That Guy

Used to be that I was so far behind I thought I was first.  The Faithful now know that I am a man ahead of his time.  I was blogging about the one percent's increase in wealth a full year before the occupy movement started pitching a tent on every city sidewalk.  Just this week I opined on Mitt's inability to be liked.  Check out the new cover of Time Magazine entitled "Why Don't People Like Me" with a picture of Mitt Romney.   (Too bad you can't copyright an idea no matter how brilliant).

Just finished my third surf session of the week.  Everyday after December 1, is a bonus and I've surfed 8 days so far this month!  (The LOL (lovely old lady) ain't going to be too happy next month when my income reflects more time surfing than working.) At the last minute the forecast changed and the head high set waves were rolling in at Second Beach in Newport.  The way surfing is supposed to work is the surfers all paddle out beyond the "break" of the wave to the "line up".  Theoretically, each surfer waits his turn in the queue and then takes his wave.  If he misses, falls or hesitates its the end of the line.  I've heard this is the case in more traditional surfing locales like Cali and J-Bay (Gavin?).

I don't know if its the lack of tradition here on the East Coast, East Coast surfers are rude, East Coast surfers are clueless or East Coast surfers don't give a sh*t (probably a combination of all four) but there is no "line-up" in New England.  What happens here is everyone paddles out to the lineup and then its a free for all when a decent wave rolls in.  Usually there is one guy who is either on the far left or far right of the lineup and about ten yards further out.  This surfer is either a "big wave hunter" or a person catching every wave before it reaches the line-up.   (There is a reason its called "surfing" and not "hunting" Daddy.) "Big wave hunters" spend more time hunting (i.e. waiting) then surfing.  In surf etiquette whoever catches the wave first has the wave. Everyone else in the lineup has to back off.   Today, for the first time I was "that guy".   I don't know if I was tired, lucky or actually improving as a surfer but today I was catching everything early and often.  I was in Zen, on Zen, all Zen.  When paddling back out past the line-up guys would curse me and then move away.  (If a guy can actually surf you really can't do much about him taking waves.)

Due to tide, wind, and drift I eventually ended up back close to the line-up.  As I went for a wave a guy about a hundred yards down the line started calling "his wave".  I don't care if you are in knee high slop at Lake Wobegone or triple head high at Mavericks this is not cool.  I paddled into the wave.  He kept yelling.  I turned and saw he had caught the wave.  He kept yelling at me.  Now Kelly Slater could not have closed the distance between he and I.  I was about to stand up anyway when I remembered the Surfer's Code (there will always be another wave) and as I mentioned above it was his wave.  I pulled out of the wave and he fell; ass over tea kettle.  Like I said it was all Zen all day.  He paddled back past me glaring as if it was my fault.  I smiled, "Nice ride".

When I was done I wanted to call Mitt Romney.  "Hey Mitt," take my advice, "It's much better too be feared then liked."

KOKO