Amigos…...

Oct 29, 2009

It looks like we have some solid numbers for the “Mustache-A-Thon.” The final count isn’t in just yet, but it looks like we’re going to be 40+ strong. I rolled to the North Beach Grill last night, did a quick run-a-round before I had to split for a lil’ bit because of work related issues, but when I reappeared a few hours later I was greeted with a packed house. I was stoked.

Thank you all for the support – for the continued support. I love you guys. This “Mustache-A-Thon” is going be a heck of a lot of fun!

News travels pretty quickly in Hampton. For as long as I can remember, there has always been that one crazy thing that I’ve always wanted to do but I never really knew that I would have an opportunity to make happen. Some guys want to hike the Appalachian Trail. Some folks want to climb Mt. Everest or jump out of airplanes. I don’t want to do that stuff. I have always wanted to ride bulls. Bull riding. Climb on top of a 1900 lb animal and hang on for 8 seconds. Cover that sucker. Some guys want to surf big Pipe, charge Maverick’s, but I’ve always wanted to stomp around in my cowboy boots and ride some bulls. Apparently, I have a few pals that share a similar interest and a handful of us “Hampton dudes” are flying to TX. in April to attend the Sankey Bull Riding School. Rad. Hampton is sending a Kook a’kai posse to Lufkin, TX. and we’re going to ride us a few bulls. Skydiving? Whatever…..

The reason why I’m mentioning this is because Hampton might be seeing some “odd” things walking around town over the course of the next few months. Expect to see a few guys walking around with cowboy boots (we gotta break in our ridin’ boots), cowboy hats (because they’re so @#$% cool), and runnin’ some strange facial hair. My good buddy, Mike Ricker, found it in his heart to make sure that I arrive in Lufkin in grand fashion by swinging by the house last night to present me with a brand new Stetson. I love you, brother! Thank you. I had my “before the stache” photo taken in that hat last night, and I promise that I will wear that new Stetson during my adventures in TX….when I’m not on top of some big ol’ animal wearing my hockey helmet. I promised Meg that I would wear a helmet. If it’s good enough for J.B., then who am I to argue?

Chris Shipley’s 2010 NH Surf calender is in local surf shops and I bought a grip of them to use as “Molly Fund” gifts. Steve O’Hara’s photo is worth the price of the calendar. If I haven’t told you lately, Stevie, please know that I love you like a brother. Truly. Like a brother…..

Cowboy up, boys!

Cowabunga…….

Buck

Time to rally, dudes!!!!

Oct 25, 2009

k

Wilmington event was awesome!

Oct 19, 2009

We have been home from our NC trip for over a week now, and I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to update the website. I immediately returned home and was swamped with work related chaos, so I do apologize for being so slack.

Chuck and Tara White had their lil’ baby girl, Elly, and she’s absolutely beautiful. I have been traveling for work, Chuck’s busy being a new father, but I think that we’ll have to work together soon and upload the photos from the Wilmington event as well as pictures of little miss Elly. There have been a ton of photos posted on Facebook, and it was just an absolutely magical day.

Meg, Kieran, and I flew into Wilmington on Tuesday, October 6th, and we immediately felt the need to consume some good ol’ southern cookin’. We hooked up with a few friends that night for dinner at K-38, had ourselves a “good and rich time,” and we made it home early in order to rest up for Wednesday’s events.

Molly’s paddle out was at Johnny Mercer’s pier in Wrightsville Beach. When I was a kid, and even when I was at college at UNCW, I used to surf the pier at night with my friends because the lights would illuminate the water and you could see well enough to surf. We had some fun times at that pier, and it was wonderful to gather with so many of our friends at Mercer’s in order to pay tribute to Molly. A special thanks to Dave Yearwood, my new board sponsor!, for providing us with some spiritual words before the paddle out, and thank you to Nigel for his beautiful speech. After we paid tribute on the beach, we paddled out for the ceremony. While I was paddling out, I tried to feel Molly’s presence. So many of Molly’s little pals were on the beach – their parents let them play hooky for the morning – and I looked back and saw Kieran and all of these little kids dancing around the waters edge…throwing flower pedals into the air. I could sense Molly on the beach, playing with her friends, because that’s where she belonged. I choked back the tears and said a few words to Molly…and then we cheered.

Believe me when I say that it’s just as powerful to hear 30 surfer’s cheer in unison as it is to hear 300. I was truly amazed at the turn-out. We had 30 surfers paddle out, with another 20 folks on the beach, and I had friends that showed up for the paddle that I haven’t seen since high school and college. Amazing. Meg and I had many friends that showed up in support, and I want to thank you all for making that morning so beautiful. It was, and still is, a very emotional time for Meighan and myself and it’s so comforting to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends in NH as well as NC.

The Molly Fund event at the Fox and Hound was insane! We raised over $8,000 in one night, and a lot of beautiful people came together in order to contribute product for the silent auction as well as organize the event itself. Nigel and Tracy are our hero’s. Meg and I can’t even begin to thank these two enough for their effort in making “Molly’s NC Bash” a success.
Tracy was Molly’s preschool teacher at St. Mark’s, and Tracy managed to lock down the Fox and Hound as the event host as well as put in the big effort with the event posters and spreading the word. Tracy did an amazing job and Meg and I are so grateful to her and her husband, Bear, for taking the event to the next level.

I always knew that Nigel was a rock star, but who knew that he would grow up to be a saint. We love you, Nigel. Molly always loved you, and thank you for everything, brother. Nigel and I worked at Burton together, and the surf/skate/snow industry is a pretty tight knit group. I am fortunate that many of our friends in the industry reached deep into their pockets and contributed some phenomenal products for the silent auction. I can’t attempt to thank each one of these folks in this post, because I fear that I would fail to mention someone, but please know that Meighan and I truly thank you for lending support to the Molly Fund. Without the support from area merchants, as well as the “action sports” industry, we would not have been able to raise so much money in one night. Thank you all!

The trip down to NC made Meg and I realize how much we miss our pals down south. We are going to be spending Christmas down south, I reckon, and I hope that we’re able to spend some quality time with our good friends because two days in NC didn’t give us enough time to see everyone. Now that we’re home, it’s nice to have some quiet time and continue to grieve over Molly’s death. Having the NH and NC Molly celebrations of her life certainly helped not only in our healing process, but they also gave us an opportunity to grieve with so many of our friends. We are thankful to have you all in our lives, thankful that so many wonderful folks helped celebrate Molly’s life with our family, and we’re thankful for the continued good thoughts and good vibes that many of you share with us each day. Thank you all.

I had to head up to North Conway on Saturday for a snowboard event, and on my trip up north I stopped for a coffee break. The lady behind the counter was selling March of Dimes little paper pumpkins for $1. You buy a pumpkin and write your name on it and then they hang it in the window. You know the drill. Of course, I bought a pumpkin. In the designated space I wrote, “Celebrate Molly”. I handed it to the lady, she gave me a little smile, and I was out the door. Celebrate Molly. Don’t forget to dance! Bless you, Nigel.

With love,

Buck

Sweet tea, grits, and biscuits & gravy…..

Oct 04, 2009

Chuck and Tara White are expecting their first born child….today. I just received a funny little email from Chuck and it looks like she (the baby) is staying put for the time being.

I am hiding in my “man cave” while Kieran and his buddy are upstairs creating havoc. It is a rainy day, not much to do, and Meg is dealing with the chaos of having two 4 year olds running around while I’m kickin’ back and reflecting on the fact that Molly was two weeks past due when she was born. I have been there, Chuck, my brother. Enjoy those few “extra” nights of sleep…..

Meg and I still talk about how Molly was two weeks late because it is a pretty classic “guy” story. I was all booked to go on a Burton snowboard trip to Argentina during that four week window when Meg “could have” gone into labor. I thought it was no big deal, Meg certainly wasn’t hounding me to back out of the trip, but I remember the day when I “came to my senses” and decided not to go to Argentina. I was surfing, paddling around chasing waves, when all of a sudden a thought hit me and I realized that I would totally miss Molly being born if Meg went into labor while I was in South America. I came home, sent a few quick emails, and I backed out of that trip. The next day Meg’s cousin, Ali, delivered her first born, Liam, over a month prematurely. I wasn’t going anywhere. Molly’s due date came and went. Of course, I could have easily have gone to Argentina, and would have not missed a thing, but Meg and I just chilled on the beach in Emerald Isle and I enjoyed those “extra” nights of peaceful sleep.

Meg, Kieran, and I were over at Dave Blatchford’s house last night for a big ol’ pot luck. Dave lead the charge for the Red Knight’s motorcycle Molly Ride and after party event in August, and last night they presented a check to Meg and I from the charity event. The Red Knight’s raised over $8,000 for the Molly Fund and all of that money was raised in one day. Amazing! We can’t thank these guys enough for making it happen, and Meg and I are so appreciative to all of you that took part in the ride, the silent auction, and the after party festivities. It is certain that this is going to be an annual event and I hope that next year we can top 8K. Again, thank you all for making this event so incredible. We are going to be able to do a lot of good things, and help a lot of folks, with that $8,000. Amazing.

We are flying down to Wilmington, NC on Tuesday in order to take part in the Molly memorial, and we are so excited to make the trip south and see all of our pals. I have to be honest and mention that it’s a lot easier for me to maintain my “fighting” weight without being surrounded by all of my favorite southern foods and sweet tea on a daily basis, but I am going to take full advantage of Jackson’s BBQ, Salt Works, and K 38 while we’re down in ILM. Meg, Kieran, and I will be staying in WB, at the Blockade Runner, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone. Molly’s paddle-out will be Wednesday morning, October 7th, at 7:30 a.m. at Johnny Mercer’s Pier. The evening event at The Fox and Hound will kick off at 4:00pm and run until 7:00. A lot of my wonderful friends within the surf/skate/snow industry have donated a ton of insane product for the silent auction. There will be door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, so we hope to have a packed house for this event.

It is appropriate that we pay our final tribute to Molly in Wrightsville Beach because she loved playing on that stretch of sand, and Meg and I share many wonderful memories of spending time with our kids at WB . Our good friends have put in a lot of effort into organizing Molly’s memorial, and Meg and I are looking forward in sharing some big hugs and beautiful tears with our pals that were not able to make the trip to NH for the 8/22 Bash. We love you guys and we can’t wait to see ya’ll. Sun brewed sweet tea!!!! Ahhhh…….

With love,

Buck