Remember
back in the day when skiers owned the mountain and you could
count the number of snowboards with two hands and one foot?
Now, evolution is rapidly opening peoples eyes and desires
to slowly make skiing an antique art remembered by many, practiced
by few. Well, that same evolutionary principle is happening
all over the world. For example, Communism is fading, Vuarnets
are rare and wake boarding is the rave. Yes, water skiing
will some day be taking a back seat to this versatile, raging
snowboard on water. Don't think this is some puss little summer
camp sport for the weak hearted.
These cats are out catching speeds up to 45 mph, treating
the wakes and ripples like a jib park, busting huge stylish
tricks. The balance of the shifty water mixed with the ever
changing tension patterns of the tow-rope make for a challenging
lift. Back flips? No worries, it's tough to break your spine
in 30 feet of water. But, can you ride it out? This is some
righteous evolution, bustin' fat under the sun, on a different
kind of mountain, on a different form of snow.
-Sonny Mayugba
Why I
Don't Skurf
I only have one problem with skurfing, and that's the big
loud and noxious motor that runs the boat. From what Sonny
and Broyhill tell me, skurfing is as much fun as snowboarding
and skating, but I'll have to limit my riding to snow and
cement. I hate to sound too Politically Correct, (I do eat
red meat and shop at Safeway) but the last time I checked,
our ozone layer is going and the smog levels in the San Joaquin
Valley increase daily. Those of you near the age of 18 oughta'
think about whether you would be willing to fight in a war
in order to skurf. Yeah, that's extreme, but a lot of people
your age just did. It was called the Gulf War. Sorry, I just
don't think that running a huge engine so that I can surf
a wake is cool. Especially when I can go out and skate instead.
Skating's just as much fun, and it's free too. No upper middle
class powerboat priveliges required here. Another thing that
I like about skateboarding and snowboarding is the sense of
freedom I get from riding. Just me and my board and some snow
or cement, with a little help from my legs and gravity. Broyhill
is quick to point out that snowboarding uses lifts that burn
gasoline, so I should quit snowboarding. He's right, but I
guess I have
to draw the line somewhere and live with my choices. At least
that one engine in a lift carrys thousands of people who then
snowboard down the hill. Snowboarding is like mass transit,
skurfing is like a beat-up car with a noisy muffler dragging
down the street. Speaking of noisy mufflers, what would you
rather listen to the sound of your wheels rolling down the
street, your board cutting through powder, or the sound of
an internal combusiton engine at 6000 rpm?
Most of you reading this are probably thinking, "What a sanctimonious
asshole." That's cool too, out of the 20,000 or so people
who read this paper, I'd be glad to reach 50 of you. This
is a small, almost petty, issue really, and I'll leave you
with this last thought.When I'm not working on this paper,
I work part time as a bicycle messenger. Between myself and
my fellow messengers, we do about 150 deliveries a day on
our bicycles. That's about 4000 deliveries a year, that if
we didn't do them, they'd probably get done in one of those
big brown UPS trucks. I'm proud of the fact that in a very
small way I'm improving rather than degrading my environment.
To use a tired phrase, think globally and act locally. Every
little bit helps. So call me if you want to go skating, but
don't bother calling me to skurf.
