Dharma Boards - Manifesto

By Justin Dalrymple-Kelly

Maya and Adam, sister and brother, young, radical board-riders, skip school early today in search of an adventure, the likes of which had not been seen before. They should be careful what they wish for. They make for the woods with grit to test their new invention: the earthboard. Little do they know they will be discovering much more than a new extreme sport. As fate would have it, their paths are intertwined with an ancient mythology of powerful boards. Dharma Bøards is a truly epic tale of adventure, exploration, revelation, antidisestablishmentarianism, anti-gravity, reckoning, awakening, and puppets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justin Dalrymple-Kelly
• Release date: Jan 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215318294

Book preview

Dharma Bøards

Manifesto

Justin Dalrymple-Kelly

[e-mail]

Chapter Ø

Before there existed much of anything, there were the boards. Below the quantum, above the cosmic, are the boards— cards— magic carpets— extra dimensional characters— scales/feathers of cosmic, mythic beasts. Anciently, we have discovered these boards. (The Hawaiian goddesses did surf. The Norse gods did ski.) Recently, we have rediscovered these boards. We ride the world. We ride the waves, the slopes, the streets, the trails. We ride life’s phenomena with the mind’s eye. We will need these boards more than we know, for they tie us to our souls, infinite and variable, and they free us from our illusion.

Act I

Chapter 1

Maya Rainer lives within the outer limits of the city on a little hill with a short, steep driveway across the street from a large city park where two school yards converge, making it a world of big grass fields, soccer nets, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, parking lots, hills, basketball courts, school buildings and churches. A mecca of activity.

In her small back yard is the tallest pine tree in the neighborhood, and in her front yard down the hill is the tallest tree overall. A giant elm which was one day struck by lightning while Maya was sleeping on the couch and was then disposed of by the city.

She lives with her dad and her younger brother Adam. Her mom passed away before she had any real memories of her. She only knows of her what they have in videos, pictures and any other pieces of the puzzle she had left behind. Everyone always tells Maya how much she looks like her mom and how much she reminds them of her. She was pretty, athletic, and had a beautiful smile. She was courageous in her belief in kindness and in finding the right thing to do. Maya wanted to be just like her.

She did everything she could, from what she heard, to follow in her mom’s footsteps. Her mom was a soccer player, a skier and a snowboarder, and an amazing teacher. She was inspiring and creative. She read books to her students outside the school curriculum and really made the magic come to life. And so, Maya became a soccer player, a skier, a snowboarder, and someday will become a wonderful teacher.

She was in love with winter just like her mother.  Her family used to go on family ski trips to the same cabin every year at the end of winter. They still do, but of course, it’s not been the same without their mom.

Maya’s dad is a quiet person. Peaceful and loving but quiet. His expressions range from a nice straight face to a hint of a smile. Once in a blue moon, he would be up for a bit of cheer, but usually he just did his best to carry on. They don’t have any memory of the man he was before mom died either. 

The ski trip was his favorite part of the year too. The cabin was magic. It was tucked in the woods down a winding road at the end of a winding driveway that climbed a long hill. An endless web of tree limbs topped with thick white lines of snow along the crossing branches. Hills like fingers intersecting, weaving back and forth, curving, making pockets, dropping off and rising up behind, and seemed to stack up to the white-grey sky. The constant snow fell slow and quiet like time.

Inside the Swiss style A-frame cabin excessively thick orange shag carpet covered the main floor. There was a fire place, an open loft, and a ping pong/pool table in the basement. Maya and Adam were in heaven.

Maya excelled at skiing and entered the advanced group at an early age. Soon she was riding chairlifts by herself and exploring little trails through trees on the side of hills. Later she picked up snowboarding. She wished winter lasted all year and they could live in the cozy cabin forever. Sadly, winter didn’t last all year. She loved soccer, and even school with her friends, but nothing could match that feeling of immense tranquility of winter in the woods up north. She tried skateboarding and it was fun, but it was not peaceful. Surfing was peaceful but not offered inland. Rollerblading, biking, everything. Each lacked some aspect of the equation/formula. She considered that if she could combine the right aspects maybe she could get at least as close as possible to the feeling of floating down the slopes.

The environment would have to be a main aspect in the chasing of this feeling. She loved the woods, the forest, and the four seasons of nature.  She loved the trees, the hills, the rivers, and the animals. If she could combine the freedom and creativity of skateboarding with the freedom and exploration of nature, she knew she would have something good. She set to work.

Maya’s engineering class required students to present a design project at the end of this school year. Projects were to be chosen from a list of existing ideas. Maya went to the teacher and asked if she could present her own original idea. The teacher agreed. 

Chapter 2

Maya woke up at the desk in the corner of her room. The computer had dozens of tabs open of board sports research— history, characters, stories, boards, ideas. Her desk was covered in piles of drawings and writings and ideas of her own from years of thinking about boards. Even the walls of her room were filled with posters of snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and soccer heroes. Her dresser and nightstand were filled with family pictures and pictures from when her mom was with them. 

Finally, she had something, an idea. After years of trying combinations of wheels and boards of specific designs— with a little help from her dad to build it, and a little help from Adam as a crash test dummy, she had arrived at a design she was proud of. She was confident that the refinement of the idea was at its final stage. She learned the value of simplicity, removing design instead of adding to it, leaving less things to break and leading to the longest life of the idea. And she wanted her idea to last at least as long as surfing, hopefully as long as Scandinavian skis. 

She grabbed her backpack, grabbed the board, put it in a duffle bag, and headed down the stairs.

Please welcome to the stage, Maya— Rainer. Maya Rainer everybody. Maya’s dad said in an award show voice.

Thank you. I never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to open up another dimension for kids like me. Adventurous kids. Thank you! said Maya.  She was good at playing along.

I have invented a new kind of cereal! Adam said continuing the show. I call it bananas in Rice Krispies.

I’m pretty sure that’s already a thing, said Maya.

Alright. Well, it’s a good thing. Adam said slightly indignantly. Okay then I invent the spaceship that goes underwater.

It’s a called a submarine, said Maya.

Agh! Adam pounded his fist on the table.

Alright, let’s go! We’re late! Maya shouted.

You’re the late one! Adam replied.

Good luck, Maya! called dad. Good luck, Adam!

Good luck what? Adam retorted.

I don’t know, Dad shrugged. Staying out of the principal’s office?

Okay, Adam answered. I do need luck then.

Adam left the house behind Maya. They arrived at school, slightly late. Maya sat in class and listened, waiting anxiously to show her board. The student who reported before Maya was a smart-harvesting chicken egg collector partnering with a local farm equipment company.

Okay, Maya, you’re up next, said Mr. Williamson causing Maya’s stomach to drop.

Let’s get this over with, I guess, she thought to herself. She liked her idea but she did not like giving speeches.

She walked to the front of the class with her duffle bag and her poster board. She set up the poster and unzipped the bag revealing the board she designed. It was a skateboard with the wheels removed and a thin, plastic, bowl-like shape bolted through the holes where the trucks and the wheels used to be. There were two loops for the feet of the rider. And that was it.

Hi, I’m Maya Rainer— as you know— and this is the Earthboard, she said.

The class was very silent.

Maya began, There is a board for every environment, every season, and every terrain. But something is missing. With a surfboard you cover the ocean— summer— water. With a snowboard you explore the mountains— winter— snow. With a skateboard you cover the earth— concrete jungles and their features. With a dirt board you can ride the hills of the forest, but that is where something is lacking. This is the only environment where you’re stuck on a track. The Earthboard is the missing piece that can get us off the grid.

The class was not really into it. Lots of heads were looking down at phones. But Maya was into it. She continued.

While dirt boarding is done in the open forest hills, it lacks the freedom to roam. While skateboarding includes the freedom to roam, it lacks the immersion in nature. The Earthboard is the solution that fills the gap! This is the missing link!

Nothing. She didn’t quite expect applause. She didn’t know what to expect, but she didn’t expect silence. There was laughing here and there like it was something comical. She was all for having fun, that’s why she dreamt this up, but she was not joking. She gave some history of surf boards and skis for report purposes. She explained that the inspiration for the design of the Earthboard came from something she came across in a book that described how Native Americans, very in tune with nature, saw leaves floating gracefully upon the water and mimicked this phenomenon with their birch bark canoes.

Maya wanted her board to float on the forest hills like a leaf on water. She actually wanted it to scurry like a squirrel running through the branches, but she could not manage how to translate that technologically.

Any questions? Maya stood nervous and proud.

It’s just a skateboard without wheels, said a boy blandly.

Well, there is a leaf skirt, but yes it’s a very refined designed. Too many moving parts are just more opportunities for things to break, Maya answered.

Haven’t you heard of the new hoverboard coming out. A boy called out.

Another boy in the front row pulled up a video on his phone, holding it out to Maya.

Yeah, I have, said Maya understandingly. But— it has nothing to do with this.

Maya, said Mr. Williamson somewhat carefully, somewhat forebodingly, it doesn’t seem like you did as much work as the other kids. Dare I say you were slightly lazy? You did not even do much to improve the existing design of a skateboard.

Maya explained, The idea is not just the board. The board is just the vehicle for this idea that could open the door to an entire untapped world of creativity and exploration of nature.

Whoa, Maya, calm down, a girl said mockingly from the class.

Whatever. Said Maya I didn’t make it for some dumb grade in school. I made it to ride.

And with that she left.

Chapter 3

Mayaaaa! Adam shouted from far behind her, sprinting beneath his heavy back pack.

Are we leaving already? he asked, brimming with excitement.

Yep. Time to go, Maya replied, still aggravated.

Cool, we can catch the new episode of Spider-Man! We never get to see Spider-Man. What happened by the way? Adam asked.

We’re not going home, Maya replied a little bit coldly.

Okay. Where are we going? Will there be a TV where I can watch Spider-Man? Adam asked.

We’re going earthboarding, she answered with grit.

All right!! Adam shouted, genuinely excited. Do you have another one?

As a matter of fact, I do, Maya said, warming up a little due to Adam’s authentic enthusiasm.

She picked up her phone connected by an aux chord to the car stereo and pressed play on her custom-made playlist: Adventure.

The road was curving and winding and it rose gradually through the wooded hills. Maya shouted the songs. Adam played the drums all over the passenger compartment.

You’re gonna set the airbag off! Maya said laughing.

They looked out the windows as they drove. The leaves beneath the trees, the ravines, the pockets, the logs, the features— the forest was mesmerizing.

The possibilities are endless, Maya said. Look at that log! Easy tree slides! There’s so many routes! —The chutes! Look at the chutes, Adam!

I see them! It’s like skateboarding in the woods! Adam answered.

"Exactly! That’s exactly what it’s like! At least you understand!" said Maya.

I feel like something big is about to happen, Adam said, bright eyed, looking out the window.

It is, little brother. This ride will go down in history! said Maya in her dramatic voice, one finger in the air.

They pulled into a little dirt parking lot. Maya popped the trunk on the back of the hatchback and pulled out the two earthboards.

They can have competitions— races, freestyle, slope style courses! Imagine the earthboard videos! Adam rambled on excitedly.

I know! Maya answered. It was music to her ears.

From the parking lot it was a short walk to a lookout point at the top of one of the peaks. They carried their boards up the trail to the boardwalk and the deck used for photo opportunities. The lookout was a central point overlooking miles of wooded foothills, with a massive lake at bottom of the valley where all foothills met at sea level. The deck was not only for photo opportunities. The railing was necessary to keep visitors from falling off the 1,000-foot sheer cliff. At this height the birds were flying just below you as you looked down into the valley.

It was springtime in the foothills. Small snow piles and patches remained in places where the sun didn’t shine as much. Maya and Adam took a second to look out over the mountain then started down the trail as it descended down from the cliff. There were immediately lines they could make out as downhill routes through the trees.

First tracks! Maya announced as she slipped her feet into the loops on the board.

You do the honors, Adam replied.

She dropped in with skill, carving sharply avoiding trees. The ride was instantly more intense than she expected, but she quickly wrangled in the board and her balance, careening down the hill, busting a quick 180 at the bottom of the run.

No waayyy!! Adam shouted from the top. That was siiiick!

Maya thrashed around in the leaves in pure excitement and made a pretend snow angel in celebration.

Hahahaaa! Maya belted. It works Adam! Go! Go!

Adam dropped in and went straight for the log of a downed tree. He hopped on and slid down the tree, arms flailing. He ripped down the rest of the hill dodging trees and finally smashing off of one of them catching the board, crashing, and flying.

Aahaa! he screamed smiling. Amazing! he shouted, running over to tackle Maya.

They hiked back up the hill as fast as they could to try another route down. Run after run they dropped in. Grinding logs, launching off rocks, shredding gullies and gapping over pockets. They hiked deeper and deeper into the forest searching for that next feature, that new zone. They were floating on air. They couldn’t believe how cool, how extreme, how revolutionary it all was. It felt like they were in a new world.

Hours went by without even noticing, but when Maya realized it was getting a little dark she knew they needed to start heading back. They were sweaty and covered in dirt and twigs and burs.

Chapter 4

This is amazing, said Adam, exhausted, lying back on the wet spring leaves. I could do this forever. I mean for real, I could do this for like... a month straight.

Me too. But we should start heading back, it’s getting a little darker, Maya said looking around. If you stretch your hand out, in front of your face, every finger you can fit between the sun and the horizon is about fifteen minutes of daylight, she said, raising her hand. We have about— an hour. We’re gonna have to hurry.

Okay. I am pretty hungry. How far from the car are we? Adam asked.

Um, I don’t know, Maya said, a little puzzled. All I know is it’s this way, she said as she got up to walk.

They managed to make their way back to a trail. They had really gone off the grid exploring the new, fresh earthboard terrain. Now on the trail, they followed the blue dots or blue squares as markers, and went in the direction of the car.

Admittedly, the markers were less than clear. They were inconsistent in their shape and their location, and most of the time they were crude, spray-painted circles. The sun was getting lower in the sky, adding to the difficulty in following the trail. They’re eyes began to strain for the markers.

Are we gonna make it?" Adam asked mouth slightly agape from all the hill climbs and hiking, and lack of dinner.

Yeah. We’ll make it, Maya answered.

At this point the sun was down, but light continued coming over the horizon for a limited time of twilight, when silhouettes and lines begin to blur.

It’s getting hard to see these dots, Adam said. Do you have a flashlight?

No. I only brought— binoculars, said Maya.

Binoculars? That’s like— the worst thing to bring, Adam said.

Maya and Adam started to run. They knew that once it was dark there would be no chance that they could follow the trail without flashlight.

Where are we? Adam asked after running for some time, the light of day almost completely gone.

Well, it was an eleven-mile loop and I would say we covered about five or six miles. So... — Here. Let me look at the map and see if I can make out the features of the trail we’re on, said Maya.

Maya reached into her pocket for the map, but it wasn’t there. She searched her other pocket— every pocket.

Where is it? I had it when we started walking. It must have fallen out when I took the binoculars out of that pocket earlier, Maya said.

Binoculars!! Adam cried, throwing his arms.

Okay, Maya said, now searching her brain. We can either keep trying to follow the loop around, turn around— which is pretty much the same, or try to cut across the middle.

I vote middle. We might as well do the middle, Adam said.

They could see the cliff where the lookout was. The point at which they started. They headed out in that direction. It was now dark. It wasn’t pitch black, but the cliff was the last thing they would see that day.

With the cliff as their heading in their mind, they climbed and descended hills, crossed hills on angles, trying to keep a steady direction. They were less hurried and had stopped running now that the sun had gone down. At this point they just had to make it back to the car. It didn’t matter when.   You should probably call Dad, Adam said.

Shoot, you’re right. He’s probably freaking out, said Maya. Maya pulled out her phone but it was out of battery.

My phone’s dead, said Maya.

Great. Just great! said Adam pulling his hands down his face.

Now it was pitch black. There was no moonlight, no starlight, nothing. They had never been in such a situation. Adventure was all fun and games but this was real. They were deep in the forest with no phone, no light, no supplies, nothing. They were just plain lost in the middle of a true, deep, remote wilderness. Not the kind of wilderness that lets out to a road or a neighborhood of some kind, or a park, or a city, or anything. This was definitely a new zone.

We’re lost, Maya, said Adam. Like, super lost. Not like in a city with Google maps and redirecting. Like, lost in the woods where there are, as a fact, bears, and probably wolves, and possibly mountain lions.

Yep, Maya replied.

How do we know we’re still heading towards the cliff? I can barely see my own hands, Adam asked.

I really don’t know, Maya answered. Just gotta keep your eye on the prize I guess.

We’re gonna die, said Adam. I’m so hungry. —I think I just saw something, he said jerking his head to the left.

Remain calm Adam. Panicking in these situations does not help, Maya replied, trying herself to keep calm.

How do you know? Adam said loudly. Have you ever been stranded in the middle of nowhere? We’re gonna die! Dad is probably freaking out.

We’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. Other kids sneak out and party all night. Why can’t we get lost in the woods? Maya