Express egress

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I opened my e-mail Sunday to find that a friend would be on the water in 5 minutes. Well, there was no way that I could catch him, but I could head him off at the pass! So I jumped in the car and was off. Fifteen minutes later I was on the water paddling on a course set to intercept. Along the way I bumped into friends I almost never see, up ahead on the water. Then surfed the steamers rounding Hopkins. That's always a treat. Played in the rocks by the aquarium. But no friend. Unless he got a late start, he should have been there by then. But then, no, wait, there he was in the distance! So we played a bit more in the surf at McAbee Beach. Toyed with the idea of meeting our death rounding the rock under Fish Hopper, but rejected that idea. And then the rain began. That's what I miss most around here. We just hung out rafted up and chit-chatted, as the wind slowly blew
us out to sea. Then the skies opened up and it really came down. We parted company and each went our separate way, assaulted on all sides.