The One Minute Farbringen

"Broken Hearts and Generosity in Nayarit!"

T here is probably no more magical place for a surfer to fulfill his dreams than "Stoner's", that paradisical point just North of Matanchen Bay in Nayarit, Mexico! Many have been the stories of woe as well as triumph from each visiting surfer in the area. Get 10 surfers together and you may hear the following: "insane Rocky Point barrels!", "we were bitten alive by 'no-see-um' bugs!", "the garden of Eden!", "a hurrican swel, everything was closed out, Stoner's was firing off at 6-8 ft.!", "those volcanic rocks finished off our oil pan!"

Years ago, Hal Jepsen's classic surf movie, "Cosmic Children", had a short cut of Jeff Hackman and Jock Sutherland long-boarding the perfect waves at Stoner's, puzzling even the most well-traveled surfers as to the identity of the "secret spot"!

In the early seventies, there were still "traditionalists" that refused to surf with a leash ( "dog leash", in the vernacular!). But even the most proficient surfer loses his board sometimes! At "Stoner's" ( as the name implies), you DON'T lose your board! But if you pull up into one of those beautiful barrels and get too carried away, well, it was guaranteed to break on the sharp lava boulders that lined the shore. You swim to shore, pick up the pieces of your only "recreation vehicle," and realize in a controlled panic that you're "lost in paradise"!

Stan was a mechanic from San Diego whose main claim to fame was that he brought two boards with him: one which he used, the other made "available" for the wretched individual who "broke his heart" at Stoner's! Stan didn't think twice about lending out his board, despite the tremendous potential for damage in a place where there were no replacement parts. The alacrity with which Stan happily lent out his board is reflected in this week's Torah portion, "Tzav". Offerings, we are told, were "commanded" to be brought with an "urgency, especially where financial loss is involved." (Rashi, ch.6, v.2). The Ktav Sofer tells us that this was so, especially in the desert, where offerings were expensive and hard to come by.