Peter,
So sorry to hear of your sons passing.
As a father of three I cherish my time with my kids and couldn’t imagine losing any of them.
As your surfing buddy I’m sure his spirit will always be with you out in the water.
Pete.
Pete,
You and Yours are in my Prayers.
I am sorry for your loss, I didn’t believe it when I first had heard the news. I went to school with Pete since we were little. He was always in the art classroom even when he didn’t have class, I for that matter was always in there too. There is of course the hilarious, infamous graduation day incedent which my parents still laugh at 7 years later. I had just seen him last month at a birthday bash for another old classmate and never would have thought I would be writing anything like this down. Again, I am sorry for your loss and my condolences to your family.
So, so sorry for your loss. Our families prayers are out to you and your family.
Pete
I can’t fathom how it feels.
I wish you and your family peace and strength in your hearts
~Brian
Pete, my utmost in condolences and sympathies to you. Words are difficult to come by. I will tell you I remember your son and ran into him several times I know because I remember the truck/goofyfoot connection. I am in my fifties and old enough to be his dad’s/your age. We shared bars of wax a few times as it seemed he never had any, which I always got a kick out of. Typical Kid! I check the surf daily and every time we would pass he never failed to wave even though we didn’t know each other’s names. If it was a go-out he knew I had the wax and was happy to share with him. You did a fine job on raising him, he was a gentleman.
I remember one morning at Mary’s…Now I’ll never forget.
God Bless, and Prayers to you and your family.
Words seem trite. I knew neither of you but I can only offer a heartfelt expression of sorrow at your loss.
Praying for you and yours.
Peter
Although we don't know each other I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Its obvious that your the kind of father a treasured son deserves.
God bless your family.
Terry.
I am not the best with words. My daughter has been my surfing buddy since she was little. She wrote this for my birthday 9yrs ago. She was 12yrs old.
" You surf the waves gliding, sliding, riding over the glittering sea.
You showed me it does not matter what age you are it matters what age you let yourself be.
So keep gliding, sliding, riding over the glittering sea and look over your shoulder and there I will be.
Gliding, sliding, riding along side you."
I am sure your son will be over your shoulder on your next wave.
I’m very sorry for your loss. I know there’s nothing anyone can say or do to take the pain away. Hang in there, brother.
Pete,
May you, your son, and the rest of your family find peace and rest. Through surfing, you shared with your child one of the greatest gifts that can be passed from one generation to the next. Dio vous garde.
Chris
I am so sorry for your loss Pete,Thank you for sharing this . I am about the same age as you and my youngest is a little younger than your son .We surf together, but not as often as I would like,I think he would rather surf with his friends but I convince him to join me sometimes.Lately we have been pushing each other buttons and not showing each other the respect that we should. This morning I went on swaylocks and read your letter, it really hit home and made me tear up.I am sure your son and family are very poud of your courage and devotion as as a father.Try to remember the good times, keep your friends close.Your letter really put things into perspective for me and I am sure for others also.I will keep your son and you in my thoughts and prayers.When you are ready to surf again I am sure your son will be with you.The ocean is a good place to hide the tears .Stay well is all I can think to say.I think I may go talk to my son and ask him to go for a surf real soon.
Hi Pete,
I also am a father. I can imagine your pain. It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Our children are the center of our universe. I am so very sorry you lost your boy. I wish I had the honor of meeting him and surfing with him. Prayers are on the way. Mike
I can’t imagine what it feels like. I have 2 girls and they have been in the water since they were little babies. I started taking them out surfing when the oldest was about 6, and she’ll be 20 this Nov.
I pray you will find a way to get past the loss.
When I surf, I look up at the clouds and I see faces. I don’t know who they are, but there are a lot of them. I hope that some are the people I’ve known and loved and are watching over me. I thank the Lord, Jesus, my guardian spirt (the holy spirit), my father and father-in law after a great ride. I figure they are up there watching over me.
It sounds like you raised a really good kid, I’m sure he’ll be there watching over you and all you have to do is look up and talk to him. I do that to my dad all the time, just like in the Lion King movie. Sounds corny, but it helps me when I need it.
May God bless you with the gift of peace of mind.
Aloha, Harry
Aloha to you and yours from the Land of Aloha.Go catch some waves,your son will be with you.
Thank You Thank You Thank You
It’s after midnight here and I’m looking at another sleepless night…but, just want to tell you all what a wonderful solace you all have been to my wife, daughter and I today.
We’ve been very fortunate to have had a steady stream of loving family and friends here with us throughout the hours but we have had Swaylock’s on the screen the whole time and every person in today has seen what you all have been doing for us and not one has left their reading without shedding a tear at the wonderful love and support you all have put out.
As a Surfer and a man, I want to honor each and every one of you for what you have done for this family.
I wish I could P.M. each of you personally but…please let this suffice as our Thank You to a loving brotherhood of very wonderful individuals.
From what I gather, the paddle out is shaping up to be a pretty good deal. Pete deserves it. I hope some of you don’t mind but I may steal some of your thoughts to share when it happens because they’re so much more eloquent than I can manage.
Tblank, I do have to single you out - I hope you check this - I’m quite sure that was Pete you so generously shared your wax with because I don’t think he ever bought a bar of wax in his life. I’d order 20 bars from Zogs and he’d smell the rootbeer/coconut on the UPS truck before it pulled up to the house and abscond with half the order before I got home. But, thank you for the compliment. It means alot. He was a gentleman and a gentle man.
We can’t thank you all enough but, please know we’re trying to…
Pete
Pete, my heart breaks for you and your family. I sit here with tears in my eyes trying to think of something to say. I know he must have been a good kid because he was A FINE YOUNG MAN. Truly, I won’t ever forget him now. Thanks for the laugh with your wax story. He’d always joke, “I’ll Catch you next time”. Now… We’ll just have to wait a little longer. VAYA CON DIOS COMPADRE.
Pete I am so sorry for your loss. We lost our daughter when she was a baby and thinking back to that time still puts a pain in my heart. My two living children are teenagers now and we all surf together. They're everything to me. I couldn't imaging losing them. My heart goes out to you and your family.
We all get wrapped up in everything we think is so important but a tradgedy like this really resets your clock. It may not happen soon but I pray you and your family can find some peace.
Hi Pete,
I knew your son well and I am torn to pieces with missing him. So much of my life in Santa Barbara was entangled with his. His friends from California all love him so much. I am not a surfer, but my boyfriend, Matt, surfed with Pete all the time when we all lived in IV, so I know about that goofy-foot style you’re referring to. It was easy to identify Pete amongst all of the kids crowding up the water at Sands Beach, not only because he was always one of the best guys out there, but because I always saw a correlation between his style in the water and his style in life. When you wrote about his sly smile and wry wit, I could not help but burst into tears because I will miss it so much too. I wish I had met you before, but I hope to meet you someday. Pete told a lot of stories about the love for surfing you shared together- to those of us who haven’t met you, you are Pete’s cool dad who shapes boards and loves Costa Rica. The way he spoke about you, I could always tell that he was blessed with a wonderful family.
Our group of friends who came together in SB is very tight and Pete is an essential part of our “chosen family”. Whenever Pete went back to NY for a while, we could not wait for his return. When we weren’t at the beach, we loved to play backgammon and I must say that Pete was one of the best opponents you could have. Not only because he played with great strategy, but also because he made the game come alive with his commentary. I never had an older brother, but Pete always treated me like a sister. He would tease me and give me a hard time, but he also looked out for me in a way that could only remind me of my dad (who passed away suddenly 5 years ago, so I am all too familiar with the sleepless nights). Pete is in my heart and in my dreams- I will never forget him. People like your son are few and far between- simply put, I would call him “one of the good guys”. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of his beautiful life and I am so honored to be called “bud” by your Pete. Thank you for sharing your son with us. I believe that the hole that is left in our hearts is there because we all mean enough to Pete that he had to take a little piece of each of us along with him.
With so much love, Megan Slocum
My thoughts are with you and your family. I have definitely seen his truck around at the breaks in SB and Ventura, and I’m pretty sure I can picture the surfer that belonged to it. Are there any plans for a paddle out on this coast, I would be honored to participate.