Welcome back to the show. It's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I hope that everyone is

enjoying the holiday. I've had a hectic travel schedule these last couple of weeks, and I've been

actually recording a lot of podcasts. I'm home just briefly for the holiday. While I'm here,

I'm going to record episodes of spit and the

grit before heading back out to the Northeast to record a few more podcasts. I'm sure that you've

seen the news of the devastating fires in California. There were two main fires, one in Northern

California labeled the Camp Fire, which as of today has burned

153,000 acres resulting in 84 deaths, three firefighters injured, and 18,421 structures destroyed,

with 13,906 homes lost. It began on November 8th, and now, two full weeks later,

is 95% contained. The other main fire, which was coincidentally started the exact same day,

has since been completely contained. It's known as the Woolsey Fire, and it burned 96,949 acres, resulted in three deaths,

three firefighters injured, and 1,500 structures completely destroyed.

One of those structures was the home where today's podcast was recorded.

This conversation was recorded on November 6th, 2017,

so just barely, I mean, almost a year to the day from the time that the fire started. It was basically

one year plus two days prior and it was recorded in the kitchen of Jamie Brissick's home. I had never met Jamie

before, but I grew up watching him surf and reading his writing. I cold emailed him,

asking him if he'd like to do the podcast and chat about his recent book and upcoming film.

He was super cool. He generously invited me to his home. He was finishing a plate of pasta for lunch when I arrived,

and he was immediately warm and hospitable. He made us tea while I set up my recording equipment

around his kitchen island. And even though I only spent a few hours here with Jamie, to think

that his kitchen is completely evaporated is devastating. And I cannot imagine what it's like for him or anyone

...