Wednesday, February 15, 2006

I was alone, I took a ride
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road
where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there

Today was declared a mental health day

Didn't you get the memo?



It was my first day out on the new rig.



The board is longer, narrower and stiffer than my old board.

The new boots and bindings are stiffer and flex less than the old gear.

The entire rig is also lighter than the old set up.

What does that mean?

It is faster, more responsive, and snappier. All that stiffness makes for instant energy transfer. When I initiate a turn, there is no lag. Bam, right on the edge.

It feels like driving a sports car.

You have to pay attention.

You can't just tool along with one finger on the wheel.

But, boy-oh-boy, the performance.

It handles like it is on rails.

Daddy like.

Daddy like.



Right as I was walking to the lift, I heard someone call my name.

It was India's friend, Jill.

We rode together for a while.

We got to talking about her job in a bookstore.



I said, "I've always wanted to work in a bookstore. Do you like it?"

She said, "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

"I love books."

"Me, too. I spent most of yesterday in the gardening section."

"Do you get to read a lot?"

"Not as much as I'd like, y'know..."



"Because of the god-damned customers?"

"Yes. Fucking customers. Asking me questions... wanting to buy books."

"Motherfuckers."

"Motherfuckers."

Sigh.



We split up.

She had to pee.

I didn't.

She couldn't go like I usually do.

She's a girl, you see.

I rode in solitude for the rest of the day.

I kept going til they kicked me off the lift.

I got to thinking about things.

About the Nez Perce and the Trail of Tears.

About ninjas.

About Hermosa Beach.

About my long conversation with Leo.

About hiking in the backcountry with Will Danger this summer... maybe in the Crazy Mountains, maybe in the Beartooth Mountains.

About how cool the drive is down/up the Gallatin Canyon, and that no matter how often I drive it, I still can't believe how beautiful it is, and how I want to stop and take a thousand pictures, except the road is way too curvy and hazardous to just stop and hop out for a picture, and how I keep telling myself that one day I will take those pictures.

About how I will also bring a fishing pole when I go to take those pictures, so I can multi-task.

About how much fun India and I are having.

It's gonna be a good year.




I can feel it.