Got good surf pics? |
|
|
December
21st, 2008 Winter
Solstice I know from time to time, I share with you all, some intimate details of my life and for the most part, it's always surf related. Or New England related. Losing power on the seacoast is surf related, because there were hundreds of surfers without power. But, we had a few more curve balls thrown at us to spice things up. Our beloved family dog "Scout" needed emergency, life saving surgery, to save his life. And being loving responsible pet owners, we did what most of you would of done. We paid for the surgery. And it was very expensive.$3,000.00 at Christmas was not what we needed. What was wrong with Scout? Well, he had a sock embedded in his small intestines. I kid
you not. And I'm happy to report that "Scouty" is doing fine. Except now, he wears a sort of Hannibal Lecter Muzzle when we're not around. And much to our surprise, he's been very receptive and accepting of the new look. Thank God, because the next time he swallows some clothing he's on his own. Merry Christmas Scout. This all happened during the power outage. When we finally got the power back on, I got hit with a nasty Computer Virus. Oh yea, Me, Mr. know it all computer guy, got hit right between the eyes with this one. I felt like an idiot. Beware of anything called Spyware Guard 2008 that has all the characteristics of a Windows based program complete with official looking logos and download prompts. What a pain that was. Thank
God for system Restore. On Thursday me and a close lifelong friend drove to Barre VT to pick up the grave stone, and drove it back to Beverly Mass where we had it installed. I'm happy to report that the marker looks beautiful. The VT company did an amazing job. The scumbags in Beverly and my family are going to small claims court. They may be facing other criminal charges as well. The company in Beverly is called Tognazzi Monuments. The company in VT is called Cochran Monuments. They are great. Tognazzi is not. Avoid them at all costs. As we left the grave site in Beverly, I thought about calling my cousin Joey Fatello. Why? Because he often visits his own parent's grave, which is down a few spaces from where my parents are laid to rest. He's an only son, and he really misses my late uncle and aunt. He's married and has two kids of his own and two beautiful grandchildren. Still, he misses his parents, and visits the grave quite often. I'm not
one of those people, who visits cemeteries on a regular basis, but I
do from time to time, visit my parents. I figured Joey would
like to stop by and say hello to my parents (his aunt and uncle), on
the way to, or from his own parents. I had every intention to call him
that night. My brothers and sisters were all shocked. I'm telling you all this because, I feel that I can share with you, some of these personal details in my life, because we're friends. Through this column, we have become some sort of a brother and sister relationship. I know some of you personally. I have met some of you in person. Some of you, have communicated via email, and some, just read this babble every week and go on with your lives. However, each and every one of us, has something in common. New England living and surfing. My cousin Joey was not a surfer. But his son Shane is. Not a hardcore surfer. But he surfs. He's having a hard time with all of this, as you can imagine. Joey was way too young to leave us. Please say a prayer for Joey this Christmas. His funeral is on Christmas Eve. I'm writing and giving the eulogy. I did one for his father and my own parents. Now I'm doing one for Joey. I'm telling you this, because Christmas was Joey's favorite time of the year. When we all lived on the same street when we were kids, we spent every Christmas night at his parents house. Merry Christmas Joey... Rest in Peace.
|
Speaking of Christmas. I really hope I'm not offending anyone by saying Merry Christmas and not adhering to the politically correct "Happy Holidays!" Although I do say Happy Holidays quite frequently. Because I don't want to offend anyone. But a few years back, I changed that whole politically correct landscape when a good friend/business associate of mine who happens to be Jewish said to me..."Do you know what I say to people who say Merry Christmas to me?" "No, what do you say?" I answered. "I look em in the eye, and say Merry Christmas to you too!" Perfect.
I mean really. What's wrong with saying Merry Christmas? Nothing.
Just like there's nothing wrong with saying Happy Chanukah, or Happy
Kwanza...or whatever it is you celebrate. This whole PC crap has
gotten out of control if you ask me. So stay tuned. GrooveMasters is coming soon... I've been
getting some favorable reviews on the SFOD short board movie GREETING
SEASONS. Thanks for all the positive feedback. It's been fun. Now for some casual National observances from last week. BUSH looked pretty good ducking those shoes last week. I mean come on. Surely you can agree that ole "W" got some good defensive moves. He looked more like Sugar Ray or Mohammed Ali than George W. I just hope they don't get too heavy on that dude. The Iraqi's are not known for going easy on criminal cases. Look what happened to Saddam. Speaking
of criminal cases...I was happy to hear that the guy who shot and killed
a New Hampshire Police Officer got the Death sentence. Not because
I want to see someone else die, because he will more than likely spend
the rest of his life on death row. (Now if he was in Texas, he'd
be more likely to get snuffed). But because this sentence should serve
as a reminder to the criminals out there. Bottom line. You can't shoot
a police Officer. I'm sorry. And how about the Celtics and the Bruins! The "C's" are close to breaking a franchise record with consecutive wins. 18 is the magic number. And The "B's" are getting it done every other night. My friends if you're a New England Sports fan you need to take the news of these great sports teams and use it to your advantage. At work. In clubs. At social events. Wherever. Stick it to em. You're a NE fan. Let them all know where you're from and what your team is doing to their teams. Like I said it's a great time to be a New England sports fan. Speaking
of New England sports. I hope some of you took advantage of this
FRESH powder and went snowboarding! The conditions had to be all-time.
Except for the lack of sun, the PowPow had to be sweet! Don't
forget "GREETING
SEASONS" is in the Shops. And "Groovemasters"
the first ever Longboard ONLY movie from Surf Free Or Die coming
soon. Hopefully by Tuesday, December 23rd. Check out Brian
Nevins canvas print orders for the holidays. See samples at Cinnamon
Rainbows and KB's Bagels. It's by order only as the pricing
fluctuates but you can order any photo that he's taken off his website
or this site to print. Please
Support ALL The photographers who contribute to Ralph's Pic Of
The Week Especially: Ed O'Connell, John Carden, Brian Nevins,
Bernie Baker, Jamie Wade, Kevin Doherty, Lenny Nichols, Chris Shipley,
The Phantom, Ross Kunkel, Bob Consentino, and Chris Thompson and
all the others who submit photos to this site. QWILL
is available on myspace.com/qwillmusic
Remember
my friends...Surfing heals all wounds....
|
|
Yesterday-
1979 "If I say it's Safe To Surf-it's Safe to Surf!"
(Above)
The surf on last Saturday looked green and clean. December 13th, 2008.
(Above)
2008 Today-Last Week in Lake Superior
2008 Today-Last Week in California-2008
2008 Today-Surf Scenes from Hawaii
2008 Today-Surf Scenes from Last Summer in Malibu (Above)
Seems like the right board for the Bu...
Today 2008 PARTING SHOT- Ho Ho Ho! Happy Hollowdays!
|