March 7th, 2010 53 out of 55 weeks, or is it 3 out of 3?


So what's the saying? "What a difference a week makes." I mean hello. Last week it was the end of the world, with that crazy ass Winter Nor'easter blowing the snot out of our homes and trees and the fire on the beach. And this weekend? Well, it was like Spring out there. Yesterday and today. Mid 50's with bright shining sun, against solid blue skies. And didn't they all come out. By the hundreds. Like they always do when the weather turns for the best. Parents with young children, the elderly, the teens, and the lovers. All of them, out walking along the beaches. Like opening day of Summer. I saw some kids playing along the water's edge in their shorts and barefeet.

Never ceases to amaze me. Except like most of you, I know that this false sense of warm weather, can be short lived. We could very easily get hit with a nasty snow storm, anytime between now and the end of April. Oh hell yea we could.

Still, it was nice having the Spring like conditions this weekend. And it was even nicer when the swell that was here all week, hung around and even cleaned up for the weekend. And it was good. If you were there you know what I'm talking about. If you missed it...well nevermind.

But it was good to surf in head high or better, clean and green barrels in the warm sun.

Hell, we even got some color on our pasty white faces. Not that getting color is important. Though it is with some of you. Let's face it. We all look better with some Vitamin D on our faces. So we got that this weekend. In fact, I was tempted to throw on my 4/3. Although that might be a bit premature. But my 6/5/4 was damn near too toasty.

I suppose that's good news for the Fair weather surfers out there.

If you are one of the few, who intentionally miss Winter surfing due to the extreme cold. Well, your wait is almost over. It's getting warmer and the days are getting longer. In fact, next weekend we set the clocks ahead. Oh yea...we're almost through this winter.

Thank God. I caught a terrible winter cold/flu 2 weeks ago and I still can't seem to shake it.

I don't quite remember when, but I know I said it many times, back in the days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth (*when I was in High School). And what I'm talking about is; when I used to get a bad cold, or cough, I would convince my mother, to let me go surfing. I can remember telling her "That if I get into the ocean, in the dead of winter, the cold water will flush the cold right out of me."

My parents bought it for a while, but there were times when I could not shake the cold, and actually ended up getting sicker. So much for that theory. I'm still congested today. I surfed for a few hours, but I still feel sick and tired. I was out in the water laughing to myself, at the memory of me trying to convince my late parents that cold water surfing was good for colds. Ha.

Of course, there's no such proof of a cure for the common cold. It was just another surfer idiom.

My poor parents heard enough of em back when I lived at home. Same with my teachers, coaches, and employers. I'm sure it's the same with many of you. The things we do and say, to be able to go surfing. I'm here to tell you, that it doesn't change much the older you get. You will still be making excuses, and finding ways to get out of commitments to get your surf fix. This I know firsthand.

I am still living the surf addiction. "My name is Ralph and I'm a surf addict."

I get so many emails and comments from surfers all over the globe. Some of whom I know, while others, I have never met. And I can't tell you how many times, I've read the end of each email with "I'll see you out in the water." I was thinking about the origin of that line. And I know many of you have used it. Hell, I use it myself from time to time. Mostly though, I use the tag ..."keep surfing". But the "see you out in the water" is pretty common and quite popular.

And why am I bringing this up you ask?

Well, I was thinking of my late friend. Joe Somogyi. You've heard me mention him from time to time. He used to live here in Hampton and he helped Pioneer a lot of the breaks we surf today. He passed away in 1978. He would of turned 60 on Tuesday March 2nd, 2010. If you knew Joe it would be hard to picture him at 60. I was talking to Kim Grondin about him on that day. I don't know why, but I got up early, and drove down to the beach to take photos of the sunrise. There was still a swell running. I had forgotten it was his birthday. I mean really, who the hell remembers birthdays of your friends? We know wives, girlfriends, and other close relatives.

But really, who remembers friend's birthdays?

Well, we tend to remember them after that person is gone. The reality of Joe's 60th birthday hit me. And for some damn reason I thought about that line. "I'll see you out in the water". We never shared that. Joe died long before email was invented.

I'm not going to lie. It made me sad and wistful. I never got to write that to Joe in some meaningless email. "I'll see you out in the water." I'm writing it now though.

Happy 60th Birthday Joe." I'll see you out in the water."


Now for some of my weekly Global observances:
Today in IRAQ the people came out by the hundreds of thousands to cast their votes. The Cowardly Terrorists tried to dissuade them with their cowardly suicide attacks in the general population. They killed dozens this week, But they could not kill the spirit and passion of freedom and democracy. And the people of IRAQ got that freedom and democracy from the blood and sacrifices of Americans. Lest we forget that. They got it from Americans, and her allies.

Not from Saddam. Not from Bin Laden. I think most IRAQI's know that. And most Americans know it as well. All of those who voted today, should send Thank You cards to the families of the Americans who died for their freedom. And they should all send one big Thank you card to General Petraus.

The surge in IRAQ worked. Let's hope the surge in Afghanistan works just as well.

So poor Eric Holder. The White House has decided that the trial of the accused master mind of 9-11 Khalied Sheik Mohammed (KSM) and his cohorts in cowardice should be held at a Military Tribunal after all. Good Lord, can we just move along now and get this behind us once and for all. I should be the judge. Here, how's this for a verdict: "GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS." Forget the Invisible Surfer man sentence. I say we make them invisible forever. EXECUTION style. Maybe we push them off a tall building like what happened on September 11, 2001. Sound fitting?

We could light a massive fire on the top of a 100 story building, and put them in a room with large glass windows. And have them decide which is the better way to die. By jumping to their deaths, or burning a horrible death? Think the White House would go for that? Probably not.

Those scumbag Terrorists cowards are lucky I'm not in charge. Hell I'd even televise it. Just like 9/11.

So once again we are watching a nation suffer through another earthquake and Tsunami. The Earthquake off of Chile did in fact take a deadly toll. I was premature in my calling it insignificant last week . I was wrong and I apologize. There is much devastation and suffering in CHILE today. Almost 1,000 dead. It's terrible. Say a prayer for the people affected by this earthquake and Tsunami.

I saw a report on one the major cable stations about Actors in Hollywood being forced to take paycuts. Oh My God! How can they survive this? I read where Sandra Bullock only made $20 million for her last movie Blind Side. How can we expect her to feed her family by only making $20 million a movie? This is outrageous. What can we do to help these poor actors? Forget Haiti and Chile. Send your money to the poor movie stars.

Think I'm making this up? I saw it myself. Actors are taking a pay cut. Who really gives a shit about this? Are you freaking kidding me? Look, you guys make millions pretending to be someone else. You actors and over paid sports heroes, are a freaking joke. Look. I love movies and I do appreciate what actors do and the same with Athletes. But come on...Why not take a pay cut? You should all take a paycut and give the excess money back to the people who could really use it. The people who pay to see your movies and watch you play sports. Feed the mouths-that feed you.

Rest In Peace Mosi Tatupu.
Good Luck to the WHS BasketBall team with local Surfer Jesse Gould a senior and outstanding player!
KEEP Getting Stronger Kim Grondin! We ALL Love you!
Happy Birthday Greyson Zane Reinheimer March 4th 2010. Greyson turned 2 years old!

Please give to the RED CROSS or some other trusted organization to help those people. Like Hope For Haiti. This was featured on most of the late night talk shows. It is legit and can be trusted. Just like the RED CROSS. www.redcross.org Help these people. Please.

*Check out the updated DROPPING IN ON RALPH blog Section. All of February 2010 is posted.
*Molly Video by Joe Carter has been moved to the Community Page.

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every week for the last 6 years. **Think about BUYING a Photo from any of the weeks
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Remember my friends...Surfing Heals All Wounds....
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.

Ralph