Introducing Chick & Hawk!

Social progressives have certainly been dealt a rough hand of late. It seems like only yesterday, because it basically was, that these United States had officially thrown off its puritan yoke, choosing to finally frolic in the sun-splashed, uninhibited fields. Rainbow flags celebrating the LGTBQIA+ community flew free, restrictive pronouns were abandoned, the Age of Aquarius in full swing.

Alas, Trump and his minions poisoned the American mind and, almost overnight, being “woke” became the worst of slurs. Universities quickly abandoned gender studies programs, diversity, equity and inclusion practices dropped hard, a pivot back to the olden days when the straight and narrow was the only path.

Emphasis on “straight.”

Well, San Diego’s Tony Hawk is bucking the current trend of uniformity, prejudice and exclusion by celebrating elderly gay men with his new chicken eatery.

Chick & Hawk, slated to open in North County San Diego very soon, promises to deliver on “the long-awaited collaboration between skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and celebrated chef Andrew Bachelier.” “Chick & Hawk,” the website continues, “is a fiery love letter to our community…. where passion for high quality food, next level beverages, and thoughtful hospitality will be translated through the vibrant lens of 90’s surf and skate culture.”

The sandwiches look absolutely to die…

…but more importantly, the fearless nod to “chickenhawks,” or as everyone already knows, silver foxes who prefer younger male companions.

Happy days here again?

Let’s hope.

Sworn enemies coming together?

There was a time in our surf history, and not long ago, that high school jocks and high school surfers were the swornest of enemies. Jocks representing “the man,” surfers representing rebellion against him. The two groups would meet in parking lots, late at night, and pepper each other with insults like “meathead” or “drop-out.” Sometimes these gatherings would take a violent turn, a jock, say, stomping the the bare toes of a surfer, and whole towns would become terrified of what revenge might take place. A surfer, say, spray painting the word “fashist” on a jock’s pickup truck.

Well, it’s a new day and while the rest of the world pitches further and further into polarization, the proud State of Hawaii is set to vote on unity this wednesday, marrying jocks and surfers.

House Bill 133, authored by House Majority Leader and North Shore Rep. Sean Quinlan, will be brought to the Honolulu statehouse floor to be voted upon by the 51 other representatives. If approved, it will provide $685,000 for each of the next two years thus officially establishing surfing as a high school sport.

Recent graduate Sunny Kazama testified last week on the Senate floor and told Hawaii News Now, “I see the money going toward coach salaries, equipment, any logistics they have to work out, and then any costs with officially making it part of the ILH or OIA. That’s where I see the funds going and I’m really excited to see it happen.”

Quinlan shared, “There were a lot of concerns about injury rates. We know from Maui (where surfing is played in high school) that the injury rates are negligible. There’s a lot of concern about the cost of insurance. The cost of insurance is very low. Surfing is an extremely safe sport when done properly.”

He added, “When you look at sort of the broader landscape of the WSL (World Surf League) and professional surfing, we want to give our homegrown talent every single opportunity they can to compete and thrive on that worldwide stage.”

If approved, Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green will sign the bill into law and the marriage will be consummated.

Are you pro unification or do you prefer enmity?

"It was one of the days where you think you might not go out but I had the music in my head..."

Very famous singer/songwriter Eddie Vedder and his affection for the surfing life are already well and truly known. The baritone is close friends with Kelly Slater, barrelled at his Surf Ranch and even attended the Eddie Aikau opening ceremony. Legendary lensman Steve Sherman was there, in 2006, to capture the moment and shared with Surfer Magazine:

To everyone’s surprise, Kelly cruises to the event with Eddie borrowing one of his guns to paddle out for the ceremony. It was quite a moment. I’m on the beach shooting as all the invitees walk into the water when Kelly and Eddie stroll up getting ready to paddle out, just then Taylor Knox walks up to Eddie and surprises him! Taylor and Kelly are super good friends with Ed, so this is a great moment.

Later that night Pearl Jam played a small gig for 200 people up in the valley at the park while security roamed the bushes all around keeping people from sneaking in , it was like seeing Pearl Jam at a high school dance. They rocked the joint with Kelly sitting in on the last couple songs. Kelly had just won his eighth world title and they presented him with a guitar with the number eight painted on it. It was a musical night the North Shore won’t forget.

Entirely wonderful though did you know Vedder did not hail from the Pacific Northwest and instead came to Pearl Jam via a surf-inspired song?

The rugged 60-year-old sat down with CBS Sunday Morning, not terribly long ago, and shared his origin story, doing midnight shifts as a San Diego security guard, going for a foggy surf, becoming inspired whilst floating in the brine, running home, pressing record et voila.

History made.

But where does Pearl Jam rank on your favorite grunge-era bands of all time?

Please don’t forget to include Melvins.