Back on the board

Using my new place as home base even though I'm not moved in yet, I was able to get out early (for me) this morning. No question that the beach is at its most beautiful and the waves are better in the morning.

I saw the guy we call "Barney" who's older and a worse surfer than me and we naturally gravitated together because there were few people on the beach. He really is a Barney. But he is one of the few people with whom I could hold a conversation on the basics of surfing and feel superior because he knows even less than me. It ended up being kind of fun and useful.

Slowly, slowly I am getting the hang of my board again! I ended up having to stay out for four hours once more just to get a few decent rides. And once again the waves were beautiful and the good surfers were ripping.

I won't stay out of the water so long again! It is f'ed up that my board took so long and it's not even done. For some reason the surfboard repair guy, F. (who farms his work out to B.) fixed the other girl's board first. She's been happily riding it for a while! And then he only fixed the rail of mine, not the bottom. He should have fixed mine first, don't you think? Was I being punished for doing the right thing and paying for her repair? She got a free repair and her board back quickly and I lost out. Now the guy B. says he no longer has time to do repairs and might finish my board someday maybe but maybe not.

B. saw me on the beach and made me pay for her repair and I had to do it, but really it's not right that he didn't do mine. I went to my house and got the cash and he headed back to the beach. Me thinking: why is he taking that much cash to the beach, I wouldn't. Watching from the boardwalk, I had my answer. I'm pretty sure my cash changed hands in a drug deal on the beach a few minutes later, the drug dealer being someone who has featured prominently in these pages. I shoulda just taken the cash and handed it to him. I could be wrong about this, but I don't think so.

After this I went and had a plain but adequate meal in the local diner which has mysterious hours. The patrons look like they've been glued to their blue vinyl seats for the past 40 years.

Such is my new neighborhood.