Friday, March 14, 2014

Surfers vs. Surveyors

March 14, 2014
   On our way to Tucson today for the Tucson Book Festival. Big party at the Arizona Inn to honor Forrest Fenn as Westerner of the Year.

  
   Weston Allen Bortscheller inspects the cracks on his parent's porch

The Surf War
   A little-known fact is that “Surfin’ USA,” the Beach Boy's first national hit, broke in Phoenix, Arizona. For some strange reason, surfing and surf music was a huge deal in Kingman, and the early Exits’ play list was dominated by that music.

   The first counterculture altercations in our area were between the Cowboys and the Surfers. A big turf war broke out in the high school in 1966, culminating with a showdown on south 66 between the Surfers from Lake Havasu and the Cowboys of Kingman. You could easily get in a fight by not wearing socks.

   I know because I almost got my butt stomped for not wearing socks at a cowboy dance. However, I wasn't being a surfer. No, I belonged to this tribe:

 
Hangin' Ten In The Cerbats: Kingman Surveyors


"When rich speculators prosper while farmers lose their land; when government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures; when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible while the poor have nowhere to turn -- all this is robbery and chaos."
—Lao Tzu