For local author Fred Reiss, living in Santa Cruz County represents a second chance at life, at finding his “stoke” and expressing it in writing.
Three weeks ago, Reiss published a pair of books — his fourth and fifth — which share his love for golf and for surfing in Santa Cruz.
In the mid-1980s, Reiss was a journalist and an aspiring stand-up comic working in Connecticut when a battle with testicular cancer caused him to re-evaluate his life. It was then, he said, that he committed himself to doing what he loved and making his way to California.
“I wanted to surf, do stand-up comedy and write,” he said. “If you’re not the person you want to be every day, then you’re a ghost that haunts yourself.”
Since moving to Scotts Valley in 1986, Reiss has continued with his comedy, describing himself as “Don Rickles with an education,” and worked a variety of jobs, from surfboard shops to radio stations to his present position at the Skov Winery tasting room — all the while working on his writing.
Since his first book, “Insult and Live,” in 1993, Reiss has written and published a pair of books, “Gidget Must Die” and “Surf.com,” that explore the dramatic increase in surfing’s popularity and the impact neophyte surfers have had on the culture of Santa Cruz and the surfing community.
Reiss’ two newest books — “Aliens! Surf! Santa Cruz!” and “Blind Guys Break 80” — have been in the works for several years, he said, but they built up steam after he was laid off two years ago from his job at a Clear Channel radio station.
“You learn a lot more from getting knocked down than from successes,” he said.
“Blind Guys Break 80” is a story about how the game of golf reunites a family that had been torn apart after a difficult move from New Jersey to Connecticut in the early 1960s.
The story, which Reiss said is about 60 percent autobiographical, describes the character of the son and how his maturation in life parallels his maturation in golf.
The son finds that to improve his game, he must get out of his own way, both on the golf course and in life.
“Sports shapes your personality, teaches you discipline,” Reiss said. “One guy said to me, ‘I’ve never seen any activity that doesn’t come to resemble life eventually.’”
Reiss’ other book is the second part of what he describes as his “surf and turf collection.”
The story of “Aliens! Surf! Santa Cruz!” follows a Vietnam veteran living in Santa Cruz who discovers that all the perceived negative changes taking place in the city — such as gentrification and novice surfers edging out the locals — are actually caused by aliens who try to steal the cultural essence of Santa Cruz for themselves.
“What if all the things that have ruined this area were really done by aliens,” Reiss suggested, “and their only purpose was to get you to lose your reason for living here, to remove your stoke — your stoke for surfing, your stoke for going to wineries, your stoke for enjoying California.”
Both of Reiss’ new books are sold at Bookshop Santa Cruz, at Skov Winery and through his website, http://fredforyourhead.com.
