Governor "Sunuburu" (sorry I know this is juvenile) has come out and ordered that we all STAY HOME and shelter in Place until May 31st, 2020. He's allowing GOLFING beginning on May 11th, but is still adamant about keeping the beaches closed indefinitely.
This needs repeating:
GOLFING WILL BE ALLOWED, BUT SURFING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.
Most of you know that the surfers who live in New England wear wetsuits practically year round. The wetsuits that surfers wear from October thru May are pretty significant. Typically surfers wear 5mm suits in the colder months and 4/3's in the Spring and Fall. Some wear suits all summer long. Why? Because the damn water is so freaking cold.
I'm not sure what Golfers wear, but I do know that they are not being constantly flushed by water every few minutes like surfers are. The wetsuits that surfers wear in the winter/Spring cover 90% of the head and body. There is just a small opening to see and speak. But for the most part, they are covered in Neoprene. Unlike Golfers.
And again, Surfers hate crowds. We try to avoid them at all costs.
Not so with Golfers. They like to Golf together and hang out together. On the course and in the clubhouse. The "19th Hole" if you will. Now before you go and think that I am anti-Golfing you need to stop that train of thought right here and now. I have plenty of friends who Golf. I want them to be able to Golf. But I have more friends who surf. And I want them to be able to surf. It's only fair.
People have been pointing out that if you follow the money you'll find your reason for this disparity. Sunuburu is a member of the GOP. He sucks up to 45. He toes the line. The POTUS owns Golf Courses. In fact, NO SITTING PRESIDENT has Golfed more while in that coveted office than 45. NOBODY.
So my point is ..."If they allow the Golfers to chase the little white ball around, they must allow the surfers to chase the little white water around."
The BEACHES are CLOSED in NH where we've only had 81 deaths and almost 95% of them were elderly patients in nursing homes, and critical care units. Massachusetts Beaches are OPEN, and they have over 3,000 deaths. This is absurd.
It's just utter NONSENSE!
I was shooting the surf yesterday at an unnamed location. The surfers were out surfing a reef break a good 500 yards from the shoreline. There was NO beach, just some jagged
rocks. A man walking by stopped and approached me. And by approach I mean he got to within a few feet from where I was standing. "Let me ask you a question" he says. "Where are you from? " I answered "Hampton." Then he immediately asked "What state?" "Ahh that would be New Hampshire." I answered. "Those guys are not supposed to be out there." He says. I looked at him and said "You're not supposed to be where you are." "What do you mean?" He asked.
"You're well under the 6' rule. You need to back off." I said.
He looked down at his feet and realized that he was practically on top of me. And he was not wearing a mask. Then he starts in with "My daughter is risking her life at Mass General dealing with COVID patients. And those guys are out there surfing!" I looked at him and said "Your daughter is a hero, but what she's doing has nothing to do what those guys out there are doing! They are not spreading COVID-19. In fact, you walking on the sidewalks with all these other people, running, jogging, riding their bikes, are a far greater risk of spreading the Coronavirus than those guys are!"
He looked at me with a dirty look and then spotted some doggie doo doo bag that someone had left on the grass. "And this!" he yells pointing at the doggie bag of dookie. "What? That's not mine. Do you see a dog anywhere near me? And I used my own toilet and bathroom this morning!" I yelled back at him. He shook his head and turned away. "It's people like you..." I heard him say under his breath as he walked off.
"Excuse me?" I asked. He kept walking. "Have a nice day sir, thanks for stopping by for the morning chat." I said to him sarcastically.
This image below is from the Channel 7 News team that came up here to do a story on surfers surfing during the beach shutdown. This was a colossal joke. Why? Well there was only one surfer in the water. It was raining and miserable out. Which is when most of the time the surf is good. I don't know if they thought they would see a crowd in the water but this is all they saw. The police were called to comment on it. I mean Good Lord the police have enough to deal with on a day to day basis than to have to deal with a handful of surfers. It's a waste of time, money, and resources. SURFING IS NOT A CRIME.
Between civilians and police officers trying to shame the surfers it's been pretty damn trying at times. If people want to point the finger of blame along NH's seacoast, how about the Beach Plum? Or Petey's? The traffic at these two popular locations are insane. People are driving along the coast stopping at these two spots and standing elbow to elbow, getting their lobster rolls and ice cream sundaes. And guess what? I don't have a problem with them. The problem I have is the people who are singling out the surfers like they were criminals. When the possibility of spreading the virus is 100 times more likely at those two establishments, than at any of the surf breaks. That's in a word HYPOCRITICAL. Or as I am fond of saying as of late, BULLSHIT!
And another thing. Surfers shaming other surfers, really pisses me off.
I was really disappointed a couple of weeks ago when a few of the surfers went out of their way to try and shame the handful of surfers who
went out and caught some waves during the LOCKDOWN. That was disheartening. Surfers have always been "outside of the box" kind of thinkers. But when fellow surfers try to shame those who used common sense, and some creative ingenuity to get a few waves? That was in of itself, shameful. They should be ashamed of themselves. What you should be doing is tipping your hat, and giving a wink to those who went beyond the "absurd political thinking" and found a way to catch waves. And they did it, without spreading the virus.
PLEASE click on the graphic above and SIGN THE PETITION. Let Governor Sununu know that your voice must be heard and more importantly, YOUR VOTE counts. Because if we can't get them to work for the people (and I mean ALL The People, including those who Surf), then we will VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE! Because at the end of the day, they are all politicians, and they all love being politicians. And they know, that you can vote them out.
PLEASE ALL SURFERS AND NON-SURFERS SIGN THE PETITION.
Thank you.
On May 8th and May 9th this week two of the local Surf Girls are turning 30! How in God's name did that happen? Leah (Grondin) Piersiak and Gabby (Fatello) LeBreck both turning 30 within 23 hours of each other. Here's a photo of me holding them both when they were little bitty babies. They literally grew up together. Both families (Fatellos and the Grondins) were very close and still are. The beach was our domain. 10th Street at The Wall on North Beach. Yes the same beach that is now off limits to all. But back in the day we all hung out at that famous stretch where cement meets sand.
This photo has an interesting back story. The person who took the photo is our friend Jay Gould. Jay's birthday is on May 7th. Talk about coincidences. But this photo? This was well before Gabby and Leah grew up and got married and had kids of their own. Gabby has three (four if you count Brent's child from a previous relationship) and Leah has two. All of them are girls. Gabby has Avery, Brylee, and Reighlynn (and Paige) while Leah has Lily and Isabelle. Between the two of them they have six little girls. Holy Mackerel!
It's so funny because I remember all of these photos.
I remember this one too. That's my late nephew on the right.
Oh Michael how we all miss you.
This was Gabby's first day at the Wall. We brought all of our kids to the wall to get them all acclimated to where they would be spending their childhood.
This is me serenading baby Gabby with my maple-neck Strat.
This is 30 years ago. I remember I was ready to go hit the reef and before
I left I had Cory take a pic of me holding her on my board.
Here she is at 10th street. Start them off on Boogie boards.
This is one of my favorite surf pics of all time. Oh yeah it's true. I had a
cheap water camera but the lighting, composition, and the look on her
face all said "SURFING IS FUN!"
This pic of Gabby above was taken on my birthday in 2004.
Gabby and her family. Left to right: Avery, Gabby, Brylee, Paige, Brent,
and Reighlynn. Happy 30th Birthday Gabbo! I LOVE You!
And this is Leah surfing at the Wall . Yes the same Wall where we can't surf.
And this is Leah's family today. Isabelle and Lilly and husband Rob.
Happy 30th Birthday Leah! We all LOVE You!
"Social Distancing, Common Sense, and Surfing Heals All Wounds."
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This week's Ed's corner is our friend Casey Lockwood. This was shot April 23rd, 2009 at an undisclosed location. Suffice it to say it was here in Northern New England. Casey was part of the new vanguard of air seeking missiles. He's still launching a few here and there. But with a wife and three kids, anyone's air time would slow down a little.
Photo by Ed O'Connell
*Click the photo above to see a larger version of Ed's Pic.
Now for Some Local, National and International News
We all know by now how much disdain I have for 45, but as much as I detest him, I have more dislike for this individual. Funny thing is a good friend of mine who is a lifelong Democrat sent this to me. Go figure. I guess when it all comes down to it, we'd still choose our boy over their boy. Having said all that, this is pretty funny, and it may just explain Kim's sudden disappearance.
Kim Jong Un is still unaccounted for. They say he's brain dead, dead, or just plain old missing. I'm thinking he's one of the former. One thing's for sure, the poor surgeon who performed the operation is clearly dead. Possibly his whole family too.
And these freaking idiots? I'm sorry boys but you've gone too far. Dressing up like a band of thug terrorists and carrying military style semi automatic weapons into the State House? And you're trying to prove a point, which is? That you're all f**KING INSANE?
You clowns will
be the reason why we law abiding gun owners will lose our guns. You really need to do this? I'm sorry boys, but this does nothing but incite fear and loathing.
And 45's right hand man VP Mike Pence pulled a beaut of
a major f**k up the other day. He was the ONLY person not wearing a mask at the Mayo Clinic. The ONLY person. He claims he is tested regularly and says he does not have the Coronavirus. But more importantly, he said he wanted to be able to look people in the eye, and tell them how great of a job they are doing. Excuse me Mr Vice President, but, you do know that you don't wear the mask over your eyes right?
The apple does not far from the tree in the Oval office.
Another funny cartoon from last week's snafu by POTUS.
When I see stuff like this I realize that I really missed my calling. I was a cartoonist and caricature artist in the early 70's but gave it up to pursue a career in the music business. That didn't work out too well. But it sure was fun while it lasted.
And here's another classic cartoon meme.
This is funny. What you think I'm funny? Why do I make you laugh? How am I funny? That's from y?
PLEASE HELP THESE GO FUND ME Posts (Below).
Click on the image below to MAKE A DONATION. Greg Smith was one of the BEST surfers to ever come out of NH. If you can afford it, please make a donation. Thank you.
The ASA BREBNER GoFundMe page is also asking for Donations. If you donate $25 or more you get a CD of the artists who are recorded some of Asa's songs. Yeah, I'm one of them. If you can afford it, please donate to this fund raiser. Thank You.
Click on the image above to make a Donation. Thank you.
ESM (Eastern Surf Magazine) using a READY MAG format did the Best of Ralph's Pic. And while they couldn't possibly use everything thing I've ever done, they did manage to put up some 50 pics of mine, plus two videos. And I was truly humbled by their intro. Mez said some nice things about me. CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE WHOLE Spread.
DUE TO COVID-19 The FATHERS and SONS Movie
HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK TO
FATHER'S DAY 2021.
(Unless we're all wiped out by COVID-19)
And this...
(Same thing...it's all pending on COVID-19)
Look "FOR LOVE AND WAVES" next Valentines Day
February 14th, 2021. It will be an all original soundtrack. And this all original concept of couples who surf will be fun. Married couples. Single couples. Gay couples.
Lovers who surf together. From SURF FREE OR DIE and RALPH'S PIC OF THE WEEK.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO SEE THE TRAILER.
The TRAILER was posted on Valentines Day
February 14th, 2020. Get the significance?
GRANITE GIRLS and The RIVER WOMEN from Ralph's Pic Of The Week on Vimeo.
NOW AVAILABLE on VIMEO ON DEMAND. You have spoken and I have listened. You don't have a DVD player so I made it available Online. Watch it on your Smart TV, your computer, or your cellphone! I can't make this any easier my friends. Unless of course I hand deliver to each and every
one of you.
KSM Photoshop of the Week
Wait a minute is that who I think it is? It sure as hell is. Damn you Khaliddy! How the hell did he get into the Mayo Clinic when the VP is there? And would you look at KSM wearing a mask when our own VP is not. Oh this is not gonna sit well with the Big Wigs in the Oval Office. I mean it's bad enough 45 is always doing stupid shit, the last thing he needs is his VP doing stupid shit.
And so my friends, please take advantage of this weekly photo shop of the mastermind who planned 9-11 and resulted in the deaths of 3,000 innocent civilians by KSM (Khalid Sheik Mohammed).
*Note to self -must pick up a case of COVID19 masks at
Home Depot this week.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Nohea Thaisa May 2nd, 2020!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stan Bocko May 7th, 2010!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jay Gould May 7th, 2020!
HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY Leah Grondin Piersiak May 8th, 2020!
HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY Gabby Fatello LeBreck May 9th, 2020!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tony Zcabo May 9th, 2020!
RIP Kate Keefe's cousin from COVID-19
RIP Karen Evans 100 year old Aunt
from COVID-19
HEAL QUICKLY Jacko Keefe and Johnny Meehan!
PLEASE Keep longtime NH Surfer Greg Smith in your Prayers.
Congrats to Dee and Gary Ritchie on the birth of their new grandson Jameson Woody.
Lenny Nichols & Colin Madden
Co-Directors, NNE District
Eastern Surfing Association
www.esa-nne.org
@esa.nne.surf
Please
Support ALL The photographers who contribute to
Ralph's Pic Of The Week every week for the last 16 years.
** BUY a HIGH RES Photo
from any of the weeks on RPOTW.
Remember
my friends... Surfing Heals All Wounds.
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.
Ralph
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