I met Dana shortly after I started surfing. He seemed to be around the beach whenever I went out. Dana would be talking to some of the other surfers that hung out. (Burt, Charlie, Bob and, maybe, Clark; although, now that I think of it, I never really saw Clark around some of the other regular surfers who hang out near the beach.) Dana was a character. I always had the feeling that surfing was HIS life. I liked him because he seemed so passionate when he spoke, and he was nice to a newbie like me. I wondered often what he did for a living since he was always at the beach on Friday afternoon. However, I finally realized that maybe he just worked the same schedule that I worked and got off early on Fridays or didn't work at all on Fridays. We never really talked about that personal stuff. I suspected he was single, but, actually, he could have had a family, and I would have never known because that wasn't the stuff we talked about. He would talk to me about waves and where and when he had been surfing. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure I ever saw him surf. I always suspected he was one of the islanders who made it out before the sun came up and had the whole beach to himself.
Last week, though, I ran into Dana in the real world -- Artwalk in Galveston. I was in one of the galleries and we seemed to see each other at the same time. It was the first time I had seen him in regular street clothes, and the first time he had seen me the same way. We said hello. He was on a date. He introduced me to her and instantly went right into "surf" talk. Somehow, during the conversation, I mentioned that I would love to have a board in the 8' range (i.e. 8'4" or so...something similar to the Robert August I had used in Nicaragua). He immediately said he had one he was selling. He says he had 13 or 14 boards and was downsizing. He had an 8'1" McTavish that he would sell me. He said he would sell it for $300. Dana assured me that it didn't have many pressure dings, and he had only surfed on it a few times himself. He preferred a couple of his other boards for the Galveston waves. A few days later, I agreed to meet him. I was glad I did.
Although Galveston waves were like a huge "washing machine" on Friday, I met Dana, bought the board and went to surf on it. He hadn't cleaned off his wax, and he apologized for it. But, that was okay with me since I wanted to practice on it immediately. Fortunately, I had my softop "Iris" with me, so I had a leash. I realized the water was a little too rough to go to the outside on a new board (I needed to find my "place" on it.), so I stayed on the inside. Besides, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't too small for me. It wasn't!!! I caught my first wave, and every wave in the whitewater after that. I practiced turning and finding my spot. The true test will be taking it to the outside, sitting on it, turning and catching the waves while paddling. I feel quite confident though. Because it has what I call a rainbow paint design, I'm naming her Sunshine since rainbows signify the end of the storm.
"There's no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves." I accidentally discovered this quote by science fiction writer Frank Herbert. I don't know much about him. (I have since found out he was an education and environmental journalist before writing his breakthrough novel, "Dune.") But, I do like this quote. It can be read on many different levels. I'm not sure in what context he wrote it. I'll think about it again the next time I surf Sunshine.
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