There have been many spokesmen for the sport of surfing, each one with their own positive effects on the sport. Some have had the characteristics suitable to be able to present themselves before the media, "p.r. men", as it were. Fred Hemmings, Randy Rarick, and Corky Carroll are a few names that come to mind. Other leaders of the sport, watermen in their own merit, have remained out of the limelight and yet are considered great, "classic", lending a tremendous boost for the sport's image through their integrity and gentleman-like relations with others. Here, names like Paul Strauch, Joey Cabell, Tom Zahn, and the great Duke Kahanamoku come to mind.
Yet, there is one individual, a "dark prophet", if you will, an
extraordinarily unlikely candidate to serve as surfing's "prophet": Mikey
"da Cat" Dora! Consider the following account by Mike Doyle ("Morning
Glass", p. 34):
"Dora had such charisma and style, and like everyone else, I couldn't help but be very impressed with him. He wore full-length trench coats and drove around in classic old Duesenbergs and Bentleys, as if he were some European playboy enjoying his leisure at the beach. He had graceful little mannerisms and expressions-the way he would touch his sunglasses with just his thumb and forefinger, like a movie star, and smile at you. Every kid on the beach was going around doing Mickey Dora imitations....we knew Mickey did it, so it had to be cool."
Da Cat, mysterious, shady, seemingly far removed from the most profound
aspect of truth or sincerity, nonetheless, and to the chagrin of some, hit
upon some profound aspects of eternal truth, while at the same time making
sure to get his pound of flesh! Barbs were thrown at everyone from the
military-industrial-complex to phony surfers and dubious surfing
"contests". Doyle continues:
"And Dora hated surf contests. He was always talking about how surfers were selling their souls for a few cheap trophies. One of his favorite tricks was to sign up to compete in a surf contest just to get everybody talking- 'Is Dora really gonna show?'- then he would never appear. Or else he'd show up at the contest with an 11'6" tandem board and just goof around on it while everybody else was competing, making a mockery of the whole thing."
Now Mickey would probably have raised an eyebrow about another "prophet", Bilaam, in this week's Torah portion. Rashi (z"l) tells us a little about the darker side of Bilaam, "....he was avaricious and covetous of other peoples' wealth ( B'Midbar 22-18)," this wealth to be used to curse an entire people! Yet, for all that, he admits candidly that "he cannot go against the will of G-d", unable to use his magical powers to cancel the blessings of the Patriarchs. "How shall I curse whom G-d hath not cursed?", is his answer to the evil scheme of King Balak.
The eternal question is asked: How is it that a man of evil repute and dubious character is subsequently portrayed in the Torah, seeing into the future until the end of days, telling us everlasting truths, serving as the herald of ultimate good fortune?
The Torah is telling us a lesson about surfing and life: to learn, as Rav Meir did from his teacher, Acher, a Torah scholar fallen into disrepute and decadence, to separate the chaff from the wheat! ( hagiga 15-b). Or as the popular saying goes, "Look for the good and praise it!"
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