the Atlanta Boardsailing Club
windsurfing, kiteboarding and wingsurfing in the Southeast

Jiminy Cricket pays attention to the probability of participation. (Say that three times fast)

Gene Kelly didn't care if it rained.

Crickets have been on our minds recently. Of course, January isn't typically a month one associates with insects in the Northern Hemisphere. But, for a couple of reasons, we've been thinking about them lately.

Of course, mentioning cricket(s) is a bit of a litmus test for English speakers. We, here in the southern US, immediately think of their chirping sound (God forbid one should get in your bedroom at night). For other parts of the world, a cricket isn't something you hear but something you play. The sport cricket isn't well suited for Americans because we haven't the attention span required to follow a game that may take days to play plus the white outfits don't offer sponsors nor Nike much room to advertise. But we digress a bit...

...you can hear the crickets chirp. Yes, it has been a bit quiet on the windsurfing scene of late. Looking back at late summer early fall, we had a good run of days when the windsurfing ranged from pleasant to great. Sandy's winds were the crescendo as we had almost a week solid of windsurfing including a couple of days when the wind was absolutely ripping. Since then, things have been more quiet than normal. There have been some sessions that have brought out the hard core but not as much as we often see in late fall.

That isn't to say that there haven't been any sessions but fewer that either capture our fancy or are worth talking about.

This is the time of year when pundits like ourselves get out the cristal cojone de cristal and peer into the future. We were going to say the "crystal ball" but we're striving to be multi-cultural and that's what Google Translate gave us, we think.

The more organized pundits get articles like this out before the beginning of the year but we are the sort that have had years where Christmas cards morphed into New Years cards and then into Ground Hog Day cards. Our relatives are very impressed that we send pictures of our kids, Junior and Juniorette, out for Ground Hog Day. The lack of a Christmas card is usually blamed on the Postal Service, our dogs or other forces beyond our control.

What? What, you say? Are we exhibiting the classic sign of advancing age, dating our checks with the previous year well into spring? No, not this time. These really are our predictions for 2012, albeit, a little late.

Twister, ribald fun, circa 1966

Twister (game) scene in Twister (movie)

It's been a few days, okay, a lot of days since we've updated things around here. A bunch of reasons why but none too important, negative or lasting.

The club had its Holiday party combining Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia; and, our favorite, Baktun celebrations. The club strives to be multi-cultural.

Christmas seems to be the most popular in our neighborhood, although, based on seniority, Saturnalia should be. The Romans also celebrated Natalis Invicti, or the Birthday of the Invinciable Sun (the god Sol), on Dec 25. Apparently, the early Christians, already having the day off from their gig at the Colosseum, thought it might be a good time to slide in a holiday of their own.

Back to windsurfing and our party, it's the first time in a long time that we've had it at Chris Voith's special lair, the old PDK control tower. More than forty windsurfers, kiteboarders and unfortunate non-participants who happen to be married or related to us in some shape or manner came to celebrate.

Maya Claus: He brings mangos and pet monkeys to Mayan children

The White Elephant Gift Exchange: Now you can get that Chip-O-Matic you always wanted.

Once again we tempt fate by holding our annual holiday party on December 21, 2012, just in time to turn the last page on the Mayan calendar. While many organizations hold secular holiday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia and other celebrations at year's end, we will be celebrating Baktun, the end of the twenty katun cycles.

The proper way to celebrate Baktun is with colored lights, pine and fir trees (the Maya loved spruce and balsam), exchanging unwanted gifts and visits from Maya Claus, a dwarfish man dressed in red with white trim.

This year, we'll be holding our celebration at a long time favorite location, the retired, old traffic control tower at Peachtree DeKalb Airport, through the kindness of Chris Voith.

Details will be coming soon but count on a potluck dinner followed by the ever popular White Elephant Gift exchange.

Official "What I'm Bringing" Thread on our Forums: Covered Dish Announcements (Not required but if you are worried that someone is going to bring a better version of Aunt Jeanette's macaroni salad recipe)