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The man rises in one smooth motion. He is dressed in shorts, a flowery shirt and a pair of dark wrap around shades. His hair is blond and he sports a nice tan. For a few moments he enjoys the sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean. Then he turns and walks back to his car. As he walks you can see the muscles bulging beneath the skin. He is lean and fit. Before he gets into the Mercedes he pauses for a moment and smiles at the life guard who is craning his neck to see him. Then he slides behind the wheel, drops a Kid Rock CD into the stereo and slips out of the parking lot and into traffic. He buzzes southward along highway one. Hugging the coast past the airport and through the South Bay. Watching the bicyclists, the rollerbladers, the surfers and of course the bikini clad babes. "Artwork," he thinks to himself as he watches several well formed young ladies walk slowly across the street. "Life is art." Finally, the man catches the freeway at the base of the Palos Verdes hills and, having skirted the heavy rush hour traffic in the South Bay curve, drops the Benz into 5th gear and flies south toward San Diego. ------------------------ This is Dashing Dick Dharma, New Way magazines raving reporter. My current assignment is to track down and interview that elusive guru-entrepreneur who calls himself Cool Dude. Just moments ago I heard from an informant, Smiling Sammy, that The Dude has been sighted in nearby Malibu. So, after jumping into my red Porsche I find myself heading north on highway one. My progress is soon thwarted by heavy rush-hour traffic that grinds to a halt. It is then that I see the jet black Mercedes with tinted windows and the license plate 'COOLDUDE4' driving in the freely moving traffic going south. The concrete barrier between the north and southbound lanes prevents me from giving chase. I watch him in the rear view mirror until he disappears from sight. So close I came and yet so far. I wait in the stalled traffic, trying my best to be as cool as the man in the Benz. Nothing to do now but go up the coast and check with Sammy to see if he can give me any idea where the man was headed. The going is slow in the heavy traffic but finally, after what seems like forever, I pull into the parking lot by the beach where Sammy works as a lifeguard. "Yo, Dick! How they hangen man?" He calls to me from his tower, smiling. "Not so good Sammy. I just spent 40 minutes driving up here knowing that Cool Dude is headed the other way." "Yea, he checked outta here just after I called ya man. He was sitten out there on the bluff overlooking the ocean for a half-hour or so." As he spoke he pointed at a small bluff overlooking the bay. "He was just sitten with his back really straight and watchin the waves. He was wearing this Hawaiian shirt, shorts and of course those shades of his." Sammy pauses for a moment while we check out a babe walking by and then he continues. "Finally he stood, turned and walked back to his car." He pauses again and looks out to sea. I can’t tell if he is looking for drowning swimmers or reliving the event. So after a minute or so I prompt him. "Did he do anything else?" Sammy turns back to me with a faraway look in his eyes and says. "Right before he opened the door to his car he stopped, looked straight at me and smiled. It must have only been a quick glance on his part, but to me it seemed to last forever. Like time had stopped or something." Sammy pauses like time has indeed stopped for him. Then shaking his head he continues. "Then he got into that Benz of his and hit the road just like you said, headed back toward the city." "Any idea where he was going?" I ask, hoping that I haven’t lost him again. Sammy looks at me for a moment and smiles. "Ya know, there’s a funny thing about that. Cool Dude didn’t look like he was going anywhere. You know what I mean? It’s like, well, he looks like he is already there." "Say what?" I ask, puzzled. "It’s tough to describe Dick. But the way he carries himself, his presence. He’s just there, ya know, in every step he takes." I stop for a moment and absorb what Sammy is saying. Is this the essence of his coolness? I make a quick note to ponder this later and then continue. "Well, yes, that’s cool but can you tell me where he was going to drive his car to?" "No way man. Cool Dude moves like the wind. You don’t know where he’s going until he gets there." "Okay, thanks Sammy. Catch ya later." "Yea, man. Be cool." I hop back into my car and zip back onto the highway going south, despairing of ever catching Cool Dude for an interview. Suddenly, I realize that in my frenzy to catch him I’ve almost run out of gas. I pull into the next station that I see. It turns out to be full service and the price of their gas is higher then the cost of my favorite tequila. The attendant is a cheerful fellow who not only cleans my windows but also volunteers to check my oil and the air in my tires. I scratch my head wondering if I have ever run into an attendant who checked the air in my tires. Stepping out of my car, I decide to investigate. "You sure sound happy today." I say to the young Hispanic man. "What’s her name?" He looks at me and gives me a good natured smile. "No, sir. It’s not a woman." He says speaking good English. Well, better then Sammy’s English anyway. "It’s this guy who stopped earlier." My ears immediately prick up. "He was very friendly, only friendly is not really the right word. He noticed that I was reading a book on computers when he pulled up and we talked about them for a few minutes." "Oh?" I prompt him. "Yes, he seemed really interested in me. He asked questions and then really listened to what I had to say. It left me feeling like I was important to him." "Ah," I say. "And did he drive a black Mercedes Benz?" "Yes!" The attendant replies excitedly. "Do you know him?" "Well, I know OF him. That’s Cool Dude." The pump shuts off and I hand the attendant a credit card. "Did he happen to say where he was going?" I ask hopefully. "Well, he filled
his tank and said that he was headed for San Diego. He had a bunch
of clean diving equipment in the back so maybe he is going to do some
diving." I smile. Fate is being kind to me. Cool Dude is probably going to do some night diving in San Diego. I sign the receipt and get back into my car. Maybe if I am lucky I can catch him there.
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