Thursday, August 30, 2007

Transmission Problems

On Monday night the transmission in my truck decided to go out. The auto shop say I need a new one or at least a new rebuilt transmission. This however will not be a cheap fix. So if you see me on the side of the road with my thumb up please pull over and give me a ride. This means Marla got tiered of wakeing up early and geting home late and kicked me out of the car. Thanks ahead of time for picking me up.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Busy Sorry

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. not much has gone on that Marla has not written about. Surfing was not good Friday. So when I got home I cut wood for the windows just in case Dean came towards us. I sure am glade it did not I need surf not water in the house. I hope you all had a good weekend and didn't have to much of a worry with the Dean stuff.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Article from the Galveston Daily News

Surfer cannot get enough of the waves

By Princess McDowell
The Daily News

Published August 5, 2007

GALVESTON — Brian Jarvis didn’t want to go to Hawaii. He wanted to stay in Maine, snowboard and become what he calls a “Maine-i-ac.” He pouted all the way to the island’s sandy beaches and palm trees.

A few years later, Jarvis couldn’t be dragged from the water. When he graduated from high school, his decision was easy.

“My parents wanted me to go to college. I went to Hawaii instead,” he said.

His business, C-Sick Surfin’, offers personalized lessons on Galveston Island after he learned to surf in 1962. He teaches ocean safety, parts of the board, paddling skills and how to identify waves.

But, along with the lessons, Jarvis tells little stories. He talks about surfing in the Carolinas when the area was underdeveloped and there were no places to park on the beach. He reminisces about surfing in water as blue as his own eyes. He’ll offer his philosophy on women and waves.

“If you have to choose between women and the waves, choose the waves because there might not be any good waves tomorrow and the woman will probably be there tomorrow,” he said.

He chose waves a long time ago.

As soon as he witnessed someone surf, he knew he was hooked. He still remembers the first board he bought, for $57.

Jarvis rode his first wave at 15, a 15-foot-wave that he said he wouldn’t have tried if he had the chance again.

“My friends were there and, you know, you have to do it if your buddies are around,” he said.

“If I was alone, I wouldn’t have done it; no way.”

He taught himself how to surf through a trial-and-error process and soon started showing a few friends the ropes.

He got into teaching after someone asked him how he did a few of his moves.

“As soon as I figured out you could make money off it, I saw dollar signs, like chi-ching,” he said.

Outside of surfing, Jarvis worked as a merchant seaman and would earn $5,000 a month working on the ships, then take a few months off to surf and spend the money. Once he ran out, he would find another boat to work on.

He traveled to places such as South Africa and Singapore, sometimes sending back trinkets for his friends.

“I found them little figurines from a vendor,” he said. “I thought I was getting them for cheap, you know. I sent them back to a few friends. When I got back my friends were all mad at me. Apparently, bugs were in them. I guess that vendor got the best of me.”

He finally decided to slow down his life after one long day, Christmas Eve, 1995. For him, it was literally a long day — more than 37 hours.

On a trip home from Singapore, he traveled across several time zones, including the international dateline.

“That was the wake-up call for me,” he said. “It was like God was trying to tell me something. Like, look at this, this is ridiculous.”

Jarvis started inquiring about buying a house. He had searched all along the east and west coasts, but all the houses were $100,000 or more. When he came to Galveston, he found a nice house for just $40,000. He also found his future wife, Karen.

He said it isn’t bad to stay on the island, as long as you have everything you need here and don’t have to leave to go to work.

He said surfing is for those who are truly dedicated and he is the prime example.

“I’ve lost jobs, I’ve had women break up with me, I’ve had family leave me, all because they couldn’t get me out of the water,” he said.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Lazy Days

Yesterday Marla and I spent the day doing absolutely nothing. Here is the thing, while doing absolutely nothing I had time to think. For those of you who know me when I think bad things tend to happen. (ha!) I have been trying to think of something thought-provoking to write next. I was at a loss yesterday but today my Sunday class teacher brought up a thought that was very interesting. He asked what we thought our lives would be like in 2040. So let’s see in 33 years I will be 58 years old and close to retirement hopefully. I hope that I will have made a difference in somebody’s life by then. Ill probably have grandchildren “Maybe you gotta have kids first”. Now let’s get deep.

How many times will I have the opportunity to share the word of Christ? I’m not a particularly savvy speaker or writer. Talking to some body about God and theology is not one of my strong suits. But I hope that in some way or other I can be Christ like to some body or in some body’s life. More importantly will I have been a good Christian father for my children? I hope that I can share more than my passion for the outdoors with my kids. But that I can show them God's hand at work in the lives of His creation. Will I have connected to my kids in a way that when they are on their own they can still have a relationship with their true father? Maybe these are thoughts that go through every father or future fathers mind. To those of you who already have kids or are soon to have kids I hope and pray that you are able to fulfill this great charge God as set before you. Remember this as you walk through life’s journey and I hope this will give you strength and peace of mind, as it is my favorite passage “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its self. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Mt. 6:34”

Friday, August 3, 2007

Today we Fish. Maybe tomorrow too.

First off Thanks to my Wonderful Wife for letting all her readers in on my blog.

Another flat miserable day in G-town. Can't expect much more than that for summer time in the gulf cost.(I still don't know why every body thinks surfing is a summer time sport, when almost every wear in the world sees the best surf at winter time but anyways). So boys and girls when it's flat what do we do? That's right we FISH. But that didn't go so well either with all the rain we have had in the last month or so the bay's salt content is low. That means the fish are not in the bays. I tried to fish the beach front but the current was to rough. So fishing was a bust. But for some reason I still fell that thing are right in the world again maybe adrenalin and surfing aren't the only things that give me the felling I need to get back in touch with the universe.

Let me propose this. Could it be just a getting back to nature and the basics of life that puts me in that frame of mind? If so then why is it that I or dare I say we as a human race have such a desire to acquire so much "STUFF". Believe me I'm the worlds worst. When really all i need is to sit and be at one with nature and especially the ocean. Don't get me wrong, the ocean is a one off the scariest places on earth. You don't know what is under the surface "at least here in Texas". But there was some thing about sitting there in the middle of a giant changing mass of uncertainty that put me a peace. All day I'd cast and wait with no result. No fish biting. But I went out not looking for fish but to set my universe back in order. So I guess it was a success full day. I think I might go again tomorrow afternoon.