Ride 'Um!

ALOHA!

:)

Click on the pictures

Ted Trimmer photo

"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine."

Caskie Stinnett

"Trees are your best antiques."

Alexander Smith

"Like all great travelers,

I have seen more than I remember,

and remember more than I have seen."

Benjamin Disraeli

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Some people are old at 35

Jim Rawlinson of Kauai is not one of them.

At 68 he works as a carpenter,

and he loves to surf Hanalei Bay.

On Monday he was in the line up as usual

when a tiger shark estimated to be 14 feet long

hit his board, taking an iconic chunk out of it.

The board and Jim were catapulted into the air

and the carpenter became a Paniola (Hawaiian Cowboy)

when he came down right on the predator's back,

riding the bucking creature for a good ten seconds.

Coolly, he decided to remove the surf leash from his ankle,

after all, the board was still in the creatures mouth.

"It was relatively calm at that point." Rawlinson told a reporter.

So he swam to the shallow of a nearby reef

where deep-water sharks usually don't patrol.

When he saw his board floating

he swam to retrieve it

and deciding "What the heck"

spent another hour surfing,

albeit as an instant celebrity to his fellow surfers

who had seen the whole adventure.

"It was quite an experience,

but nothing that should have interrupted what was otherwise a relaxing,

late afternoon surf session." He was reported to explain.

Jim described the experience as unfolding in slow motion

and one of being in "survival mode."

Boaters came by to take pictures of his board.

"Everybody was totally cool about it.

Everybody on the beach was was so supportive and sweet."

Jim won't let his experience chase him from the waves.

"I don't want fear to hold me back from doing what I'm doing."

Something to ponder. . .

ALOHA, cloudia