I begin this message with a prayer. A prayer that all of you, my Windansea Family, your family and your family of friends are healthy and well, and in the best possible spirts during these unbelievably unsettling and challenging times. I want you to know that each and everyone of you are in my heart, my thoughts and again, my prayers.
In my almost 66 years on this earth I have not, nor would I venture a guess any of you, experienced anything like what we are all going through at this very moment and into the foreseeable future. This all seems so very unreal and surreal!
But in spite of the insanity that is COVID-19 I know in my heart that we will survive and thrive again because we are The Windansea Tribe and so we will get through this and a be stronger for it!
Now, as I do have the Bully Pulpit, there is one thing I would like all of you to be very clear on. I DO NOT WANT YOU TO PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING!
INSTEAD, PLEASE ALL OF YOU PRACTICE PHYSICAL DISTANCING!!
Please don’t be socially distant, be close! Be close on your phones, be close on Facebook, be close on Instagram, email, text messages, WhatsApp, ZOOM, Facetime, Twitter, cell, landlines and everyway possible to be close. But for right now, physically apart.
I hope that all of you stay in touch, not just with members of our Windansea Tribe but with your other friends and family, your neighbors and even neighbors you don’t know. If you know folks who are vulnerable in any way shape or form please make certain they know you are there for them no matter where, when or what time. If you know any women living alone make sure they have your number and you have theirs and check in on them. Same with anyone who is disabled or elderly. Be the quintessential Windansea members I know you all are. Strong, brave, honorable and resolute that no one, messes with the weak and defenseless or your family.
It’s more important than ever to take good care of you, your family and your loved ones. Be kind to yourselves and don’t forget to be kind as many folks as possible. If ever there was a time to put aside differences of opinion, mend some fences or even a time for enemies to become friends, this is the time! God knows I have my own fences to mend!
The point is we are all family. Sometimes a dysfunctional family, but family nonetheless.
If any of you have any thoughts on how to help our members or members of the community who need help please contact the board and we will see what we can do to implement some of your suggestions.
Life As We Now Must Live It
You may or may not agree with the new rules now in place to keep us and our communities safe. But please do follow them to the letter, along with the guidelines our Governor and our Mayor have put in place because as community leaders, it is our responsibility to lead.
I know that not being able to surf sucks and does not seem fair, especially when our streets are filled with folks walking, running and biking. Nonetheless this is only temporary and all of us will be back in the water sooner than later.
So where are we as The Windansea Surf Club
As, I am sure all of you must know, our general meetings have been suspended until further notice. If we cannot gather in May, we will more than likely begin virtual meetings on some platform such as Zoom! The board will let you know. But think about it, how cool would it be to kick back in the comfort of your own home watching some of your favorite Mike Perrault home made videos of all of you carving waves and laying siege to beaches North and South.
As of now, all Coalition contests through May, West Coast Board Riders contests and sadly, the first Underground Triple Crown Spring Classic have been deleted from our calendar.
Our first community service event(s) may too become a casualty of the war on Coronavirus. Again, we will let you know.
What do we do in the meantime?
We can do tons of cool and creative stuff!
Club member extraordinaire, Mike Perrault, has come up with a way cool idea! His idea is that all of us should do a 30 second video of ourselves discussing what we are doing to keep ourselves sane while we are under lockdown. The idea is to make the short videos as fun and funny as possible.
I know all of you have a creative and theatrical streak in you, so come up with some ideas of your own and the board will post them or at least the ones that don’t involve breaking the law or … well you know!
In the meantime let’s take on Mike Perrault’s Video Challenge and start sharing!
Or if any of you have cool videos of the good ol’ days when we could surf, post those videos.
For now, my love, thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Take care of you and yours and know that we are all here for each other.
Like The Musketeers, “All for one and one for all”.
Bill “Brasil” Fitzmaurice