I'm on my way back to the condo, from Safeway, with groceries. When Eric
Moltstat, George McLean, and Bart Vervloet all say it's going to be windless, you
do those trivial things like gather sustenance. So, I decide to swing
by Bart's shop to say hi.
As I drive by, there's an old plastic Tiga trifin outside the front door with
a sign on it that says "WILL TRADE FOR FOOD". With a chuckle,
I pull into the Windermere Real Estate parking lot and grab a couple of cold
Granny Smiths from the grocery bag.
“ Hi Bartâ€ÂÂ, I hand him one of the apples. For a second, he’s confused,
then he laughs and says, “hey it’s even coldâ€ÂÂ. We bite in. It’s a fine
sunny morning and a tasty cold apple.
“I guess the board is yoursâ€ÂÂ, he says. “ I already have too many boards ,â€ÂÂ
says I. This launches into a brief conversation about how there’s nothing
wrong with a plastic board and how this old design is strikingly similar to
a modern Open Ocean, Realwind, or HiTech trifin (I own one of the HiTechs).
A motorcycle pulls to the curb next to us.
It’s a wild looking bike with faring that looks like fins and gills on a piranha.
The rider looks like he’s been dipped in leather, except for the black helmet and
face plate, which, when removed, reveals an equally wild curly black mane.
His name is also Craig, and the discussion turns to sport bikes, twisty back roads,
and high speed slides, of which this guy has obviously seen a few. I like him
immediately. Then a Harley pulls up.
“Hi Moeâ€ÂÂ, says Bart, and then turning to me, “Craig, you know Moe Dixon, don’t you?â€ÂÂ
I notice my jaw has popped open so I close it. A man my age should be cooler about
meeting someone whose music has come so close to his core. I remember thinking
I’d never hear Moe play live with the Ultronz, and then just happening into it at the
Windance 20 year anniversary (a whole other story in itself). I try not to appear awestruck as Bart introduces us, but it turns out Moe is just a regular guy who
writes and plays music for a living (a little like Joe Walsh).
A discussion ensues about protecting his hands, and head, and therefore his livelihood,
because Moe isn’t wearing any protection today. This turns to a discussion of getting
Warren Miller productions to pay for all his contract work, and my mouth pops open
again, but Moe is totally guileless, and I’m quickly made comfortable in the conversation.
A customer comes into the shop.
We three loiterers bid Bart a quick farewell as he tends his business. I wander back to
my van bathed in the experience. Yes, it’s just a regular no wind day…………in Hood River.