A Couple of Waves and a Pod of Dolphins

I went for surf last night and another one this morning in gray, dreary conditions. Sitting out there in the brine, you couldn't tell where the steely gray ocean ended and the horizon began. Every few minutes there would be a brief downpour of rain on the ocean, smoothing things out and at the same time adding a million little splashes around you. When the sets started to roll in, there would be a slight difference in the color of the water in contrast to the sky. It's crazy to see really, just little differences in the texture of the horizon or in the shade of gray. Schools of fish were cruising around the pier and pods of dolphins would take turns snacking on the fish and jumping through the lines of swell. At one point last night, I was surrounded by dolphins splashing about in trios. Towards the end of my session last night I was paddling into a solid chest high wave and all of the sudden a dolphin popped out of the face of the wave and landed ahead of the wave, as if to say, "Whoa buddy...This is my wave". I ceded that set to the dolphins and paddled down the beach.

I have never had an actual, conscious thought while in the act of riding a wave. Driving to the beach, I may have a million thoughts running through my head. But as soon as I take that first stroke into a wave, my mind goes into a wonderful, serene blankness. Life ashore just doesn't matter sitting out there in the ocean, staring back in towards houses that nobody can afford and out to sea towards that last great wilderness. In the water there are more immediate concerns like position in the lineup, current, slight changes in wind, and the next set which is stacking up on the horizon.

I actually just got back from the beach. I drove south into Kure Beach to check my PO Box and survey the waves at the Kure Beach pier and farther south at the Fort Fisher cove. At high tide, few spots will break without a big swell. The waves at the pier were rolling through and I threw on a wetsuit top, grabbed my board out of the truck and walked down to the beach. Without paying much attention to the beach surroundings, I simply walked to the shore, felt the water, and paddled straight out. I just needed a quick dip to clear my head from a morning/afternoon of calling golf courses to set up contracts. I paddled straight out into the waves. A set quickly started rolling through, I turned my board around, and paddled straight into a nice little peeler. A few turns later, a couple toes over the nose, and a close out barrel...I found myself in knee deep water looking up at an obese cop whistling at me. He looked rather out of breath and angry. I looked around and determined that I was indeed far enough from the pier (NO SURFING WITHIN 500FT OF PIER!). Out of courtesy, I walked in to hear what he had to say. Just for the record, if I thought I was going to get a ticket...I would have turned around and paddled the 2 miles into Carolina Beach and out of his jurisdiction.

As I walked towards him, I noticed a film crew and several guys dressed as pirates. The friendly police officer (italics=sarcasm) informed me that I was not allowed to surf at this public beach today because a film crew was filming a commercial or something. He said he wasn't allowed to tell me what the project was. I guess this film crew had rented the beach and ocean for the day and I wasn't allowed to be in the water in the vicinity of the filming. I guess a modern long boarder would just ruin the historical accuracy of a pirate commercial. I just had to chuckle as I walked down the beach, back to my truck. Hopefully I made the gag reel of some Hollywood pirate flick. It'd be awesome if a year down the road, I go to a movie and see myself gracefully sliding along a wave in the background of some gaudy pirates hauling a wooden boat up a beach.

Anyway folks-Enjoy the day, stay skeptical, and keep on keeping on.

P.S. Did you guys know there is a Congressman named Anthony Weiner? Kind of a funny name, especially when the cable news people address him as "Mr. Weiner"....Do think he ever got made fun of in middle school?

Adios!

A Couple Barrels and Some Thoughts

My little slice of coastline caught some decent swell over the past few days, giving me chest to head high waves to play in for the past few days. I went in early to the golf courses on Friday to run off a few geese so I could catch the mid-afternoon low tide and some dredging little barrels. I was itching for an actual wave with some punch to it. Living in California spoiled me when it comes to sizable and consistent surf. I don't really remember seeing it completely flat ever, but then again it was often too big or sharky to safely paddle out. I digress though, we had some great waves over the weekend. I snuck out for two sessions each day over the weekend and caught some really great waves. Just this morning, my last wave of the session ended with a great barrel. It was just what I needed before church. I always forget to take pictures of the waves before I paddle out, but then again...Who has the time when there are waves breaking?

Life outside the surf is tumultuous as always. I picked the wrong economy to take on the title of small business owner and freelance writer. I'm gearing up to expand the Wildlife Management (i.e. goose chasing) business into new courses and areas. We've been giving those Canadian Geese a free ride for decades and now I'm going to get a return on all of that government money we invested into preservation programs. We gave them free range of the country for years and now they are certainly overrunning this area. Driving around the area, I'll see geese fly over the road and find myself wandering which addition they are landing in. It's just nerve-wracking to be in charge of your next paycheck. I mean, work

Owning a sailboat is a funny thing. Fix one thing and you'll find two more that need attention. It's been several weekends in a row that I'll say, "Well this is the weekend to launch this thing"...And the crappy thing is that West Marine and the other marine supply shops seem to think that the exorbitant prices they charge for the tiniest pieces of hardware or amount of something is legitimate. Apply a common piece of hardware equipment to a boat and you could make a fortune.

We went to a meet your candidate function at a local coffee shop/bar and met all of the Town Council hopefuls. They all seemed like pretty decent folks. At what point does the decent local politico become the sleazy politician that makes it to the next level? I was pretty disconcerted to hear all of them talk wistfully about developing parts of the town into bigger, better developments. I was kind of hoping to hear one of them say, "Ya, I'd bulldoze that whole strip of unsightly buildings and turn it into a park". If only Ed Abbey were still alive and running for Town Council.

I changed the comments portion of the blog, I'm thinking that the comments section should be open to everyone without an email verification now. So go ahead and comment away. I started putting the web address on my business cards and business brochures, so maybe it'll get more readership.

Catch ya'll later.

To Indiana and Back via Train and Truck

I made it back to the beach after a long, strange weekend of traveling. I left off of my last post, close to midnight on Thursday night and sitting astride a bar stool at a decent little brewery in Fayetteville NC. The Amtrak Station in Fayetteville sits at the end of the main strip through the downtown. After I had secured my tickets and checked out the sterile, lit-by-florescent-lights train station waiting room, I decided my best course of action was to sit in one of the two open bars, sipping beer and shooting pool, until my 2AM train arrived. Anybody who has travelled by train can attest to the fact that the Amtrak station waiting room is a place to be avoided at all costs. The train attracts a certain type of character which makes for a completely unique experience. I've taken a couple of trains in my lifetime and I always meet some pretty weird people.

I'm not generally into smoking cigarettes, but on the road, it's a good way to get into conversations with people you'd never normally be able to have a conversation with. There is something about smokers that is funny. Nowhere else will you see several former strangers, standing around a doorway or under a stoop, bullshitting about life and times. You'll chat with your fellow smoker for five minutes or until both smokes are done, and then go your separate way. At a bar or waiting for a train, if you want to meet people and learn about life in their neck of the woods, then share a smoke break.

Anyway, my train arrived at Union Station in Washington DC around 7AM Friday morning and my train to Waterloo IN did not leave until 4:30PM, so I was left with a free day of sightseeing around our nation's capital. I was a bit foggy from a fitful night of dozing aboard the bumpy train, but once I stepped off the passenger car and into the stream of humanity spewing forth towards the offices of downtown DC, I quickly perked up. It was interesting to stroll amongst the politicos on their way to work and look for people I recognized from C-SPAN. After finding a coffee shop and re-filling my re-usable coffee cup (which I always carry, refills are always cheaper), I set off to explore. Union Station is a few blocks away from Capital Hill and the sights of DC. Stepping out into the day, I quickly realized that it was a cold and rainy day. I actually am glad it was dreary outside, it kept some tourists away and left the sidewalks open for me. I walked through tons of museums and government office buildings. It was my first time to the capital, so it was great to see some of the places I'd read about. I was struck by the massive scale of the whole place. The Capital Mall, which is flanked by the Smithsonian Museums is huge. I walked through the Native American, Natural History, and American History Smithsonians. I also walked through the greenhouse and Library of Congress. I thought about going into a couple of the office buildings, but their were tons of very heavily armed Storm Trooper looking toughs. It was very eye opening to see the sheer number of assault rifle bearing dudes. They were standing at doorways and I even some a few on rooftop. It seems that Orwell was an optimist.

My overnight train ride was long and often uncomfortable. My seat mate was a garrulous 60-something. I have my suspicion about his sanity. He's laugh really loud in the middle of nothing. Apparently he worked for some geo-thermal consulting firm. I ended up having a couple of beers with him in the viewing car. I went their to get away from sitting elbow to elbow with him and have some peace, but he eventually followed me there and had a couple of Screwdrivers himself. Thank goodness for that, it helped him sleep soundly through the night. Leaving me to get some writing and reading done. Next time I travel by train, I'm taking a little flask of something for myself and I'm going to spend the whole ride in the viewing car, playing cards or something.

Arriving home, it was great to be greeted by loving parents and enjoy a solid Indiana breakfast. It's always humbling to arrive back home to a great big loving family who always have arms wide open. I have a big, awesome family. Contrasting my family background to people who I meet, I always get a little lump in my throat. I've been blessed. I spent the day in Indiana, hanging out with my family. The family dogs are doing great, one is fat and happy and the other is a little one-eyed rascal dog. There was a big bonfire that night, complete with brats and burgers courtesy of my brother's giant smoker grill.

I awoke early Sunday morning and hit the road in my new truck, courtesy of my in-laws. They offered up the use of their Chevy truck for the time being, so I could grow my little business and look a little bit more professional than cruising around in my hippy van.

I made the drive East in a little over 12 hours, which I believe is a family record. I'm back to work this week chasing geese and researching my next article for publication. I'm going to write about a Civil War era Confederate sailor.

Our little sloop is getting put in the water this week. It's almost ready for its first voyage under new ownership. Say a prayer for seaworthiness.

Stay tuned for some pictures in the next few days or once I locate my camera's cable. I'll probably get fired up about something which is happening and try to write an article, but often I think 'what's the use?'...I listened to this discussion by alternative economic forecasters about the future state of this country and it really got me down. Their advice basically boiled down to stockpile food, gold, and ammo. Damn.

Anyway, keep on keeping on. God bless.

Random Post from the Road

Hey Folks. It's pushing 11Pm and I'm sitting in a bar in Fayetteville NC, awaiting a 1AM train which will take me to DC, and then eventually back to Indiana. My wife dropped me off here a couple of hour ago and I've been bar crawling around to get the feel for this place. This is a town of military meatheads and other equally short haired individuals. I'm always struck by the vibe of a bar when it is filled with testosteroned up dudes.

I get kind of a sad feeling in my gut when I am around the military. These guys, for the most part, are the most patriotic guys around...yet the powers that be have been pushing them into pointless military conflicts for the past 50 years. The phrase 'tis not our job to question why, it's simply our place to do or die' comes into mind.

I strolled past a memorial here and there had to be a couple thousand names on it of guys that died from this county in various conflicts in the past decades. The fact that they died in 'conflicts' and not 'wars' should piss you off immediately, that is if you know you parlimentary rules. We haven't really been in a bona fide war since WW2, but we've been content sending our boys to bleed in foreign countries without the proper process.

I didn't really start out as a peacenik, but the more I'm around these guys...the more tangible the sacrifice becomes.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about how wasteful our country has become and a really shitty, eye opening example of that occured a few minutes ago. I was sitting at this Army bar, watching a football game and everyone was drinking out of plastic freaking cups. I was struck by the absolute shitty irony of the situation. Here were these guys, who were employed by the military, about to be deployed to some God-forsaken sand pit of a country, in order to protect our oil interests...and they were toasting to a safe return in cups made from freaking oil! I downed my beer and walked out. It was too much for me. Note to self, make sure to always have my reusable coffee cup on hand.

I'm off to await my late night train. Tomorrow I'm going to walk around DC and check it all out. Expect more postings. I guess I can officially claim that I'm a freelance writer at this point. I cashed my first check from an article this morning.

Hopefully all of this conspiratorial writing and subversive literature doesn't throw you guys off. If you think I'm full of shit, then call me out. I've been struggling with my views on politics and society lately. I've been reading pretty much nonstop and I feel that my writer's voice needs to come from a place of skepticism of the status quo. I don't appreciate the direction this country is taking and I feel that the pen is the mightiest weapon I wield. Selah And Bah.