Her Hero and Mine, Jessi Miley-Dyer

(I apologize to anyone who has already read this somewhere before. It's an old Facebook post but the image still makes me happy whenever I happen upon it.)

My absolute favorite moment from 2007's US Open is little more than a point-and-shoot snapshot. To me though, it speaks volumes. Jessi Miley-Dyer spends a few moments on the beach with a little grom surfer girl and gets a fan for life. Jessi might not have known it but as soon as she walked away, the elated little girl ran and jumped into her dad's arms and I could see her excitedly jabbering away about her new hero. It really warmed my heart and reminded me that the best things about surfing don't always happen in the water. Cheers to you Jess :)