Sunday, October 28, 2007

Getting Tumbled



For the first time in the history of the Marshall Islands Spear and Surf Club charter members Dan “Thinning in the Front but a Jungle in the Back” Caccavano and Tim “Take a Shower Already” Lane financed to have a word-class photographer to come out and shoot a surf session at the club’s highly confidential secret surf spot that is somewhere behind the high school rumor has it. The photographer, Joe “I Only Dress Like a Golf Pro” Fore was primed and ready to get some killer shots of the club shooting the curl and hitting the green room hard. The outing proved to be immensely successful as Joe managed to snap this little gem. It is artfully out of focus and Mr. Fore chose to use an angle that increased Dan’s prominence on the wave and reduce the appearance of the wave’s actual size (which was inching north of 20 feet to be sure).

When the club first paddled out on the frothy surf a crowd of eager young children spotted the shoreline hoping for a glimpse of one of their surf heroes dropping in on a killer wave and hitting the rail hard. Many of them had markers in hand to get an autograph when Dan and Tim resurfaced. The crowd thinned out after a short while however after Dan and Tim failed on repeated attempts early in the session to stand up on the frothy wild beast-like waves. When pressed for an explanation as to why they struggled early in the session, Dan had this to say.

"Listen, I am all about getting the kids excited about surfing, but if they cannot appreciate a good wipe out and washing machine combo, then they are not true Dan and Tim fans because that is just what we do,” Dan said as he repeatedly kissed his fingers, tapped his chest and then pointed to the sky.

Meanwhile Tim was unusually tight-lipped about the beginning session.

“Picasso painted masterpieces, Chef Boyardee made some mean spaghetti O’s, and Dan and Tim, we just get wet,” Tim said in a low mumble.

For the few fans that hung out in the hot sun, they were gainfully rewarded by a couple of slick rides from Mr. Caccavano. Tim struck out however, wave after wave, and so the day was Dan’s. Tim refused to comment on his lack of waves but Dan had this to say about his ever-present partner in crime.

“Some guys think surfing is all about riding waves. It is not. Surfing is in here,” Dan said as he pointed to his heart. “And that means that you have to mess around in the white wash and fall on your face a little, because that is surfing too. Any guy who goes out there and gets killer ride after killer ride without getting smashed up in a mean rinse cycle is no surfer in my book. My
Broseph over there (taps his heart and points to Tim) he is one of the best surfers in the world, because that is basically all that he does. I think that he falls better than he rides – and that is pure.”

The love you give comes back in the end.
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