"Appreciate whoever installed it. It’s added some character to our favorite spot.”
Of the handful of surf writers working today, Florida’s Matt Shaw might be the most underrated. Hailing from Jacksonville, Shaw has penned fine works for The Surfer’s Journal, Surfer, for sure Eastern Surf Mag at some point, though I’m not certain, and has just finished a soon-to-be bestselling book on surf music. His latest, however, in JAX TDY has sparked wild polarization in Lower Georgia.
The subject matter is, as Shaw puts it, “a small, roughly 16-by-16-inch box was hung on a tree abutting a well-trafficked boardwalk leading to the beach at Mayport’s Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park” with the simple instructions to take a wax and/or leave a wax. A similar, if not same, concept as the little free libraries that can be seen here or there.
A fine help, indeed, for surfers who either forgot wax and/or accidentally have too much. The surfer who dreamed up the concept, and prefers to remain anonymous due the aforementioned diffraction, told Shaw, “I just cut up some pieces of wood, put them together and wrote that message, just to see what would happen. I saw it as a way for the community to show that they care.”
Many like, including Michael Fitzgerald, a local contractor who visits the park most mornings to surf, who shared, “I’m often ill-prepared when I get to the Poles (the surf spot’s nickname), usually missing one or two things I need. Appreciate whoever installed it. It’s added some character to our favorite spot.”
Except.
The wax box in un-permitted.
Rule followers and/or enforcers, including Victoria Albright, former manager of Hanna Park and current Oceanfront Parks Manager for the city of Jacksonville, declared, “We actually love that it’s there but anything that’s installed in a city park needs to be reviewed and approved. There’s a process for it.”
The wax box has been disappeared more than once but then re-appeared soon thereafter.
A sort of cool war.
Or, I suppose, tropical war during Florida’s summers.
I would imagine the official position of JAX TDY, or JAX TIDY when the vowel is stuck back in, is to get rid of the box in order to keeping Jacksonville clean, making Shaw’s expose and low-key support of the wax box brave.
But back to the point at hand. Are you a fan of “take a… leave a…” contraptions? Take a penny, leave a penny etc.? Do you take more often leave?
What does that say about you?
Also, wax? What is your preferred brand?
Discuss.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
If your not putting a bar of soap in that box are you even a core lord?
I do love a waxed box!..
Hey dogsy are those 3 capes near you crankin ? Is it worth a fucken big drive ?
What’s LATAM?
Clever
If in aus some young upstart would take all the wax and leave a borry in there
No shit
Oh I mean…. no wax
I might build one in Gracetown just to leave a massive steamer in it for the mugwit brigade myself
Leave the borry ON the wax….see who’s keen to surf.
can tell alot about a person when they’ve got shit all down the front of em
Any of you seppo cunts heading to the US Open this weekend?
You can definitely label anyone going a dumb cunt. That scene is a shit show set up for people that don’t surf.
I’d go….
Exactly. Ha!
I guess I set myself up for that one.
Fisher had a sick time when he went. Don’t give a fuck what anyone says about him cuz hes a proper funny cunt and I wish surfing was still like this haha get up em Fish yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew
Fucken hell 15 years ago. Time flies at warp speed
Scary ay
He took down his best clips
He just really makes me laugh cuz he didn’t give a fuck back then, like most Strayans and is almost like our own Ali G. The surf world and the world in general needs more like him back to just fucking LAUGH and enjoy life. Him coaching old baldy with that loud speaker is just fucking amazing but imagine what would happen if some cunt did that now only 15 years later?
Real hair!
not a golf fan m’self. oh my bad, did you mean the tennis?
I went once like 23 years ago. It was so fucken lame. I did see Christian Fletcher in the wild though. What a strange dude.
he’s just a surfvivor. the rest of the pioneers have passed. surfing lifestyle personafied. wine, women, waves, not in any special order. Nuuhiwa and Takayama were the best~
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Nuuhiwa was insane. Raddest surfer of the era. In fact, his surfing would still be blowing doors today.
I prefer stem to stern traction pads. And webs.
“The wax box in un-permitted.”
Land of the free, home of the brave.
Does Australia have HOAs? That’s another infringement on our freedoms in the US of A.
I have no idea what those are?
Me either. What’s a HOA?
Been hearing about those Flock cameras. Ughhhh.
Home Owner’s Associations. They do a few useful things like pool money and provide services (snow removal etc). But mostly they impose ridiculous rules like what color you can paint your house etc. I haven’t had the misfortune of living in a community ruled by an HOA.
” …ruled by an HOA”
that’s the spirit Sof. Teach these clowns how to write a sentence. I’m looking at you bexy !!🫵
😄
I’ll spare you my rant about Flock cameras and our rapidly expanding surveillance state.
Take a wax leave a wax kerfuffle could not be more Chas’ journalism wheelhouse. 100% sincere, I would read the book.
I would steal all of it before every session.
Nah. Just replace the wax slowly with soap. Teach Vulnerable Adult Surfers not to trust anyone who ‘surfs’.
I would pee on it
I’d put them in my bumhole !
Xox
Like having a “take a rattle can, leave a rattle can” box in a graffiti taggers neighborhood
Hey is Mitch McConnell dead ?
Xox
No, just dead inside.
after sortin thru the wax, good karma suggests one then finds a $50 bill and places it into the rattle can?
Might send the universe into a tailspin, but sure, why not
Every year my mother in law buys me cool water wax for my birthday in may ( mid autumn) and warm water wax for Chrissy ( early summer) . Perfectly coincides with the seasonal change in water temps. I used to get about ten cakes but now, with inflation jacking up the cost of wax, I get half a dozen each time. Still leads to likely surplus of wax and I’ve got a tidy little cache that brings me supreme joy.
Wax is a measure of wealth. The surfer’s currency.
Sometimes I look at my stockpile lovingly and would probably do a Scrooge McDuck dive-into-the-money bin type of thing if I could get away with it.
As someone who always has wax at hand, one thing you’ll soon discover is the character of those with whom you share a lineup. Some are givers and reciprocaters, even if it’s just an unnecessary offer , whilst some are take, take , takers.
I’ve got plenty and don’t mind sharing the love but sometimes it’s worth just playing these habitual scabby cunts a bit. Make it at least cost them a bit of their dignity if they are so keen on saving a couple of dollars on essential supplies.
I imagine it’s the same with smokers. There’d always be that bloke …” Hey, mate. Got a spare ciggy?”.
The wax exchange is a noble enough idea but I’d be giving it a swerve.
so who’s a scabby cunt?
sounds like you have never heard of , Sharing is caring ,LOL…….carry on swerving!
When on a surf trip always leave your host a couple bars on your way out. Its not only the right thing to do but also gives you some karma points. Win win.
Aussie version also has a shark trauma kit. Leave a limb, loose a limb.
The shark bite kit up near town here got stolen.
Just when you think that humans can’t be any worse.
Aussie version “Take a root leave a root!..