Welcome to a Day with BA - Oct 2009
	My Old Home Page thru June '04 About ME [Bill Andrews] and About This Site More Inane BA Dribble [BlogSpot]    Site Map - [This is like a Table of Contents / Quick Search] Thank you- To the person who entered: BA into the Wikipedia - This is pretty cool too: WWA Contact ME If you're having trouble using the above "Contact Me" link with your email provider, please just cut and paste the address below into the "To" line on your email message: adaywithba@gmail.com "Yesterday is History - Tomorrow is a Mystery - And Today is a Gift..."

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Email to BA: "Hey BA, why do you call Little Dude Grandson, Spike?"

BA to the world: When my 3 sons were born, one of my best friends was Gary Keating - He affectionately called all the boys, Brian, Eric, and Kris "Spike"

It's only fitting that for the latest boy in the Andrews family, my nickname for him, is Spike, thanks GK we miss you!

Went to Twang at sunset and watched an amazing performance by Lucas and Ryan

Lucas and Ryan were riding slabs of Styrofoam -

Back in the late sixties and early seventies we used to buy Styrofoam "Foamies" or whatever they were called at the local drug store - they were about 6' long and actually shaped like a surfboard - pretty narrow though.

The boards had a couple of runners on the bottom and riding them added an element of fun in days like in today's photos.

Doug Moranville, Pete Almon and I used to ride the "Foamies" regularly at all of the La Jolla beaches.

Pretty fun boards, I'm sure there may be some still around in someone's attic.

PM Photos 1 | PM Photos 2 | PM Photos 3 | PM Photos 4

New camera on the way - whew!

Below photos by "MG"  Meatball

Enough about petty rodents, back to something that has real meaning - at least to me.

When I worked at Surfer Mag in the 1980's, the word "classic" was tossed around a lot - Pez's definition of a classic, as I remember, was "timeless"

Brud was probably too young to be remembered as one of the original WindanSea crew, and probably quit surfing too early to be remembered, unless you are over 50 years old or so, as one of the precursors to the well known crop of Brew, Rullo, Close, RK, etc.

In my world, Brud is certainly a classic!

From: Mac Meda Destruction's Web Site:

"Lewis "Brud" McGowan died in Hope, Idaho.
Details of his death are sketchy, but he was working on his car when it happened.
His body is being flown back to Southern California.
Mac Meda wishes to give their condolences to the McGowan family."

Brud and I became friends way back in the mid fifties.

He as I, was a goofy foot, and he surfed the waves in La Jolla at least as well as Butch - my opinion.

Brud was a pretty tough guy to those who crossed him in La Jolla's lineup, but on the flip side, he was a very kind and compassionate person to those who knew him.

Brud was a year or two younger than I...

Luckily for me, as a Shores Guy, 'cause La Jolla's surfing community, even the WindanSea Guys, had a bit of respect for those older than they [even as teenagers].

More than one newcomer to Twang hid behind me in the lineup [I did not surf WindanSea regularly until 1961, the year I was able to drive] rather than face Brud's wrath [they (the confronted) ALWAYS, as I remember, paddled in after the confrontation].

Of course that was the sixties thru the early seventies - surfing in La Jolla was much different then [for the better or worse?] than it is now.

The last time I saw Brud was probably in the late seventies or early eighties.

Brud's buddies, Jimmy McGrew and David Grund, had their own tribe, The Growies...great guys individually...but together, maybe a bit rough around the edges on a late Friday or Saturday evening?

I have photos of Brud, somewhere, I'm currently digging around for them.

Unfinished business -

One of my very good friends died a few days ago -

I haven't seen him in probably 30 years, but his surfing ability, and his character have left an indelible mark in my memory.

I guess the fact that he, as well as so many of my friends - surfers and non surfers - have left this world - probably before what would be considered their time,
reminds me that it's time for me to finish some of the deferred maintenance in my life.

I was not smart enough to start figgering things about what my life was about until I hit 60 years old - now 6 years after that - I have to remind myself:

"BA, you gotta finish up the things you have started,

- AND -

Most importantly,

Don't let the petty little rodents who irritate you with phone calls, emails, total lines of bs; those who clog the lineup and the roads, get the better of you.

They just ain't worth the effort - life is far too short to even waste a nanosecond thinking / worrying about them!"

Whew -

Last week I made an ill fated boat trip to Gilligan's Reef - Lost a camera and telephoto - thus no photos for a while.

Maybe I'll get caught up with stuff - new camera and lens in a week or so - in the meantime - older camera - no telephoto

PM Photos

In the meantime - here's a great photo taken by Doug Moranville - of - of course - ME!!

Whew -

Last week I made an ill fated boat trip to Gilligan's Reef - Lost a camera and telephoto - thus no photos for a while.

Maybe I'll get caught up with stuff - new camera and lens in a week or so - in the meantime - older camera - no telephoto

Photos A | Photos B

I can now - REALLY - understand the frustration and angst of surf stars when they risk their lives Riding Giants and their Photo Eddies only capture and publish the weakest / lamest ride of the surf star.

Yesterday, I defied death, bearing in mind that I am just out of the surgery bay, at Kob's - and Matt chose to publish this photo:

From surfinside.com more of, who else,  ME!

Normally, I am the total photo s**t, but come on Matt, I saw you talking to the Poodle Lady when I caught the wave of my life and rode it from Ladies Point, thru White Sands, and into Kob's.

Next time, I demand a better effort on your part!

Anyway, as always, thank you for proving, that at least in my mind, I'm still kindda relevant!

If you did not attend  The Sacred Craft Expo  this year, it was even better than last year's - AND - last year's was phenomenal!

Make sure you go next year!

Sacred Craft 1 | Sacred Craft 2

Thanks to Scott Bass and the rest of his team!

I am probably the last person one would expect to be referring to spirituality, a higher power, or...BUT...there really was something larger / more powerful than the combination of the people who presented plus those who attended the Gordon and Smith 50th Anniversary today at The Wave House.

Whatever it was - it was pretty darn impressive!

It was an honor for me to be included in the anniversary.

Thank you to the Gordons, the Smiths, the Ropers, and Team 50th for all of their hard work, and to Harry-O and Rob for keeping the event going at a brisk and exciting pace.

Thanks again!!

Whew - I took almost 3000 photos today - most of which were my usual out of focus, crooked, and poorly exposed efforts.

Too bad for your eyes [please don't even look at 'em] they're going up - regardless of the quality - after all - in my world - quantity trumps quality every time!

By the way, how impressive were the kids on the wave machine????

I think if I were even 50 years younger than I am, I would not ride that gnarly wave!

Wave Loch 1 | Wave Loch 2 | Wave Loch 3 | Wave Loch 4 | Wave Loch 5 | Wave Loch 6 | Wave Loch 7 | Wave Loch 8 | Wave Loch 9 | Wave Loch 10 | Wave Loch 11

Photos of the 50th - As always, about 50% of the photos I took were uploadable - so if I photo-ed you, and your photo ain't included, it was because the photo[s] were too blurry for even my eyes.

50th 1 | 50th 2 | 50th 3 | 50th 4 | 50th 5 | 50th 6 | 50th 7 | 50th 8 | 50th 9 | 50th 10

Menehune 1 | Menehune 2 | Menehune 3 | Menehune 4 | Menehune 5 | Menehune 6 | Menehune 7

WindanSea Surf Club's Menehune Contest 2009, La Jolla Sores, CA Photos:
Menehune 1 | Menehune 2 | Menehune 3 | Menehune 4 | Menehune 5 | Menehune 6 | Menehune 7

WindanSea Surf Club's Menehune Contest - Set Up and Pizza Party

AM-PM Photos