Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember Jack O'Neill, a Santa Cruz resident, a cultural icon, and a surfing legend. Jack passed away last week at 94 years young. There has been a great amount of love for this man and a great amount of appreciation for what this man did. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he moved to Santa Cruz, where he loved surfing in its cold waters, so much so that he was quoted as saying: ``When you get screwed up, just jump in the ocean and everything is all right.'' Jack's love for being in the ocean was demonstrated by being one of the first people to create and the first person to market the wetsuit. This led to him and millions of other people being able to surf at any time and at any temperature. He was a trailblazer not just in the ocean, but in life. As a father of seven and grandfather of six, he understood how important it was to preserve our ocean for our children. He was instrumental in designating Santa Cruz as a world surfing reserve, one of only four locations in the world that preserve surf spots and their surrounding environment. He created the O'Neill Sea Odyssey, an educational program on a 65- foot-long catamaran that teaches our children how to be stewards of the ocean. Jack not only bestowed upon us the wetsuit and year-round surfing, he left a legacy for our children to understand that being in and around the ocean really can make everything all right. For that, I thank and I honor Jack O'Neill. ____________________”