The Carefree Lives Of Slackers

Not All Americans Are Working Hard To Get Ahead

(CBS) 
Chris Mauro has looked at life from all sides. In Surfer magazine a few years ago he wrote, "I had a real job for a couple of years. I know what it's like. It sucks your energy mentally and physically."

Ironically, that essay led to him becoming the editor of the magazine. It's a full-time job but one that keeps him close to the waves.

"I think, you know, one person's slacker is another guy's guru," he says. "Surfers don't really care because they look at most people and go, 'You know what? You're slackers. Look at you. You go to work every day and you—you know.' And you know most Americans it's like they're sittin' getting fat on their butt all day long."

"I do think that there's (an) enormous amount of energy spent looking busy in the average workplace. I can work all of the time, and I think if everybody in the country played as much computer solitaire as I do, the world would grind to a halt," Lutz says.

Which brings us back to Cody, the couch slacker.

"I don't think I've ever had a timetable really," he says. "I was trying to get a job in the way that I always try to get a job which is you know 'bout 25 percent or so."

And somehow it worked. After doing his time on the couch, Cody got moving. He's in the movie business now with bit production parts in "Meet the Fockers" and a few other films. In fact, Cody barely had time to meet with us.
Now his major regret seems to be not that he slacked…but that he didn't really slack like his father did. Dad—get this—spent a few years after college as a self-described "back-to-the-land" hippie.

"Well I've had more than a couple weeks of slackin' certainly," Cody says. "But I just wish that slacking on the couch was as cool as … being on a commune and having a blast."

No regrets from Cody, and in the end, no regrets from Dad, either.

"I'm really glad that I spent those years, you know, quote 'doing nothing,'" Lutz says.

So when you consider the end of vacation, and getting back to work, consider this. The issue might not be whether to slack, but when, how often, and how well.

[rotrgirl]

Jen Raynes,featured surfer on "Sunday Morning" is a real slacker in the truest sense of the word. I ordered & paid for a print from her @ The Del Mar Horse Show last May.Despite many email pleas, I NEVER received it. She ripped me off big time. So anyone out there contemplating placing an order with her.....beware. You may not
get what you ordered & could be out hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Michele Garland
Oceanside, Ca.

[mdsobota]

In viewing Cynthia Bowers' segment "Slackers!", I couldn't help but feel frustrated. I am a 31 year-old college-educated professional, as well as a long-time surfer. I am tired of the stereotype of the surfer as a lazy beach bum, which this piece only reinforced.

Plenty of prefessionals in the workplace take time off for both spontaneous and planned golf outings. This seems to be generally perceived as completely acceptable behavior in the professional world. However, if someone such as myself takes a half-day to enjoy a morning or afternoon of wave riding, they are categorized, either directly or backhandely, as slackers.

Surfing is a physical activity that requires skill, stamina, coordination, and a reasonable level of physical fitness, not to mention dedication. For it to be perpetually linked with laziness is not only an unfair categorization, it is also highly inaccurate.

Sincerely,

Michael Sobota
Newark, DE

[mdsobota]

In viewing Cynthia Bowers' segment "Slackers!", I couldn't help but feel frustrated. I am a 31 year-old college-educated professional, as well as a long-time surfer. I am tired of the stereotype of the surfer as a lazy beach bum, which this piece only reinforced.

Plenty of prefessionals in the workplace take time off for both spontaneous and planned golf outings. This seems to be generally perceived as completely acceptable behavior in the professional world. However, if someone such as myself takes a half-day to enjoy a morning or afternoon of wave riding, they are categorized, either directly or backhandely, as slackers.

Surfing is a physical activity that requires skill, stamina, coordination, and a reasonable level of physical fitness, not to mention dedication. For it to be perpetually linked with laziness is not only an unfair categorization, it is also highly inaccurate.

Sincerely,

Michael Sobota
Newark, DE