My friend was 18 and visiting from West Africa when he first landed in Honolulu in 1993. No cell phone, no accommodation, not much English or money, he had his boards and a few clean shirts. A friend he met on a previous trip said he’d be there at the airport to pick him up and everything else would be handled. The friend never came. My friend looked to the other surfers for a ride. They asked where he wanted to go and he replied ‘Pipeline’ because it was the only place he knew.

I saw this book in a museum gift shop and the cover caught my eye. A surfer gliding down the face of a powerful wave with THAT WOULD BE THE PERFECT WAVE, IF THERE WAS NOT SOMEONE ON IT etched on the right in yellow. A painting and message by Raymond Pettibon. I’ve seen his name before, but couldn’t remember where. I love his many dashes and shades of blue and always feel something when looking at an artist’s depiction of a moving object or scene.

My friend said he surfed dusk to dawn for nine days on the North Shore, sleeping on the beach, which would have been okay if not for the rain at night. He ended up crossing paths with the friend who left him hanging at the airport. I guess the guy had a massive fight with his girlfriend and didn’t have a car to use as a result. A simpler time before cell phones or internet connection, but even then, someone’s always on that wave.

And Raymond Pettibon, I remember seeing his name on this website (What’s Inherent Bummer and Dolphins Are Canceled) and reading that he’s from LA (Hermosa Beach) but now a resident of New York City (a group of people I’m very interested in). Before making a name for himself in the fine arts, he was known for creating posters and album art for punk rock bands. I’m happy to know you can land at Daniel K. Inouye International and catch a ride to the beach and you can start out designing artwork for your circle and end up on display at a museum. —Phillip Dillon

HERE are some quotes of raymond’s that made me think or smile:

“It's not easy going through life constantly questioning the punk credibility of everyone around you.”

“Art comes after the fact, as a witness to certain things that have happened.”

“I don't want to express violence or anger or hate in my art. I want to express forgiveness.”

“I don't drive often, because the parking makes it too much of a nuisance. And I could never go back to commuting or anything. I'd just get fed up with it.”

“Art can be a kind of therapeutic, or kind of a fantasy life, or wish fulfillment. Or creating this alternate universe. Art gives me the freedom to do that.”

“I don't make art with grandiose delusions. I do know there are limits to what art is capable of. That makes it all the more appealing to me. And I can do as I will whenever I choose.”

“What social media has done is show the audience. I don't have an audience. When I make my work, it just goes out into the ether. I have a thick skin and it just brings me down to earth, you know, to realize how out-there and far away and paltry the audience is that gets what I'm saying. It's depressing if I let it get to me. And it's the same with hanging a show, the way it's put up, like, three stories high and you can't read a single word.”