In memory of....

We would ask now of Death.
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day
cannot unveil the mystery of the light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires
lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow
your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden
your gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd before the king
whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling,
that he shall wear the mark of the king.
Yet is he not more mindful of the trembling.


For what is it to die but to stand
naked in the wind and melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to
free the breath from its restless tides,
that it may rise and expand and seek god unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence
shall you indeed to sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then shall you begin to climb.
and when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.


Taken from "The Prophet" and dedicated to Aeneas and Julie. All my love- sungod

The Tao of Surfing

The Tao of Surfing

It starts with the never-ending search for the perfect wave, the perfect ride. As some come to call it the "A" frame. Surfing is the Gung Fu of the water, the style by which someone chooses to live. It directs the way they think and feel, how they lead their lives, the life of the surfer.
Surfers learn to surf on or off the water. They climb the highest peak in search of a rush they can only fulfill on the water, and yet the water is within them always. The ocean is constantly calling them for another ride.
The surfer accepts the challenge and enters the water asking for so little but expecting so much. They paddle for what seems like days as the ocean bombards them with wave after wave. This game is not for the weak. But as we all know the surfer has come prepared trained in both mind and body and is ready to accept that which is thrown his way. Then before you realize it you've made it to the outside break and you sit upon your throne as the waves humble underneath you.
As the surfer watches his paradise beneath him he knows that his moment of greatness has yet to come as the oceans builds its power to present him with his greatest challenge. As the waves grow he waits and waits for the one to call his name. Then before he can think twice and quiver at the awesomeness before him he paddles. The wave must be his the time has come.
As he feels the board lighten he stands to greatness and witnesses the awesome power that stands beneath him and begins to tower over him. Yet the surfer does not falter for time is his, the world seems to slow to a crawl, as he becomes master of his domain. He becomes one with the ocean and together they create a dance that when witnessed by those few graced by its presence is breath taking. Here the surfer is truly in paradise.
Yet those who fall and are thought to be consumed by the ocean they so respect and desire are not lost. They are in turn given the greatest ride any surfer could ever be given. They are swept into the oceans loving arms and given the gift of the eternal wave, a wave so perfect that those who ride it are truly blessed. As was once said we must all return to that from which we came.
Those surfers that I speak of are never truly gone but always just a wave away. Watching the dance that we create. Protecting the paradise that we hold so dear. They are now the perfect waves beneath our boards and together we ride eternally.
This is dedicated to all the surfers who have been given the gift of the eternal wave and especially to my best friends Aeneas and Julie Hernlen. Who have not as some say ridden their last wave, but who now ride the best wave.

LTL DRG

RIPTIDE

Riptide


Thunder struck!
Darkness.
The tang of salt in his mouth.
The current dragged & twisted.
Froth bloomed from his lips.
Flailing panic.
Heart Racing.
He fought for moments.
Struck at the grip of nothing.
He stopped.
Which way was up?
He couldn't tell!
No way to tell.
Had his board hit him?
He couldn't remember.
Go limp.
Let the ocean take you.
Relax.
He would surface.
Then he could swim.
Swim where?
To Shore!
Which beach?
Where had he been?
Nothing.
Just pain.
Above his right eye...
& the back of his head...
Near his left ear...
Yes...the board must have hit him as he went under...
Was someone else there?
Had someone been next to him?
The tide surged.
God!
The pressure!
He exhaled as it became too much.
A stream of bubbles passed his lips.
Enough.
The choking eased some.
So dark!
It hurts!
When!
How far out?
Time stretched with the pain.
Pressure!
A whitehot line vibrated through his skull.
Salt.
All he could taste was salt.
Almost tasted like...
HER!
He must not breath
He MUST do this!
Breathing would drown him.
Hold it in!
For HER!
He honed his thought.
Fashioned stillness into a bulwark against the weight of the ocean.
Yet time continued to stretch...
He couldn't stand it any longer.
He fought.
Pulling against the cold mercury of the abyss.
Anger compelled his limbs.
No progress.
He'd chosen the wrong way!!!
Shift.
Glide towards the current.
Ride the sea.
That's it.
The trench had to end.
When it did he could rise.
His arms swept.
Shoulders and back burned with acid.
The salt in his mouth made him want to vomit.
For HER!
How long?
GOD!
It tastes like bl...!
He pulled until his arms gave out.
Then kicked until he went numb.
Too much.
He held onto his breath.
He didn't know how.
It had been too long.
It almost felt like he was breathing.
Just a little.
He could only move where the current pushed him now.
He was losing.
He was going to die.
Calm came over him.
He gave up.
His air left him & he fell into _gir’s jaws.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Quickening.
Light?
Could he see?
Someone grabbed him.
She was there.
Held him tight and pulled.
Up.
Light.
He broke the surface.
Ragged.
Screaming breath.
It hurt and soothed all at once.
Everything shined.

The sparkling cerulean surf cut a flowing line into the bone white sand. Wide palms waved above the niveous bank, while rocks broke through the earth like jagged knuckles. Emerald mountains beyond the tree line rose to the sun.

He could move. So he did.

She helped him for a while. Closing the distance to the shore with every push of the tide. She let go of him when they were close to it. She spun in the water, scattering sunlight. Celadon eyes flashing at him. He loved those eyes. She giggled from the throat in that way she did...

She stood in the surf, and ran towards the beach. Naked body glistening. He never could make her wear a goddamned thing.

He pulled himself from the water, through the sand, and fell on his towel. He looked back out into the clear swells...why hadn't he been able to see?

A deep sigh drew his attention back to her. She handed him something cold to drink from the cooler. He washed the salt from his throat.

She stretched her long frame out next to his. She had no shame as she offered herself to the aruluent sun's warm caress. Her full breasts settled on her ribcage, and he admired her bronze figure. Her hipbones arched from her flat belly, and gave way to her endless legs. Those hips that had sheltered Her, once upon a time. Her stomach hadn't been so flat then. She was his amazon. Why would he want to make her wear clothes?

He looked around.
"Where is everybody?" he asked.
"They're coming." she replied
"When?"
"Soon."
A shock of fear bolted through him.
"Where is She?" he asked alarmed. His head whipped around searching the shoreline.
"She's with everyone else. She's coming. Rest a bit."
He was tired, so he did. Dreams took him.

When he woke, the sun had fallen behind the mountains, and evening would come soon. He gathered wood set a fire. It was a small blaze, warm, with little smoke and flames that flickered pleasantly. He looked around and saw his fishing rod propped amongst others by a log, right near her blue longboard and his Hobie. The tide was going out so he entertained the idea of casting to see what he would catch.

Embers floated from the blaze like fireflies. Slowly, as the flames mesmerized him, whispers came to his ear as the sun set. By some strange acoustic sorcery, he thought he could hear voices. Rising from the fire, or was it the tide, or both? It sounded like people. Talking. Laughing & crying. He was so hypnotized by the sensation that the whispers began to sound familiar, like voices he knew, but the thought was discarded before it was fully examined. She was stirring from sleep. His consciousness encompassed her. His eyes swept across every curve; groped her. She yawned, and looked at him. Her eyes searched his. She laughed, twisted, and was on her feet in an instant. She sprang down the beach. He followed, dropping his board shorts as he went. No one would be here that soon.


Writen by Zack H. and dedicated to Aeneas and Julie.

The paint

I found some time this weekend to get to painting the bike. I'd been riding it for the last month with just the raw fiberglass out of sheer need to get my head in the wind. I've been tossing and turning about how to go about this fucking paint job. I finally decided to recruit bryan's dad in the project...I'm glad it did. although I've done a fair amount of amature work before this was my intro to auto painting with a spray gun and compressors and reducer and blah blah blah. lucky for me lee is an old pro when It comes to this shit. It was pretty funny when he looked over at me and asked if I had a paint filter. ???? WTF. All I had done in the past was go to the paint shop and have them aerosol can up what ever I wanted. So we found some swiffer dust gloves, the dry kind, not the ones with chemicals on them and with a little engineering had a working paint filter. After that it was cake and the color looked great. I chose the ppg honda yellow and It really came out great. Took about three hours for set up and shooting the parts. We'er going to do the clear coat next weekend and I'll reasemble the bike soon after. Also got the new headlight jenn bought me for my birthday installed, ultra-white halogen that looks almost blue. This had been a long rebulid, but it has been well worth it. Thanks to everyone that helped. Chris for the use of his shop, without which I would have neer been able to even start and for staaying postive and keeping the morale up even at four am. Cy for the long night of fighting with the front suspension, Lee for helping with the paint. Jenn for stopping the entire build so I could fix her bike instead. lol...
Scott, for consantly telling me it was hopeless and to go spend my money on hookers and drugs, and Tony for continually reminding me that life in gereral is pointless and even more so without a bike and offering endless tips on suicide. And finally to the Gay Steel Workers of America... " Keep reaching for those stars."