Here’s the story, in photos: Adam “Wipeout” James shaped the board from a cedar slab last year with the intention of sacrificing it on the Summer Solstice, the goal being to improve the waves in the northwest. Those are his two boys posing with the quite obviously rough-shaped board. EMMET (yeah, that’s how they spell it), top, and Calvin, nicknamed Boomer, bottom. Somehow that pagan burning didn’t happen, but this year, yeah. The board was on the fire at Joel’s house, June 21, 2023, ready to go.

BUT, somewhere before dusk, cooler heads (I’m guessing, it was a party, and, though I semi-forced an invitation, I was not there) prevailed. Specifically Chris and Keith. The discussion involved the possibility of painting it up and using it as prop or decoration or something at the upcoming SURF CULTURE ON THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND THE SALISH SEA Event, Friday, June 30, 6pm, Port Townsend Public Library. “Sure.” OKAY, BUT Then, “Why not try it out in some crappy windswell?” Again, not judging the judgment of others. Net result: Numerous wipeouts by the participants, though rumor has it that Aaron actually got a decent ride while totally burning Keith. Rumor. Again, I wasn’t there.

AFTER THE CARNAGE, Keith decided to do some damage control. Whipped out the plane, some glue, started in. He gave up on the sanding. I took over. Last photo, first coat of varnish.

THE CURRENT PLAN IS for me to paint it however I want. THANKS, I would anyway. I do want to preserve the natural cedar look, but… we’ll see. I will post some photos on Wednesday and will have the board ready for the EVENT. There is some discussion on ownership of the board. ADAM, because he supplied the slab and did the initial work, JOEL, because Adam gave it to him, Keith, because he put it back together, Erwin, because I’m going to make it, um, better. Chris, for his efforts in saving it from the pyre, and Aaron, for successfully burning and riding it… no, probably not. STILL, up for debate.

AS FAR AS my recent sit in on the KPTZ blues program with Barney Burke… Errrg! It didn’t go as I had, in my ridiculous and delusional scenarios in which I was smooth and cool and articulate, and my harmonica didn’t jam when I was trying to jam, hoped. Oh, I was cool and chatty when the microphone was not hot. I AM KIND OF THINKING, the quote from Nietzsche about looking too long into the abyss; maybe someone stuck a microphone in his face and asked him to speak to… some unknown and unseen audience, or just… the void. So, yeah, daunting. Scary. I could have done better.

It did affect my decision about speaking at the EVENT.