It was in 1970 when I got my first "Snurfer" that one event would shape the rest of my life. I didn't realize it at the time but slowly and surely the impact effected my thoughts and actions which has lead me to this point. We should probably start at the beginning and that give this audience a better perspective of how this author got to where is today. We had just moved back from Coture St. Germain, in Lanse, Belgium after two years since leaving our home town, Bridgewater, Connecticut. The reason for leaving was that my dad was taking a job with my grandfather in the hotel business in Brussels, Belgium, this was 1966, I had just gotten out of the second grade and we were moving. In Belgium, it snows in the winter and we had this great wooden sled that we used when there was snow, along with ice skating, it was in our genes to play in the snow. Sledding, toboggans, ice skates, skis, snowshoes, snowboots, winter clothes, that drove us through the winter. Anyway, life has its ironic twists, we left Belgium after a year in a Belgium School and another year in a Catholic english speaking school, by the way we were American Kids, Derek, your author and Jay. Jay was youngest and it was considered no big deal he would just learn the language, in my case and Derek's, we were launched into the Rik San Sarde public school, where we really learned self defense, we were the only American kids in the School. Things weren't really working out so we were leaving Belgium and moving to Florida to live with my Aunt and Uncle, there we were back in and American School, we got Frisbees, went fishing for Barracuda and caught some and eventually found out we would be moving back to Bridgewater. So where with this Snurfari start or has it already, its already started. When we were in Florida, we went to the beach alot, there were great tidal flats and one day we found a home made skim board, it was shaped like a disc, round and painted with marine paint on one side and fibreglass on the other. Once we knew what it could do it became one of our favorites action sports vehicles. Well as things work out that was a relatively short lifespan on that sport as we soon after loaded up the old 1960's wagon and were driving north to Bridgewater to move into the house my Dad had found, back in Bridgewater, Connecticut. We we coming home, I wasn't in second grade anymore and would be going into fifth. The impact of the Belgium experiment had already made its impact as we re-entered life in our old home town. I remember asking my parents why we couldn't move to Colorado instead, because we grew up Connecticut Yankee's and were stubborn. It was soon after this we discovered the Snurfer and with a life growing up with all the winter stuff, it was a welcome addition to the quiver. All for now. Another posting soon.
