‘Twas a Great Christmas Day for Fishing and Surfing, Too

For the past six Christmases, while most of America huddled indoors with family or braved the cold for trips to church, Bob Sole of East San Diego has spent the holiday by himself, worshiping in his own way.

“I used to go to church,” said Sole, as he sat with his fishing pole in the bright sunshine beaming down on Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma, his line disappearing below. “But I feel this is my church, the ocean. I feel closer to God here than I feel in some of the churches.

“I just feel more comfortable. I feel I can talk direct . . . I don’t like going through others. I don’t like middlemen.”

All along the coast, surfers bobbing in the foaming water proved that Sole was not the only San Diegan to observe Christmas traditions that are somewhat out of the ordinary for the rest of the country. With 75-degree weather and a midweek holiday beckoning, the ocean called surfers away from their Christmas trees and turkey dinners.

“It’s a tradition. Every Christmas morning. Ever since I’ve been surfing since I was a kid, I’d go out Christmas morning,” said Tom Allen, who started the day by plunging off the Ocean Beach fishing pier about 6:30 a.m.

“Other people do other things,” said his partner, Bob Thayer. “Shovel out their driveways. Try to jump-start their cars. Me, I just go to the beach.”

The surf can be fairly high at Christmas time, and because most other people are at home with their families, an early start can mean a few hours of relative solitude in the cold, green water, surfers said.

“The waves are up. It’s like a surfer’s dream come true: Christmas morning, and you get waves. It’s a gift,” said Ron Harmon, who started his day at about 7 a.m.

Harmon’s girlfriend, Lydia Malhiot, was less impressed. “We had an argument on the way over here. I didn’t just want to jump in the car and come out here. I wasn’t aware of his tradition.”

In another part of town, at the Salvation Army’s second annual Christmas Day dinner, Catalina Malek said she was eating with 1,300 other people in Plaza Hall at the Community Concourse to avoid another Christmas tradition: dinner with relatives.

“You’re getting the spirit from the volunteers here,” said Malek, an unemployed tutor. “They give you the spirit without any emotional hassles. It’s anonymous, but with good cheer.”

More than 300 volunteers served the meal to San Diego’s poor, homeless, elderly and lonely and distributed about 150 toys to children. Gift bags were given to everyone as they left the hall. The dinner was paid for by the Kroc Foundation and community donations. Service America Corp. provided kitchen help.

“You look around, and you see there’s an obvious need represented here,” said Salvation Army Maj. Bill Luttrell. “Plus, a lot of lonely people want to come out and join with other people.”

For Larry Martinez, now living in a downtown hotel with his wife and daughter, Christmas 1985 was anything but traditional. Martinez lost his job as a baker in Las Vegas several months ago, then served time on work furlough for a drunken-driving conviction here, he said. His unemployment payments have not begun. Last Christmas, Martinez was earning $10 an hour; this one finds him down to his last $25.

“I’ve come all the way from there to nothing,” he said. “It’s either go back to trade school and get another trade or keep trying.

“It could be worse. At least we’re surviving. We’re here. It’s a day we can enjoy.”