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I had my first ever HD dream this week. I'm serious. My first
ever High Definition dream. It was Wednesday May 30, 2012 at around 1:15AM. And no it was not a surf dream, though I have had some wild surf dreams in my life. Like the time I dreamt about a never ending tube ride I got.

A continuous barrel, that kept spinning and grinding for what seemed like an eternity. Plus that wave was the colors of the rainbow. And no, I was not under the influence of anything.
Those who know me, know that I have been sober since 1988. What's that? 24 years to be exact.

No, my dream on May 30th, 2012 was of my late father.

I was lying in my bed when I heard my niece's voice say "Here's your father!" I turned to the sound of her voice and there was
my father. He walked along the side of the bed, then along the foot of the bed and then finally he walked up to the other side of the bed and then turned and faced out the window.

He never said a word. He looked so healthy.

The irony of it all is, my late father who was a Past Commander
in the VFW back in our old hometown, was always upset that they moved Memorial Day away from the original date of May 30th. I can still hear him complaining..."Memorial Day is on
May 30th, not the last Monday in May.!" he'd complain.

He just never accepted that change. No siree bobby.

But there he was, as clear as my wide screen High Def TV standing next to me. He's been gone 12 years. But seeing him
as clear and as vivid as he was that night, was such a treat. I don't know what to make of some dreams but I always love seeing the departed in my dreams. It's like some kind of reassurance that they are still out there.

That maybe dreams are a portal, or a doorway that they can
pass through to connect with you. It's possible. To see my dad that close, and that clear, was both beautiful and frustrating.

The latter due to the fact that I called out his name so loud, but my vocal chords were paralyzed. He could not hear me. Even though I was screaming his name while I slept.

When I woke, I thought I had woken the whole family. But no
one else heard me. Took me a few minutes to unwind from it.
It's not everyday that I get to see my father. Especially in
High Definition.

I do know that I was thankful for the visit. And I can't wait for
the next one . Whenever that might be. I'll be ready.

(Above) Anyone recognize this young grom? That's Casey Lockwood some 10 years ago. In Southern Maine. At an ESA contest. This is from a clip from my first ever Grom flick. "Grommatically Correct!"

Hard to believe that Grom with braces is about to be come a father any day now. 10 years ago. I know that's not that long,
but after seeing Ryan Denning's video clip (I posted it) of Casey and company surfing last week, I had a wave of nostalgia hit me and well, I knew I had this classic old footage of Casey and Mackey and a bunch of other groms. I mean ex-groms. They
are all in their 20's today.

I also knew 10 years ago that some day this footage would be
fun to look at in the future, especially if they all still surfed. And well 90% of them do. And they can all rip. So I hope they are all cool with this look back in time.

(Above) Lil Mackey V and Kody Grondin exiting their homebreak at the Wall.

Classic to have all this old footage of these guys.
I'm sure they are not nearly as stoked as I am. Someday they will. When they have kids of their own. That's when they'll get it and appreciate it. Until then...deal with it guys.

Another ex grom-local Surfer who ironically lives in Hawaii. Dougie Fresh Wright. Oh yea Dougie...no one is safe from my video camera. Nobody. Dougie just graduated from college. Congrats Dougie. And I also know that he's on his way back home for the summer. Looking forward to seeing Fresh again.

And catching you with my HD cameras. Ha!

Speaking of summer. How about this current Spring/Summer Nor'easter? Hello. This was some storm. And it figures, I just finished up my garden this past week and all my veggies are in place. I also take my tropical plants and move them outside for the summer. Several of them were knocked over by that fierce wind that was howling out of the East.

The waves last night on the main beach were roaring in. Poor Jimmy Donahue did not get to see his Station unveiled last night due to the rain and wind. Jimmy Donahue has been an ICON at Hampton Beach for well over 50 years now. Just an amazing career on the beach. My son and a few other surfers will be joining Jimmy's crew this summer.

Hope Jimmy get's to Lifeguard for another 50 years!

Now for Some Of My Weekly Global Observances:

Hey look Kalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM) the Mastermind behind 9/11 still looks miserable in the photo I have posted here. As much as he more than likely has it made at GITMO, you have to think he'd rather be in some cave somewhere with Ole Osama Bin Laden drawing up plans to kill more innocent Americans. That must be a drag for Kaliddy and his other loser Terrorists buddies.

And I hope I am not offending anyone out there reading this. But if I am...?Tough Shit! Deal with it! OBL is dead. And this asshole is facing at the very least LIFE in Prison. He should get the Death Penalty, but I know some of you softies are against that. But I'm cool with his scumbag ass spending the rest of his hairy life in some tight prison room.

Until that day...I plan on keeping this classic photo of KSM up every week so we can all chuckle at his misfortune at getting caught by our special OPs and Pakistani police.

Speaking of Terrorists I am not upset over Obama's HIT LIST. Though I do think it's a double standard for those who bitched about Bush interrogating Terrorists in the past. Obama can just go out and kill them without any kind of trial and jury. But hey, I'm OK with it. I have no problem with either interrogating Terrorists or killing them. In fact, I think it would be nice if we could do both. But hey that's just me.

Celtics are down 2-1 against the Super Heat. Tonight will be a pivotal game. GO CELTICS! Let's head back to Heatland tied 2-2

So the DEVILS are down 2-0 against the KINGS in The Stanley Cup Finals. I read that Thomas is thinking of taking a year off...huh? Come
on Timmy we still love you and NEED you!

Finally I had to laugh at Justin Beiber knocking his goofy ass out by running into a glass plane door. WTF? That's teach you for beating up the poor paparazzi.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THANK YOU To All My RPOTW Advertisers/Sponsors for making the
last 9 years so successful!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Victoria Blood June 5th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jerri Roda June 5th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Bill Morrissey June 7th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Christos Valhouli June 8th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Marc Angelillo June 9th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Brian Nevins June 9th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Anthony Berardini June 10th!
REST IN PEACE Gumby...Dick Beals the voice of the Green Dude
Gumby dies at age 85.
GET WELL SOON Matt Denis WHS student!
GET WELL Soon Steve "Surfer Crow" Watson!
GET WELL Soon Mike Cropper!!

Don't forget to go back and read the whole DAILY BLOG on My
CATCH A WAVE FOR MOLLY. (Click On the Banner on this page.)
Started on July 26, 2010 ENDED July 26, 2011. A Wave a day for 365 consecutive days. Just click on the banner ads on this page.

Please Support ALL The photographers who contribute to Ralph's Pic
Of The Week every week for the last 9 years. **Think about BUYING a HIGH RES Photo from any of the weeks on RPOTW. Keep in mind the photos you steal from this site are low RES. You can't blow them up. Order HIGH RES photos that are suitable for framing. It's a GREAT Gift Idea. A nice framed photo of your favorite Surfer or Surf Break!

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

Ralph

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We highly recommend the various businesses and artists listed below. Why? Well simply put, each and every one of them is a Surfer, who lives the Surfing Lifestyle, and their business is a reflection of that lifestyle that we all love.

Yesterday- The Late Mike Normand Summer 1968.
(Below) Having surfers pass away before their time is never an easy thing to deal with. We all like to think of ourselves as growing old together and surfing well into our golden years. That is simply not the case with a lot of surfers. Mike Normand was one of them. He was a funky goofy footer who made his own boards in the 60's and loved surfing, and taking little surf trips up north and beyond. He passed away in the mid-80s from cancer. He was a good guy who left behind a loving wife and family. Rest in Peace Mike. Photo by Jeff Crawford

Click on the photo above to see the larger version.

TODAY ... all the photos below were taken this week, unless otherwise noted.

Today- The Last Sunrise Before The Week Of Rain and Clouds. June 2nd 2012 Photo by Ed O'Connell

(Above) A beautiful sunrise that gave way to howling winds and a driving pelting rain...oh but it did bring some surf. Saturday June 2nd, 2012.
Photo By Ed O'Connell * Click on the photo above to see a bigger pic.

Today- The Leftovers from last Month. May 2012
Photos by Ed O'Connell

(Above) MVF hair flying top turn. Wednesday May 23, 2012. Photo By Ed O'Connell
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Embedded Surfer fossil found in wave face at the Wall May 2012.
Photo By Ed O'Connell * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery

(Above) Mike Moran master Longboarder at his homebreak. The Wall.
Wednesday May 23, 2012. Photo By Ed O'Connell
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Kody Grondin deep carve. Wednesday May 23, 2012.
Photo By Ed O'Connell * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

Today-More Leftovers May 20th 23rd, 2012. Photos By RALPH

(Above) Sunday glass. Sunday May 20, 2012. Photo By RALPH
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Unknown in late. Sunday May 20, 2012. Photo By RALPH
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Ryan Denning (hidden) and Ed O'Connell. Two of the area's best lens men. Wednesday May 23, 2012. Photo By RALPH
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Lenny Nichols. Sunday May 20, 2012. Photo By RALPH
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

Today-Alamo from the Air June 1st, 2012. Photo By Bernie Baker

(Above) The most famous left hander on the south shore. From the air.
Friday June 1st, 2012. Photo By Bernie Baker
* Click on the photo above to see Bigger version

Yesterday- Summer 2002 GROMMATICALLY CORRECT
Video Frame Grabs By RALPH SFOD

(Above) Young Casey Lockwood racing along the Wall in 2002.
Photo By RALPH SFOD * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Young Mackey V at the Wall in 2002.
Photo By RALPH SFOD * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) I remember Kai being in diapers at the Wall. That's how long he's been here. Now he's one of the hot local rippers. The Wall in 2002.
Photo By RALPH SFOD * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

Today-Memorial Day On the Seacoast. May 28, 2012.
Photos By Max Vincent Fatello

(Above) Memorial Day is that one day out of the year where we can all put aside our political opinions and simply honor the brave men and women who died for our nation and our Freedom. The Seacoast of NH has four separate services that we are involved in. Here are some photos from that most somber of days. Monday May 28, 2012.
Photo By MVF
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

Click here for Info on This Contel On the Ocean in Hampton, NH

(Above) This flag and it's meaning is a painful reminder of those we left behind.
Photo By MVF
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

We welcome all Surf Related pics from our Readers.
Just make sure they are at least 900 pixels wide.
If you have any OLD photos we can scan them
for you. And we don't care if you shoot them with
your cellphones. I mean it.

Just send them along.

Eddie T on the N-Island last week.
Photo by his good buddy Ed Ryan

* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Gulp gulp gulp...Chopes madness.
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

(Above) Col Hammer on the island of Oahu during this year's Memorial Day ServicePhoto courtesy of Jay Hammer
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

Click On Image Above For larger version.
www.catchawaveformolly.com

(Above) Ed Keefe father of local Surfer Billy Keefe get's his long overdue medals and awards from the country. Ed Keefe was a Navy Seal In Vietnam and is a bona fide War Hero. Welcome Home Brother.
* Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery.

CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON on each clip to view videos

Grey May from Ryan Denning on Vimeo.

Filmed and Produced by: Ryan Denning
I filtered through all of my story boards from May and came up with a little clip (4 minutes little) with some of the local surfers. May started out pretty dismal, hoping June comes in roaring.
Ryan Denning www.alpine-live.com

GROMMATICALLY CORRECT Summer 2002

It's hard to believe how much these one time Groms have gown in 10 years. As an older surfer, 10 years seems like a drop in the bucket, but looking at these young Groms I realize that half of them are parents or becoming parents. You can actually see the development of their surf styles as well. This is a look back to the Summer
of 2002...can you tell who's who? I can. Enjoy it kids

Click for New QWILL CD

Above New Todo Bien CD

From the movie GROMMATICALLY CORRECT...
"WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING A GROM?"
Ok I walked around the 10th Street opening asking the
Groms what it's like to be a Grom. Most of em had no idea what a Grom was...from the summer of 2002

The ending of the first ever GROM Movie ever shot in New Hampshire. GROMMATCALLY CORRECT. The summer of 2002.Featuring young Casey Lockwood, Max Fatello, Eric Canon, Kody Grondin, Jared Veltsos, and all the other young groms from this time period...the fun is trying to pick out who's who

Hear BEFORE The CRASH in the
NEW RUN REDUX movie

Meanwhile, if you have a question no matter how stupid, or absurd, please send it here...crackie@adlantic.com

Crackie has his own Facebook Page. You should Friend Him...though there are no guarantees that he'll be nice to you.

Hope you all learn something from this informative Q&A.

(Above) All Rise: 10th Street District Court of Surf Justice is now in session, the
Honorable Judge RALPH presiding. CASE 164 BLATANT DROP IN OF THE WEEK-
Shot last week during the May Day Week Swell. Click the photo to see the outcome of this Surf crime and the verdict. Photo by Ed O'Connell

Yes...we're on Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo.

CLICK ABOVE to read the WHOLE DAILY"Catch A Wave For Molly" BLOG. I started the campaign on July 26, 2010 and Ended July 26, 2011. I kept a daily digital blog, of each and every day. There's tons of photos too! It was an amazing adventure. And yes you can still donate to the MOLLY ROWLEE Fundraiser. Click it.

Recorded in 1978. Click on VINNY CD art to
see a larger version and how to order this CD.
This CD and others for sale at GAF Music.
www.gafmusic.com
A Division of Adlantic

OK according to the WEED Monday is going to be BIG. That means we are going to be shooting the shit out of this swell all week.COMING NEXT WEEK.

Recorded in 1983. Click on VINNY CD art to
see a larger version and how to order this CD.
This CD and others for sale at GAF Music.
www.gafmusic.com
A Division of Adlantic

When this mess cleans up? Oh boy it's going to be good...
COMING NEXT WEEK!

(Above) Put the cursor over the images above to see happens when you DROP in on someone. You become Invisible. Simply put the mouse over the photo to see the
original photo and then marvel at the results of what happens when the criminal
becomes invisible.*Put the cursor over the photo to see the Real image.
Photo by Ed O'Connell

Today 2012 Iowa looks good this time of the year!

The USS Iowa going under the San Francisco Bridge. Can you imagine surfing at Fort Point while this baby went by?

Click on Wave to return to top of page

This site designed and maintained by Adlantic copyright 2012

Click on the photo above to see the larger version.

(Above) Embedded Surfer fossil found in wave face at the Wall May 2012. Photo By Ed O'Connell * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery

(Above) Embedded Surfer fossil found in wave face at the Wall May 2012.
Photo By Ed O'Connell * Click on the photo above to see the Whole gallery