like I knew the person.  I was walking back to the lifts and I suddenly remembered and then I felt very sad because for a brief moment in time, Chuck was a little part of my life. 

During the Winter of 2003-2004, I decided to volunteer my time at Mt. High to get a season pass instead of buying one.  I worked for USASA (USA Snowboard Association) helping to coordinate all of the competitions that were held at Mt. High.  Throughout the season I got to spend a lot of time with Chuck and had a lot of great conversations.  I was at a turning point in my life and knew I wanted to go out into the world and do big things, but had just started a stable career and had never left home.  Chuck would tell me how young I was, how much time and opportunity I had , stories of all of the things he's done and risks he's taken... good advice that he heard.  Shortly after that season, I moved to Mammoth Lakes and we emailed back and forth for the few months that I was there.  As the years have passed, he would pop into my head every now and then and I would think about emailing him again, but never did.  I thought that I would cross paths with him again if I ever went to ride at Mt. High. 

I googled his name when I got home to see when and how he died.  He passed on February 14 from complications from a lung illness.  I learned that he was co founder of NSSA (National Scholastic Surf Association) and founder of USASA.  I didn't know he was the actual founder of USASA...how amazing that I once had a relationship to an innovator in the industry.  For all of our future Olympians and Xgames competitors, USASA is the gateway to get there.  It is where riders like Shawn White, Hannah Teter, and Kelly Clark got their start.  This hits home for me because Tarl's and my future children will most likely be competing in these weekend events, and I knew the man who made it possible.