January 10, 2010 46 out of 47 weeks of surfable waves.

I just did something that I have never done before in my life. I shut the TV off during a Patriots Play-
Off game. They were losing 24-0 at the end of the 1st Qtr. Now I realize, there are many of you out there who could give a Rats Ass about The Patriots or the NFL in general. And to be quite honest
with you, at this moment in my football fan existence, I actually envy you guys. I wish I had no emotions invested in team sports. I wish I was team free. Not a worry or a concern, about any
overpaid, bonehead, with a phony college education. I wish I was like that. But I am not.
I'm a loser Sports fan.

I had every intention of starting this column off with the pending news about the potential End in sight
of the incredible run of surf we've been having. And I was going to follow it up with the great news about the Patriots winning today. But unless something miraculous happens, the New England Patriots
will have lost their first home game this season, in the most embarrassing of fashions.

They are getting their asses kicked.

Forget about Wes Welker. There's nothing that number 83 could have done to save them today. Perhaps a Richard Seymour, or a Mike Vrabel might have helped. But Wes? Nothing in what I saw in that First Qtr would of helped. Brady looked terrible. Maronhey looked terrible. But our defense? Good Lord, what defense? Are you kidding me? This was ugly as it gets. Shocking? Hardly. This is beyond shocking. It's pathetic. It's downright embarrassing. I know I've used that word already. Hell I'll use it again. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing. Embarrassing...

Did I mention that this was...Embarrassing?

I hope I'm wrong. I hope that by the time I finish this column and I go back upstairs, that my son Mackey V will tell me that they made the most remarkable comeback in the history of Play-Off
games. But my friends that is not going to happen. Not today. The season for New England ends today.

Embarrassing.

Thank God we have the Bruins...oh yea, they are in a slump. How about the Celtics? You know
what? Maybe I can get things done around the house in the next few weeks, now that I have nothing invested in the NFL these coming weekends. This may be a blessing in disguise. My wife would certainly dig it. "Hey baby I'm going to clean out the garage this weekend now that the Patriots are
out of the Play-Offs..." Damn these professional athletes.

OK so let's talk about the Run.

First and foremost you all know (at least I hope you know). That a typical calendar week starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. So when you read these columns and see the photos, you know that you are seeing last week's pics. The photos you look at were taken sometime between Sunday and Saturday of the previous week. For instance. The pics from this week's column were all taken
last week. Mine were shot on Sunday and Ed's were shot on Monday. And when you see the pics you will acknowledge that the waves met my criteria of waist high or better. It's obvious.

And the Nevins snowboarding shots were from this week as well. As were some of the other pics. Bernie Baker's Hawaii pics were shot on Friday. But we are mostly concerned with the local shots and the concept of the Run. It looks like this could be the week it ends. All the wave forecasts look dismal. So this could be it. 46 out of 47 weeks. Still, that's pretty impressive. That's almost a year.
I know the week is not over yet but, it does not look good. Like The Patriots. Our Run is over.

So, I guess we could talk about the weather.

There is something called a cold snap that is affecting a large portion of our country. And it extends
all the way to Florida. They are experiencing some of the worst cold weather in the history of the Sunshine State. Hey Al Gore you hearing about this? Global Warming my Ass. Of course, for those of us who have lived in Northern New England our entire lives, we can't help but snicker at those wooses down South. "Cold? Shee-i-t that ain't cold. I'll tell y'all about cold." We know what cold is.
And although we can admit, that it's chilly down South, it is hardly cold like we get. I can't believe I'm actually bragging about our cold weather. What's wrong with me?

Honestly? I wish I was some place tropical right now.

Now for some of my weekly Global observances:

I saw something this week on TV that really impressed me. I saw Muslims protesting against Terrorism. It was refreshing to see it. Muslims standing with America and putting down the Radical Islamic Terrorists. If all the honest Muslims in the world would do the same, it would certainly help our cause against the current JIHAD movement. I mean think about it. The Muslim religion is one of the largest religions in the world, if not the largest. If they were to stand up against the Radical Islamic Jihadists we would be in a better place. But that is not the case. Still, it was impressive to actually see Muslims stand up and denounce Terrorism. That took courage. Good for you. Now you had better arm yourselves, because those crazy ass scumbag, coward terrorists, are for sure coming to get you.

So, President Obama is mad. He's upset with the breakdown of Intell with the Christmas Day potential disaster. And he's mad at the bad guys. And he should be. This was a wake up call for Mr President. The party and honeymoon is clearly over. It's time Mr President to fight these bastards. It's time to stop sending terrorists from GITMO back to Yemen and beyond. And make no mistake about it. BUSH did the same thing. He released several of these JIHAD eating maniacs, and they came back to bite us in the ass. Wake up America. I don't care what your political party is, or the color of your skin, and neither does the JIHAD movement. They hate us all.

We need all Muslims to be on our side, and recognize what the hell is happening in the world. If they want to reduce the collateral damage in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, then you need to help us stop the radical Islamic Jihadists from gaining power and control. Help us help you. Or get out of the way. Because we are determined to dispatch all Terrorists in the world. Allah Arkbar my ass.

OK people, the Holidays are over. Take down the Holiday lights. Enough already.

We all lost an American Icon this week. Who? Art Clokey passed away on Friday.
He was 89 years old. Who the hell is Art Clokey you ask? Ha! He was the creator of the famous GUMBY and POKEY. Sniff...Gumby is gone.

So how do you think the Cincinnati Bengals feel today? They allowed the NY Jets to beat them last week and get into the play-offs, only to face them this weekend at home, and guess what? Bam! They got their asses kicked. There must be a lesson here somewhere. And here it is...

You must play each game to win.

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY (January 13th) to Surf Mom Kim Grondin.
Congrats to The SIMPSONS for 20 years of original comedy.
A Big Get Well soon to All Patriots fans.

PLEASE HELP THE NH SURFRIDER FOUNDATION.

*Check out the updated January 2010 DROPPING IN ON RALPH blog Section.
I finished all of December and we are up to date as of today.
*Molly Video by Joe Carter has been moved to the Community Page.

Please Support ALL The photographers who contribute to Ralph's Pic Of The Week
every week for the last 6 years. **Think about BUYING a Photo from any of the weeks
on RPOTW as a GREAT Gift Idea. A nice framed photo of your favorite Surfer!

Remember my friends...Surfing Heals All Wounds....
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.

Ralph