Truth in the time of dengue fever.

Yesterday, the surf world came together in order to mourn the untimely passing of Matthew Perry. The 54-year-old most famous for playing Chandler Bing on Friends had, earlier, roiled that same community. In his recently published memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry had excoriated surf hero Keanu Reeves. Even wishing death upon him.

“Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Perry seethed.

Reeves, of course, originated the role of Johnny Utah in Point Break, the greatest surf film ever, and surf fans took the slur seriously.

United in rage against Matthew Perry.

Perry, feeling the heat, quickly pivoted in an apology and removed the reference from his best-seller. “I pulled his name because I live on the same street,” he said. “I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”

United in forgiveness of Matthew Perry

And united in aching over Matthew Perry’s demise until details of his last moments began leaking. TMZ initially reported that no drugs had been found near the hot tub where he died after coming home from a pickleball session. Perry had, of course, a long history with addiction. He was in therapy fifteen times and allegedly spent over $7 million on sobriety.

So no drugs.

Except then his wonderful Friend’s co-star Lisa Kudrow speculated via a friend, “Although no one wants to believe it was medication – prescribed or not – of course that is a thought in their minds. They are thinking he must have taken something that did not mix with the warm water.”

So drugs?

The surf world immediately broke into two camps. One believing that personal matters should stay personal and not ruling out dengue fever. The other believing that honesty serves the greater good and an honest reflection of a life truly lived is art.

Deeply divided and reflecting past surf world traumas.

The last drop.

“You’ve got your GoPro out. You got a good selfie, and you feel good about yourself."

Masses starving for insight often look to the wildly rich. Last week, Reddit’s co-founder Alexis Ohanian attempted to provide. The 40-year-old delivered a keynote address at his alma mater Virginia University. The audience was likely packed with dreamers and rubes. Those hoping to get a leg up in this modern world by following in the path of the tech rich.

Ohanian, worth $70 million, gazed upon their upturned faces, their innocent eyes, and gifted a critically debunked way forward.

“The Surfer Mindset”

“There’s a really good analogy about life and business and surfing … Some waves come by, and you rip them perfect, and you are just killing it,” he said. “You’ve got your GoPro out. You got a good selfie, and you feel good about yourself. Afterward, you might paddle back out … and wait five hours for another good wave.”

The “waiting five hours” apparently the key.

“That mindset is the right mindset for a life well-lived,” he continued. “If you spent all your time on that board, just being anxious about the wave you just missed, you’re going to miss the next one. If you spend it just daydreaming and trying to relive that one amazing wave you just had, you might miss the next one.”

The Reddit maestro continued to share about “catching Ls” and bouncing back. Attendees, no doubt, taking furious notes.

Social scientists everywhere shaking their heads.

They proved, long ago, that the “surfer mindset” is actually a feral and stilted state. A small, selfish path reducing its practitioner to a life poorly lived.

An unbroken string of “Ls.”

A Reddit Ruse

Ohanian’s attempt to kneecap future competition should have been apparent with the “good selfie” and “GoPro” references. Alas, it is now a VAL world. We are just living in it.

It is a shame the rich man did not gift actual advice. He married the greatest ever athlete Serena Williams and imagine the game he played there. The baseline hammers, net charges, power serves. Etc.

I suppose he will keep the secrets of the “tennis mindset” all to himself.

A sad day.

The surf world is reeling, tonight, after the revelation that Matthew Perry has drowned. The beloved Friend roiled the selfsame surf world less than one year ago when he took a vicious swipe at hero Keanu Reeves. “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Perry wrote in his memoir.

Surf fans, of course, venerate Reeves as a saint after his portrayal of Johnny Utah in Point Break, which remains the best surf movie ever made.

The tribal furiousness at the bash forced surf fans to round on the man who played Chandler Bing. Protests were in the process of being organized, acts of civil disobedience in the works, though Perry quickly pivoted and said he was sorry.

“It was a mean thing to do,” he declared to a live audience about smearing Reeves. “I pulled his name because I live on the same street. I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”

Surf fans breathed a sigh of relief, happy not to lose Perry, and settled back into binge watching Serving Sarah.

Mourning, then, understandable when, hours ago, reports filtered out that the 54-year-old was found dead in his Hollywood home. He had come home in the morning, apparently, after playing pickelball for two plus hours. His assistant ran out on some errands, came back and found the actor drowned in his jacuzzi.

According to TMZ, no drugs were found at the scene.

A pure tragedy, then, one that will reverberate for some time.

Rest In Peace, Matthew Perry and thanks for the laughs.