Letter of the Month
HERO’S CODE

There was an incident in Palm Beach, FL, just before Christmas 2007 that you may have heard about involving a young surfer who almost drowned. His name is Jacob Torres, 18, from Fort Pierce. Gary Skrobeck and Chris Greendale, both 26 years old, had just finished surfing Reef Road that afternoon and were heading back down the beach when they spotted a surfboard floating, with no one anywhere near it. A pretty big wave rolled over the board and should have sent it to the beach. When the board stayed in place, the men realized something wasn’t right, so they jumped in the water and swam about 60 feet out to it. Chris reached for the leash and pulled it up. He felt a foot. Gary and Chris, who have been surfing since they were little, are both strong swimmers who were dealing with six-foot waves in about 12 feet of water, while battling a strong current. It took all their strength to pull Jacob up and swim to where the water was shallow enough to stand. When they dragged him to shore, they thought he was dead. His eyes were rolled back in his head and he was foaming at the mouth. They turned him over and water gushed out of him. Then they did CPR and got a pulse. They shouted to a girl with a cell phone to call 911, and the paramedics got there quickly. Gary asked around to find out if anyone had a friend who rode a Sonic, so he could give the police Jacob’s identity. Gary and Chris then went to the hospital to see how the boy was doing, and went back every day since. Jacob was on a ventilator and unconscious for almost two weeks. It was looking really bad. He developed a staph infection in his lungs.  Doctors didn’t know if he would make it, or if there would be brain damage if he did. Gary and Chris’ hearts were with Jacob’s family, and they didn’t think it was right to go on TV and talk about all this while the boy was still unconscious and his condition unknown. So they declined to be interviewed on TV. But this story has a very happy ending. Jacob pulled through and appears to be completely healthy! He went home from the hospital approximately three weeks after the accident and seems to be doing just fine. A true miracle! I just thought you might like to hear the story of how Jacob was rescued. 

Have a great day,
Anonymous
Palm Beach, FL

As Emerson wrote, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” Thanks for sharing, Jane Doe. We couldn’t help seeing in your e-mailed submission that you had contact info for Gary and Chris, so we’ll trust you to pass on this ESM Letter of the Month prize pack courtesy of Sanuk, which includes a bocce ball set and three pair of footwear — the “Overhead” sandal, the “You Got My Back” sandal/ shoe, and the “Vagabond” shoe. –Ed.

Next ish, whoever sends us any letter interesting enough to make us laugh, cry, barf, or sigh just may have a shot at taking home a particularly splendiferous prize pack, featuring Matix’s original Gabe Kling boardshort, “The Klinger,” DVS’s “Wolfgang Ziggy” sandals, and Vestal’s “Shank Steel PU” watch. So don’t hesitate. Get all creative on us. We honestly have nothing better to do but read your letters!