My Jason Buttonshaw Story

I was lucky to be approached by my best friend during his senior year in High School. We had been watching the Chris Bystrom movies and were in complete ahh of Australia, Kirra in general. He said that when he graduated, he was going. He invited me to tag along and I took him up on it. In 1988, we ventured to Cooly and had a nice flat waiting for us, two blocks from Kirra. It was January and summer was in full swing. We stayed for six weeks. Our flat was on the third floor of a six floor building. Our balcony overlooked Coolangatta. On the far side of town, around the corner from Snapper, was the legendary, "Patch," nightclub. It was the big hangout for every surfer within 20 miles. Legends, pros, local hero's, traveling donkeys (us), and anyone else you could ever envision, would be thier on most nights. I was a little timid in unfamiliar settings in those days, and looked like I was about 10. Though I was 19, going to a nightclub basically scared the shit out of me. I spent many a night holding up the walls watching. On the nights that we didn't go, we would stay up late and watch the entourage walk by after it closed. Of those that would have to walk by, Jason Buttonshaw was one of them. For those of you that don't know who Jason is/was, well he was supposed to be the next "Tom Curren" of the surfing world. He was groomed in the legendary hollow pointbreaks on the Goldcoast and thick barrels of D-Bah. He was amazing to watch. This was his heyday, and he was on-fire, both in the water, and at "The Patch." Though, I think he was only 17 at the time, I think they really didn't care that he was underage. So, most nights Jason would come walking by the dark path that went around our building. Many nights alone, and, well, intoxicated. My buddy and I would watch him pass, and after a few nights, decided, it was time to fuck with Jason. The next night he walked by, we were ready. Ice chips were our form of attack. We would throw a grip of chips high in the air, and then duck out of site and watch. That boy had no idea what was going on. He would just look up in frustration, without a clue of what or where these things were coming from. This went on during our whole stay, and remains one of the biggest memories to come out of that trip. There were others, and I did learn alot, mainly how to dodge a perfectly good barrel, but the Buttonshaw thing just brings a smile to my face. Jason, if you are out thier, and I ever meet you, you get one free shot, anywhere you wanta take it, I deserve it. A few other things come to mind when thinking about that first real trip away from home. Sitting on the balcony, watching lightning storms, while listening to U2's Joshua Tree, on my walkman cassette. One of my favorite songs to this day comes from that album. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," the gospel version. When that song randomly comes on, I can close my eyes and envision sitting on that balcony, watching the sky light up in the most amazing patterns. Then, when that chior starts whaling, it makes my heart beat a little faster, and my body a little warmer. I love gospel, and mixed with a good song, it just can't be beat.