Come be won over by folksy, Hawaiian-tinged charm!

There are three things that define getting older. Liking whiskey, liking horseradish and liking witty talk radio news and culture-based gameshows, the best of which is Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me on NPR. The show features a wonderful host, Peter Sagal, who may just be the wittiest/funniest man alive, kicking around the week’s topics with a panel of comedians/personalities in a sort of fake gameshow format.

Very entertaining.

And this past weekend, professional innovator Laird Hamilton sat in to answer quiz questions about bad moments in television history.

Before the game, though, Peter Sagal interviewed Laird, first asking, “Is it true that you are the most famous surfer in the world never to enter a surf contest?”

Laird responded, “I surfed in a couple when I was a kid when a t-shirt was the prize but I stopped doing it as soon as there was prize money. That kind of changed the equation for me.”

Who knew that? I sure didn’t. Very un-Lance Burkhart.

Next, Peter Sagal asked, “What is your job?”

Laird responded, “I’d say innovator. I like innovation.”

Again, a nice surprise. Innovator.

Then one of the panel comedians (who, truth be told, usually are not very funny) asked, “How do you get paid to surf? Do you surf a wave really good then someone on the beach comes up and hands you a check?”

The audience laughed before Laird shed some light on the issue explaining, “No, you ride a giant wave, someone takes a picture, it goes on the cover of National Geographic, somebody comes and says, ‘We’d love to pay you to get on the cover of National Geographic again.’ And that’s how it goes.”

A perfect answer to a dumb question.

They then all go on commending Laird’s bravery etc. with Peter Sagal asking, at the end, “Do you ever feel like you are in danger, that you’ve pushed it too far or have you moved past that?”

Laird charmingly said, “I feel it all the time. I think, ‘Oh here I am again. I hope I make it out of this one.'”

Maybe the fourth thing that defines getting older is liking Laird Hamilton because he won me right over with his folksy, Hawaiian-tinged charm. Listen for yourself here if you want to be won over too!

Still many more questions than answers.

There are still many more questions than answers about surfing great Sunny Garcia’s current situation, though it is now understood that he is in the intensive care unit at a Portland, Oregon area hospital.

The very first reports, coming out of Brazil, suggested his life was cut short but those have since been walked back. The International Business Times has reported that his hospitalization is due an alleged suicide but it is not corroborated nor is the source cited.

The World Surf League posted on its website:

The league confirmed “with heavy hearts” that Garcia has been admitted to the intensive care unit at an unspecified hospital amid speculation about his condition late Monday. The 49-year-old Hawaiian has won the Triple Crown of Surfing — which consists of three challenging events off the coast of Oahu — on six occasions, most recently in 2004. Sunny has always been a great champion of surfing, both in and out of the water. Our prayers are with him and his loved ones at this deeply challenging time.

Again, more questions than answers and many rumors are floating but the picture will certainly continue to clear up as the day moves along.

I spoke with Sunny a few times. His earnestness and thoughtfulness a revelation. One of my favorite Sunny stories was when he and Jeremy Flores teamed up to bring justice to an unruly Gold Coast scene. At the time I wrote, “Our surf world would be as boring as synchronized swimming without the likes of Sunny Garcia. Tattoo’d rage. Tax-evading awesome.”

As true then as it is now.

More as the story continues to develop.