Surf's Up!

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In recognition of RDF Media's contribution to southern California's entertainment industry, the Ponto Pipeliners, a prestigious body of early California surfers (almost as famous as LaJolla's ‘Bottom Scratchers' [who aren't surfers, by the way] ) has organized the First Annual JYW Surfing Competition. The RDF staff is in a tizzy over what to wear until someone reads the fine print on the invitation.

"Woodies only. BYOB. RSVP" Eh?

Even Cathy Rogers, who has been translating American English into the other kind for the benefit of British members of the crew, strikes out. She thinks, mebbe, the BYOB refers to beer, as in bringing your own. She is too polite to hazard a guess as to ‘woodies.'

The invitation, neatly printed in crayon on a brown paper bag, is passed from hand to hand as the deadline approaches. A large question mark hangs in the air. Finally, with just TEN HOURS remaining, one of the locally hired camerapersons breezes in after a spare brick for his Okagami. Seeing the Large Question Mark he peers at the invitation. "Whoa! An invite to Ponto! Major do, eh?"

"What's this ‘woody' they're speaking of?"

"Station wagon. You know. Old stuff? Wooden body?" (‘Estate wagon,' Cathy translates. ‘Like a shooting brake.')

"And the ‘BYOB'? "

"Your board, man! Bring your OWN board, one you've made yourself. All those Pipeliners make their own boards. Jeez, some of them still use balsa... even a couple of Kamehamehas." The cameraperson breezes out leaving utter silence broken by the faint - VERY faint - strains of ‘God Save the Queen.'

The Honor of the Empire is at stake. RDF has only ten hours to turn two wrecks into a pair of kewl cruzing woodies (fully street legal, of course) AND build half a dozen surf boards, complete with tethers and skegs. And of course, you haven't truly done Ponto until you've caught a good one and rode it all the way to the beach.

Can they do it? No way! Oh, the woodies are easy enough. And the boards. Any bodger worth his salt can whip out a surf board or three. The real trick is FINDING Ponto! (No, I ain't telling. We told folks how to find the Trestle look who moved in on either side.)

-- Robert S. Hoover (veeduber@pacbell.net), March 10, 2001

Answers

Cathy knows what a woodie is, she has seen pictures of mine. Scratch built, currently living in San Diego, 1931 Ford, Less than 4 feet to the roof, drove it over 70,000 miles before we sold it.

-- JustJay-Captain- Three Rusty Juveniles (justjay@neo.rr.com), March 10, 2001.

Forget the woody...

How about a race to the "beach" with wooden cars (powered by V-8's of course)...

-- Dan Denney (rustrenegades@hotmail.com), March 11, 2001.


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