Gas Gas

…Or: NO SEAT, NOTHING BUT TIME

Nazare has loomed large in my mind since watching The 100 Foot Wave on Hbo Max with Clementine. Nazare itself was initially disappointing. I had an overly expensive lunch when I arrived where the waiter kept trying to do this upselling bullshit of bringing items to the table I hadn't asked for, apparently a common tactic outside of Lisbon. It was raining, and the shops looked cheap and shitty. I wanted to be back in Lisbon, frankly. My friends from the program were all doing cool stuff and hanging out, plus some drugs I ordered from a website that rhymes with schmeel schmems schmot schmom were waiting for me in a discreet storage locker.

But I was in Nazare, not Lisbon, so I showered and dressed, taking the funicular to the Big Wave side of Lisbon. I walked down to the lighthouse as seen in the show, and saw the awning advertising the WSL Big Wave Surfing Championship from January 1 to March 31. So at least I was in the correct location at the right time. I watched some waves break, and there were fucking massive. I was about a quarter way up the hill, and then I saw a jet ski. With two figures on it. Oh shit. HE'S GOING FOR IT. I frantically texted Clementine and Matt shitty photos on my iPhone. I captured this one of the surfer being towed into a wave:

It must have just been practice. They were the only ones out there. Chance and luck strikes again to deliver exactly what I was hoping to see. It was amazing.

Part of aging is accepting your limits and frankly the average-ness of yourself. You could look at this pessimistically, pining for the things you'll never do. Based on my Friday experience in Peniche, it's unlikely I'll surf much, let alone ever be a big wave surfer. Or, you could think of it like a sculptor, trying to whittle away what won't serve the final form. Will those kids ever ride a motorcycle like a fucking maniac while screaming? Will they make beautiful things people occasionally pay them to then hang in their homes? More and more I'm believing that you just have to find the thing you're willing to be extremely stubborn about pursuing, and just do that.

This is a go everywhere greeting card! Ride your motorcycle, have an adventure, record the adventure as words in a greeting card, send the greeting card, connect with other humans.

-4.25” x 5.5” card & gray envelope
-Blank inside
-Printed on 100lb Cardstock
-Made in USA