I grew up in S Calif but never went surfing. I went to college in Colorado and did learn to ski. One summer my college roommate and I were visiting my mom in California and went surfing. We rented to board and the wetsuits and as we were loading the truck, the shop guy came running out saying" you forgot the wax!" We hopped in the truck and went to the beach, got everything ready, looked at the wax, shrugged out shoulders and started industriously waxing the bottom of the surfboards. We didn't figure out until much later that you wax the tops of surfboards in order to stick on better and the bottom of skis to make them go faster.

I see now that most mistakes just wind up making a good story later and that's about how important they are. It's good to be reminded of that.