Mix...

Travers Adler, One Session At Rincon. from Morgan Maassen on Vimeo.

Along the certain path of adulthood, as it's sold, there are certain obligations that carry both joy (different than happiness) and challenge.

From my cliff-side morning walk with my sweet dog Jake I get to see the swell and about a mile of coast. This is daily. This is surfline for real and without the ugly. I see swell and tide and wind and reef and crowd and rips. What I have seen recently has been just great, really nourishing. Good swell and great conditions for nearly two weeks.

Yet I, the responsible and restless, have surfed only a handful of times. My wife is freshly back to full-time work, bless her, as a teacher. Hours are long. That leaves me and the gremmies to our own wonderous afternoons.  We imagine and play, explore and snack, hike and splash. But I don't surf.

Tomorrow is Saturday. I will be surfing. I hope to enjoy an expressive, joyful slip'n'slide out front. Beachbreak with bad access equals no crowds! In my imagination I am the kind of surfer that Mr. Adler, above, represents. All trim and pocket play with a dash of thrash (though I am slightly less self-aware I think.)

See you at the beach. I will be the one with the smile.

The change due...

Derek Hynd from aramis17 on Vimeo.
From Andrew Kidman's Litmus. Derek Hynd=an original.

We've reached the plateau, now the pinnacle awaits. Broken are the molds that mandated clear, three-finned, rocker-wafers. Matriculated memories are the leftovers of the counter culture rumblings and psychedelia of the down rail Hynson missions. Simmons' machines and the wooden wonders of ancient Hawai'i have come into focus. Greenough, Duke, Blake, Downing, Alter, Quigg, Kivlin, Anderson- there is now a timeline to trace, a story to be told that is divergent in its interpretations. Some would say progress is in the air, spinning and grinning with youthful exuberance. Others would place progress under the feet of those who pay homage to the past in their careful, poised surfing. I say yes. The wannabeards and be-stickered both have a stake in the now. The technicrati and the stylized dramatists play a role. The giggling wompers and the scowling swell wranglers all eat at the same table. Be self-aware but not self-conscious. Be joyful and respectful. Be a watcher and an emulator but also an original.
We are in the age of surf sincerity. Nobody who matters cares what you look like. How does it feel? Are you ecstatic? Are you freed? How does it make you feel?