I can't imagine a more perfect last couple of days. There's a rainbow hanging over the valley between two mountains out our window, and it has to be illustrative.
First, I want to thank Pat. For suggesting we take the vacation, handling all the details (as usual), and for hanging out while I spent the last three days getting a many decade-year itch scratched well. I have used every excuse possible to avoid facing the fact that I don't have the body of a 17-year old teenage surfer. Over the weekend, I rented a very stable longboard, and paddled it out into 3-foot waves near where we are staying. While I could catch waves on my knees, my legs failed me.
Yesterday, a high school friend whose lived on Maui since 1971 took me to his favorite spot with a full set of paddleboard gear and the best helper attitude possible. So the problem of standing up after you catch the wave will be solved. You paddle into it standing up. But it turns out it's not so simple to even stand up and stay balanced on the board in the calm sea.
It all comes down to two ugly facts. I'm too fat, and my legs are too weak.
The good news is that it's fixable. The equally good news is that I think I now have the motivation to do something about it. I know how much the pleasure I get from the two sports that I have enjoyed the most (golf and surfing) depends on my losing weight and adding strength in my lower body. I also know how much my health and long life depends on it. A good friend of mine had a heart attack last week, and he was surfing at the time.
So my challenge is to make the rainbow mean something about my future. I couldn't have gotten a clearer message about what needs to be done, and a more classic visual to carry as the moment to begin.
To see all of the photos taken today, click on Tuesday, June 26th, Lahaina, Maui.
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