I often respond to a Florida based forum 2ndlight.com Well last night while going through the recent messages, I came across a new post concerning the apparent drug over dose death of Eastern Surf Magazine owners daughter, Chantal Dugan, 19 years young. This follows the death of Ryan Munson, son of respected shaper, Richard Munson of Quiet Flight. Ryan died from Oxycotin. Claude Codgin, east coast surfing ledgend and long time shaper, lost his son David in a drug rip-off. I was lucky, my own son recently saw his 2nd year of sobriety. For more than a few years I was expecting the same news of his death. I am far from the angel to tell youngsters to stay away from death merchants, but if you are going to party, keep away from deaths door, please. It is so sad to watch your own child suffer and those of long time friends die before reching adulthood. http://www.JimtheGenius@aol.com
I often respond to a Florida based forum 2ndlight.com>>> Well last night while going through the recent messages, I came across a > new post concerning the apparent drug over dose death of Eastern Surf > Magazine owners daughter, Chantal Dugan, 19 years young.>>> This follows the death of Ryan Munson, son of respected shaper, Richard > Munson of Quiet Flight. Ryan died from Oxycotin.>>> Claude Codgin, east coast surfing ledgend and long time shaper, lost his > son David in a drug rip-off.>>> I was lucky, my own son recently saw his 2nd year of sobriety. For more > than a few years I was expecting the same news of his death. I am far from > the angel to tell youngsters to stay away from death merchants, but if you > are going to party, keep away from deaths door, please.>>> It is so sad to watch your own child suffer and those of long time friends > die before reching adulthood. Jim, No need to apologize… often times, those who have danced at the edge of that open doorway, are also the most qualified to dispense such wisdom.
Jim,>>> No need to apologize… often times, those who have danced at the edge of > that open doorway, are also the most qualified to dispense such wisdom. AMEN! My advise… for advise: Saying that drugs are bad or evil is counter-productive. To a young person the warning sounds especially overblown coming from the face of an older person whom they can’t relate to. The thing to say is the truth. If drugs felt bad people wouldn’t take so much of them. Drugs feel good. That’s why people take them. But drugs steal your place on earth. You cease to exist. You’ve invited a manufactured utopian feeling to stand on earth in your place. From there its only a matter of time until the drug makes it official. Young people are going to belong to a support group which includes young people they can relate to. Make them busy in activities with other young people where constructive activities, not destructive activities, get motivation and support. It takes work and finness. Its not always successful, but it improves your chances immensely. Your choice.
AMEN!>>> My advise… for advise: Saying that drugs are bad or evil is > counter-productive. To a young person the warning sounds especially > overblown coming from the face of an older person whom they can’t relate > to.>>> The thing to say is the truth. If drugs felt bad people wouldn’t take so > much of them. Drugs feel good. That’s why people take them. But drugs > steal your place on earth. You cease to exist. You’ve invited a > manufactured utopian feeling to stand on earth in your place.>>> From there its only a matter of time until the drug makes it official.>>> Young people are going to belong to a support group which includes young > people they can relate to. Make them busy in activities with other young > people where constructive activities, not destructive activities, get > motivation and support.>>> It takes work and finness. Its not always successful, but it improves your > chances immensely. Your choice. One of life
s great ironies, assuming you live long enough to see it, is that there are a number of things that seem to be absolutely fantastic at the outset, yet the inevitable conclusion is death. In contrast, there are many other pursuits that look like a real pain in the early stages, demanding personal sacrifice, boring labor, endless discipline and study... yet bring increasing degrees of satisfaction and profit throughout ones existance… life is vastly different seen from the other side of youth… go figure.
Noodle your advise is dead on. That is all I heard when I was a kid “Drugs are bad, they will mess up your life” so on and so on. As I got older “junior high-high school” everyone I knew was doing them. I felt like I had been lied to and was missing out on something. After all everyone around me that is doing them is not freaking out and seems like they have got it together. What I did not understand until I walked down that road is that you can’t tell what kind of impact it has on your life until you hit that sudden moment of clarity. Some people never hit that moment and just keep on down the road to destruction. If someone would have told me straight up what was what, instead of the generalizing “just say no, bullshit”, it would have saved me so much pain and money in my life. I will be straight up with my kids, no matter how embarassed it may make me feel, in order to maybe save them some of the heartache I went through.
One of life
s great ironies, assuming you live long enough to see it, is > that there are a number of things that seem to be absolutely fantastic at > the outset, yet the inevitable conclusion is death.>>> In contrast, there are many other pursuits that look like a real pain in > the early stages, demanding personal sacrifice, boring labor, endless > discipline and study... yet bring increasing degrees of satisfaction and > profit throughout ones existance… life is vastly different seen from > the other side of youth… go figure. and, as life would have it, this is one of the most difficult ideas to get across to kids and teenagers.
A smart man learns from his own mistakes…a WISE man from the mistakes of others. Unfortunately, many “young ones” believe they are all-knowing already, and thus, as Jim implied, think they are invicible. No matter how you put it to them, and no matter how “cool” you are about it, sometimes they feel they are in control and there is no need to listen… At least that’s how I was. So I think it’s just a matter of what and who they choose to surround themselves with. But all in all, after a certain age, we all make our own choices… and that’s the determining fact of life. I’m just glad I somehow had an experience that prompted me to begin making the right choices and find a way out of that stuff. There was definitely a greater power at work there. At least I saved a FEW brain cells.
I think surfers and the industry (particularly magazine and video producers) need to think about some of the messages they send to young people – way too much reference to excess. Kids have plenty of pressure on them when it comes to this sort of thing – I suggest we as a group, need to do a better job of being part of the solution. Shine http://users.leading.net/~shine
Rock on Shine…im with you bro.>>> I think surfers and the industry (particularly magazine and video > producers) need to think about some of the messages they send to young > people – way too much reference to excess. Kids have plenty of pressure > on them when it comes to this sort of thing – I suggest we as a group, > need to do a better job of being part of the solution.>>> Shine
I will be straight up with my kids, no matter how embarassed it may make > me feel, in order to maybe save them some of the heartache I went through. Mike, Be careful. If you concentrate on telling your kids “I did it”, they will tend not to hear the message which follows. Kids have this colossal hypocrisy detector which they use to rationalize doing every self destructive activity which they catch any adult doing. The message they hear is “He did it. Why can’t I do it?” Confessing this kind of thing to your kids can make you feel good, but may have a negative effect on your kids. Truth about how things work is good. Confession can be bad. Use experience wisely around kids. …just my opinion.
Any expert will tell you that NO drug is Bad or evil.It’s a social problem.Drugs are like firearms they serve their purpose,if used wisely they can maintain,and SAVE LIVES.UNFORTUNEATELY,there are those who choose to ABUSE drugs,booze,cars,guns,sex,and just about everything that gets in there path.I grew up in the 60s ,and 70s ,I lost more friends and aquintances from ABUSE than my dog has hairs. I work within the medical field and see both sides of the coin EVERYDAY!If our society willnot change,and to address the issue of abuse,the PROBLEM is not going to go away! Talk with your children the Best you can,seek advise on how to do that,get involved in there lives,don’t assume that everything is going great,look for signs of abuse,get help if needed. AND HELP STAMP OUT LIFE ABUSE!!!Herb.
In contrast, there are many other pursuits that look like a real pain in > the early stages, demanding personal sacrifice, boring labor, endless > discipline and study… yet bring increasing degrees of satisfaction and > profit throughout one`s existance… life is vastly different seen from > the other side of youth… go figure. This must have caught me at an odd moment…so I’ll hold back the weirdness and keep it on topic. I put a lot of blame in our little town on the surf magazines and surf “industry” for historically never acknowledging the notion of death. It was years before I found out Van Artsdalen drank himself to death - I’d seen him lifeguarding and assumed he was pretty healthy. I never found out what happened to Bruce Valluzzi or Steve Sakamoto. I’m sure there were others. Recent years have seen both LONGBOARDING and SURFER’S JOURNAL actually telling the truth about how a lot of people wound up. It paints a bad image of drugs without preaching. I’m stunned how many guys I looked up to when I was high school age have gone to prison or worse because of drugs. Maybe a good way to communicate that to kids would be to give them subscriptions and let them see where it can get them. On the other hand, you know you really are an adult when you don’t even know anybody who sells drugs anymore.
Mike, Be careful. If you concentrate on telling your kids “I did > it”, they will tend not to hear the message which follows.>>> Kids have this colossal hypocrisy detector which they use to rationalize > doing every self destructive activity which they catch any adult doing.>>> The message they hear is “He did it. Why can’t I do it?” > Confessing this kind of thing to your kids can make you feel good, but may > have a negative effect on your kids.>>> Truth about how things work is good. Confession can be bad. Use experience > wisely around kids.>>> …just my opinion. My little brother earned a full ride (academic) to UF. In addition to being a gifted musician he is also blessed with this ability to enjoy Physics – go figure. Anyway two years ago he called me up to ask me about LSD use. We had spoken about pot two years prior and I gave him the choice rather than be the judgemental older brother. However this query left me quite worried for my bro and I was on the horns of a dilema on the best method to discuss and hopefully dissuade him from making a mistake. I told him about my experiences and the problems that followed from using something just as hard. We spoke of the long term consequences and I e-mailed him some succint information on the medical research of this particular form of abuse. Long story short, he decided it wasn’t for him. He was then offered a summer gig as the guitar wrangler for Ingve Malmsteen and made a good impression on several others while on that tour with his restraint when it came to certain substances. He is back in session and will probably go to Berkley(sp?) or Stanford for graduate school. Yeah, Physics, what a freak! ------------------------------ Funny thing is sometimes we don’t even realize how much influence we may have on a fellow human being (related or not). You are all mentors to someone. Keep an eye out for that someone. What you do for yourself disappears with your passing. What you do for others remains as your legacy and the ripples may be felt forever. OK, I’m off of my soapbox.
Rock on Shine…im with you bro. Shine et al, I’ve always felt the entire sport/industry turned the proverbial blind eye to the quote, “Modern surfboard guru”. It has been common knowlege of his usage and addiction for 30 years, but it is biz’ as usual. “Well, you know it’s him, what can I say”, “he’s had problems in his life”. I’ve always told my pals, if they ever hear of me screwing up like that, I want one of their size tens up my butt. It certainly is not the legacy I want for my children to know of me. http://www.JimtheGenius@aol.com
My little brother earned a full ride (academic) to UF. In addition to > being a gifted musician he is also blessed with this ability to enjoy > Physics – go figure. Anyway two years ago he called me up to ask me about > LSD use. We had spoken about pot two years prior and I gave him the choice > rather than be the judgemental older brother. However this query left me > quite worried for my bro and I was on the horns of a dilema on the best > method to discuss and hopefully dissuade him from making a mistake. I told > him about my experiences and the problems that followed from using > something just as hard. We spoke of the long term consequences and I > e-mailed him some succint information on the medical research of this > particular form of abuse. Long story short, he decided it wasn’t for him. > He was then offered a summer gig as the guitar wrangler for Ingve > Malmsteen and made a good impression on several others while on that tour > with his restraint when it came to certain substances. He is back in > session and will probably go to Berkley(sp?) or Stanford for graduate > school. Yeah, Physics, what a freak!>>> ------------------------------ Funny thing > is sometimes we don’t even realize how much influence we may have on a > fellow human being (related or not). You are all mentors to someone. Keep > an eye out for that someone. What you do for yourself disappears with your > passing. What you do for others remains as your legacy and the ripples may > be felt forever. OK, I’m off of my soapbox. Although they (and we) often despise black and white answers to many of life
s questions, most of the kids Ive known will ultimately grant respect and obedience if youre not a complete hypocrite, and actually find satisfaction and security in a role model who can offer a reasoned, yet firm, yes or no. In their rush to grow up, kids dont see that the consequences of bad, adult decisions are often far quicker, more impersonal and severe than they would be as children living at home. But, introduce them to the ocean and surfing at an early age, and they`ll learn invaluable pass or fail skills, metaphors that will likely echo for the rest of their lives.
Mike, Be careful. If you concentrate on telling your kids “I did > it”, they will tend not to hear the message which follows.>>> Kids have this colossal hypocrisy detector which they use to rationalize > doing every self destructive activity which they catch any adult doing.>>> The message they hear is “He did it. Why can’t I do it?” > Confessing this kind of thing to your kids can make you feel good, but may > have a negative effect on your kids.>>> Truth about how things work is good. Confession can be bad. Use experience > wisely around kids.>>> …just my opinion. Noodle, I agree. We were fortunate whereas my wife could be a stay @ home Mom.Our daughters are now adults, 23 & 28, educated and on their own. My wife put a tremendous amount of effort into knowing who their friends were and more importantly who the parents were. If she was ever leary of their friends, in a very nice way, she would make sure that they stayed clear. In my case, I was also heading down the wrong path @ the tender age of 18, thats when we met and was also that 60’s era. If she hadn’t come into my life @ that time, who know’s, maybe dead, maybe jail. Fred’s famous word’s @ the alter, she was 21 going on 41, Me I was 20, going on 15.She said I do and became a mother from that day forward. Condolences too those families, who lost their children. Peace, R.I. surfer
Here but for the grace of God go you and I.
hey dale, i’m 18, so i know what you’re talking about (the way young people see adults saying “dont do drugs” and what not). i completely agree with you, it is seen from an entirely different perspective. however, i’m proud to say i havent tried any drugs yet and i dont plan on it. reasons being: 1) not interested, 2) i dont want to do anything which could possibly jeapordize my ability to surf, or to live for that matter. anyway, so everyone knows, there are some young people out there who have wisened up and realize they don’t need chemicals which provided limited and false happiness to live a good and happy life.
i know this is totally politically incorrect, but have any of you guys taken away anything positve from your drug use? i know for me some early experiences with some psychedelics did play a role in opening my mind to alternate ways of living your life, which lead to a pursuit of art as a career, as well as 12+ years of traveling the U.S. and beyond rockclimbing, as well as of course surfing. all to the early dismay of my parents…“how are you gonna make any money hanging off the side of some cliff?”…“surfing some wave?”…“when are you gonna grow up?”…etc. i’m happy to say i own my own business now teaching art, surf almost every morning, and while i don’t climb much anymore, achieved most of the goals i set for myself in that area. i was lucky to find those life-affirming pursuits, which led to a desire for health and fitness and a love of life. some of my friends from that time w/out those interests are still trying pull out of it. i hate to see anyone abuse anything, except maybe a wave, but for me those early experiences with altered states allowed me to see my life as my own, and the only way to find happiness is to follow it…
i know this is totally politically incorrect, but have any of you guys > taken away anything positve from your drug use? i know for me some early > experiences with some psychedelics did play a role in opening my mind to > alternate ways of living your life, which lead to a pursuit of art as a > career, as well as 12+ years of traveling the U.S. and beyond > rockclimbing, as well as of course surfing. all to the early dismay of my > parents…“how are you gonna make any money hanging off the side of > some cliff?”…“surfing some wave?”…“when are > you gonna grow up?”…etc. i’m happy to say i own my own business > now teaching art, surf almost every morning, and while i don’t climb much > anymore, achieved most of the goals i set for myself in that area. i was > lucky to find those life-affirming pursuits, which led to a desire for > health and fitness and a love of life. some of my friends from that time > w/out those interests are still trying pull out of it. i hate to see > anyone abuse anything, except maybe a wave, but for me those early > experiences with altered states allowed me to see my life as my own, and > the only way to find happiness is to follow it… it was Ken Kesey who said you either star in your own movie or you just play a role in someone else’s…