Sitting in my usual spot reserved for interviews – Kaylani Coffee Co., San Clemente, CA – I wondered what my encounter with this edition’s interviewee would be like. As the thing I love most about writing/editing is the privilege of meeting and telling story about interesting people, there is always an air of excitement accompanying each appointment.

This past week I met with blue-eyed charmer and originator of the slogan “Old Guys Rule” … Don Craig. Casually dressed in a neatly tailored flannel shirt (sporting his famous logo), jeans and flip-flops, he greeted me with a handshake and warm smile, and I knew immediately that the next hour would be a pleasant, as well as informative one.

Aside from being quite charming, it was obvious from our conversation that Don Craig has a heart and a deep respect for the wisdom of the older generation. As a matter of fact, that is what inspired him to create that very first slogan-sticker espousing the wisdom that “Old Guys Rule.”

It seems that as a young man, Don Craig grew up surfing with his father and his friends all along the coast of California from Hermosa Beach to San Onofre Beach at the south-end of San Clemente. It was during that time that he and his surfing buddies spent with the older generation of surfers that he gleaned much knowledge about life and how to live it happily and successfully. It was from those relationships that the idea for the slogan came to him.

The story of how that slogan grew into the business it is today and where  it will most likely go in the future,  is one you might not want to miss. Keep your eyes out for Don Craig’s story in the next issue of the San Clemente Journal. It will be on newsstands in San Clemente  in February 2013, or you can also check it out on the website http://www.sanclementejournal.com.