when i was out at Haleiwa the other day, i went to go to a place i had very good memories. it was 46 years ago when i was a little small boy. my step-father use to go free diving on his boat and when he would come in, we would barbecue with his friends under this tree. that was the very first time i ate a whole lobster. and it was at that same beach where he taught me how to surf. so since today is Father’s Day, i wanted to talk about him. 
Jose Angel was my step-father. he would take me on his surfboard, he would take me on his boat, he would take me to the mountains, and he would take me to school. i was only 6 years old so i would watch everything he did. at that time, he was just a normal Dad to me. it didn’t faze me at all when he would paddle out to 30′ surf after the sun set, it didn’t faze me when he would save people lives right in front of me, and it didn’t faze me to see him free dive for minutes coming up with huge fish. at my age, i thought everybody could do that. but after the years passed, i found out he was one of the best big wave surfers, free divers, and a very respected waterman in Hawaii. 
it wasn’t until i was 24 years old when i saw this photo hanging on the wall in Tony and my sisters house. i asked what that was and they said that is the very first Surfer Magazine cover ever. and that was Jose Angel on it. i thought to myself “omg, i didn’t even know that!” and yes, it made me feel like i was a part of surfing history.
Jose’s death remains a mystery to all. i was only 8 years old when it happened. he went diving off his boat and never resurfaced. i was too young to understand what death was. i just remember my Mom crying and all his friends that went to look for him. they never found his body but i always believed he was alive on some island, and still is till this day. that’s a huge reason when i’m not afraid of the ocean. as a free diver, that is probably the most peaceful way to enter heaven. anyway, all throughout my life, i remembered what Jose taught me. and i’ll never forget that. so yeah, maybe i’m living my life a little like how he did, maybe all those crazy things he did made me want to become crazy too? what ever it is, i’ll take it. i’ll take the lessons he taught me, and i’ll take the memories that will be etched in my life forever. and that’s something nobody can take away from me…
Happy Father’s Day. alive or not, you all continue to inspire and touch our lives…
