🌊 LAIZER BEAM: TIDAL FREQUENCYAn Interview with Surfer BeamThe FYC Boardwalk Journal
🌊 LAIZER BEAM: TIDAL FREQUENCY
An Interview with Surfer Beam
The FYC Boardwalk Journal
The boardwalk was unusually busy this afternoon.
Apparently, word travels fast when a blue-gray cat disappears inside a massive wave, shoots through the barrel, and comes flying out the other side while everyone else on the beach is convinced the wave is about to collapse.
We found Surfer Beam at Catch of the Day, still wearing her wetsuit, her modified surfboard leaning against the wall beside her.
She was halfway through dinner.
We asked if we could talk.
She said yes.
She also asked if we were paying for the fish.
We agreed.
---
FYC JOURNAL: First question. What happened out there?
SURFER BEAM: I went surfing.
FYC JOURNAL: You went through a wave everyone else thought was going to collapse.
SURFER BEAM: Yeah.
FYC JOURNAL: You weren't worried?
SURFER BEAM: I was watching it.
There's a difference.
---
FYC JOURNAL: What were you looking for?
SURFER BEAM: The opening.
Everybody saw the wall.
I saw the space inside it.
The curl was getting tight, but it wasn't closing yet.
So I went.
---
FYC JOURNAL: You mentioned your whiskers during the ride.
SURFER BEAM: Salt spray.
You can feel the wind change before you really see it.
My whiskers pick up little changes.
It's useful.
---
FYC JOURNAL: And your tail?
SURFER BEAM: Clearance.
FYC JOURNAL: You use your tail to measure the barrel?
SURFER BEAM: Basically.
If the tail has room, I've got room.
If it doesn't...
Well, then I probably should've picked a different wave.
---
FYC JOURNAL: Your board has a lot of claw marks.
SURFER BEAM: Yes.
FYC JOURNAL: Was that intentional?
SURFER BEAM: Not originally.
My first board wasn't exactly designed for cats.
I scratched the deck.
Then I scratched it again.
Then somebody suggested I stop scratching the board.
I suggested they build a better board.
---
FYC JOURNAL: So you modified it?
SURFER BEAM: Reinforced the deck.
Added better grip.
Made places where my claws can catch without tearing everything apart.
Now the board and I understand each other.
Mostly.
[sound cue: claw scratches against fiberglass]
FYC JOURNAL: That sounded like another scratch.
SURFER BEAM: That's why I said mostly.
---
FYC JOURNAL: People have started calling the sunset reflection you found "Cat Eye Glow." What's that about?
SURFER BEAM: That's just sunlight.
When the white caps roll at the right angle, the light catches two streaks in the water.
Orange-gold.
Looks like eyes.
Really beautiful.
---
FYC JOURNAL: Do you think the ocean is trying to tell you something?
SURFER BEAM: Maybe.
Or maybe it's just really good at making reflections.
I don't need everything to be magic.
Sometimes water and sunlight are enough.
---
FYC JOURNAL: What's the best part about surfing?
SURFER BEAM: You can't control the ocean.
You have to pay attention.
Every wave is different.
Every day is different.
You can plan all you want, and then the water does something completely different.
I like that.
---
FYC JOURNAL: What's next for Surfer Beam?
SURFER BEAM: Another wave.
FYC JOURNAL: That's it?
SURFER BEAM: That's usually how surfing works.
[sound cue: fork scraping plate]
Also, probably dinner.
---
FYC JOURNAL: Last question. What should people know about Tidal Frequency?
SURFER BEAM: It's not really about being the best surfer.
It's about learning how to listen.
Sometimes the ocean gives you a wave.
Sometimes it gives you a warning.
Sometimes it gives you a really good sunset.
And sometimes...
[sound cue: she looks toward the window]
...it gives you dinner.
---
Part 1 is now available.
Five tracks.
One modified surfboard.
A whole lot of claw marks.
And at least one wave that everyone else thought was going to collapse.
Listen to the latest Forklift Yacht Club release and follow the FYC multiverse as the different versions of Laizer Beam continue to discover their own worlds.
And yes—
Surfer Beam still needs to repair that board.
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