I like the "cleansing in the Pacific" idea. Though I know something about the water quality off LA, so...we'll ignore that and keep with the spiritual renewal theme.:) Yes, it was...a moment of clarity, for sure. By no means my first brush with death, but it always sobers you right up.

They say the thing that kills you in a riptide is that you exhaust yourself fighting it, so once you're out of it you don't have the strength to swim back to shore. They are not kidding. Swim parallel to the shore and then back to land once you're out of the rip. So says wikipedia anyway.

I have the most bizarre celebrity "encounters". It's like I simultaneously attract fame and embarrassment. It's a gift.