Ever been to a buffet? Most of us have and of course most of us know that it's a two pronged fork- get to the front of the line or sit back and wait for the second spread to come out. If you're patient and a veteran of many a buffet, you let the fools rush in. They create a long line bumping elbows, racing for plates, scraping pans for the last of the ribs and the cold skinny crab legs. They gorge on overloaded plates where their gravy mingles with their jello and makes a mess hardly recognizable as any one recipe. It's a circus act, hardly respectable for a self worthy individual.

Wise veterans however, the Silverbacks and the Alpha Females, never rush the buffet line, because we don't have to. What we know is that after that first rush is over, a second wave of fresh food is coming, no scraping or waiting necessary. Now that there is no rush and no line, while the first wave is at the table trying to make a mashed potato damn to keep the gravy from getting in their salad, the old bulls are casually taking their pick and loading two plates...one for the hot items and one for the cold items. You leisurely eat the hot items and then at the cold ones while pondering the dessert buffet, in proper eating order as prescribed by common sense.

Now overlay that buffet theory onto the surfing world. Are you a buffet rusher? I see it every day when the fresh faces "Just Off The Jet" (a.k.a. 'JOJ', but that's another blog post)... are running to get in the water as though the buffet has just opened. They sprint for every ripple and riblet coming their way wether it's their turn or not, wether they're near the wave or not, wether there's still clarified butter for dipping or not. Never mind the tides, burn't out sternos, the winds, no more mashed potatoes, or the building swell... they want every mother loving crumb of that broccolli cheese casserole. They rush the buffet line only to be find themselves over-gorged and wishing they had room for more...dessert is out of the question.

Enter the veterans...

As the JOJ's are realizing how sunburned and tired they are, while the tide has been dropping and the swell has been filling in, the veterans have watched the buffet getting restocked with hot items and fresh food. As the conditions go from ok to perfect, the JOJ's are realizing they've got no more room for Waldorf Salad and the Veterans are just about to eat.

There is a deep satisfaction watching the lineup clear only to paddle out and share some heavy moments and deep barrels with just a select few silverbacks that know how to work a buffet line. No bumping elbows or hoarding plates...would you like one lobster tail or two? Gentlemen and women who harbor a communal and patient understanding that were all going to get fed here...and after that, there's the dessert buffet.

Dinner is served.