Woodburn: Beautiful mosaic of memorial rocks

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16-05-2025

Some people have rocks in their head.
Others have hearts of stone.
And then there is a recent visitor to Ventura, a man of Baby Boomer age and reportedly from New York, who was caught on video proving he suffers from both sedimentary maladies.
Imagine a vandal toppling gravestones in a cemetery and you get an idea of what this king of jerks from Queens did at the memorial rock garden that graces a raised cement planter along our beach promenade.
Specifically, The Jerk ruthlessly threw into the ocean some of the beautiful rocks decorated to honor lost loved ones. Watching the detestable act, posted widely on social media, made my heart feel like it had been stung by a hundred jellyfish.
If you have never visited this special garden of stones, you are missing out. It is one of the loveliest little jewels of a place you can image, affording a view of the ocean and the music of breaking waves and this sunny greeting on a tiny sign: 'Welcome to Haole's Memorial Rock Garden / Please leave memorial rocks for all to enjoy!'
Haole was a dog, a Yellow Lab albeit with white fur, who was famous because he surfed. Indeed, Haole once appeared on 'Good Morning America' and also stars in a book, 'Ride the Wave: Love Sofia and Haole the Surf Dog,' which is the true story of how he helped teach a little girl with Down syndrome to 'walk on water.'
After Haole died five summers past, the memorial garden was planted with its first rock and today blooms with many hundreds, if not a thousand or more. The mini-markers come in many sizes and shapes, although most are round or oval, and more than a few are heart-shaped. Almost all are pleasingly smooth as if selected with great care.
What makes these stones true gems is they are hand-painted with flowers and hearts, sunsets and rainbows, paw prints and palm trees, angel wings and crosses, with R.I.P. wishes and other heartwarming messages along with the names of loved ones — pets, yes, but also human moms and dads and spouses and siblings and friends. Many are true works of art and all are works from the heart.
Together, this colorful avalanche creates a mosaic worthy of comparison to a stained glass window in a church, which is fitting because this comely corner of the seaside seems like an outdoor temple. As such, it is common to see people — pedestrians and cyclists and rollerbladers; alone and in couples and small groups — stop and visit, pause and ponder, remember and pray. Some search for the rocks they have previously left here while others leave new stones now.
One rock in Haole's memorial garden is especially dear to me because I know its honoree as well as the artist, my 6-year-old granddaughter, who lovingly decorated it. When Maya learned that my good friend Nick's dog recently crossed the rainbow bridge, she found a stream-polished rock, palm-sized and oval; cleaned it and painted on swirls of deep blue and sea-glass green, and added white stars; then, in her neatest kindergarten printing, in black marker wrote: 'Henry.'
Coincidentally, Henry's rock was placed at the southernmost tip of Haole's garden, precisely where The Jerk committed his briny desecration. I went to check and was relieved to find 'Henry' still resting in peace in view of the Ventura Pier. I hope the memorial stones that were tossed into the ocean can be, or have been, retrieved at low tide.
One Jerk cannot wipe out Haole's four-legged legacy.
Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Star and can be contacted at [e-mail]. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Woodburn: Beautiful mosaic of memorial rocks