good evening. my batteries shut down. might have caught a cold but don’t want to admit it. too much work? too much play? what ever it was, it hit me like a rock. but today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow. waves and storm on the way. and one more reminder to all my japanese sponsors and friends coming next week. please don’t forget a wetsuit. the water is freezing… see you guy soon…
**since i started going to japan, it’s been my dream to bridge the gap. a bridge, or rainbow, or something to connect hawaii to japan. there is so much japanese culture here in hawaii and it was all around me while i was growing up. so i know that there huge interest in japan from the people of hawaii. yesterday, i get an email response from jared katakura. jared surfs, dives, and even hunts pigs. we’re so alike but there is one thing that separates us. jared is deaf. i was taught by my mom to use the word hearing impaired but jared told me to use deaf. so i will. anyway, after i seen jared’s photo, i remember him from last year when he came to watch yumie surf the contest at pipeline. they were communicating in sign language and i knew that japanese and english sign language was different. but the smiles were still there. these are the kind of things that bridges the gap between hawaii and japan. and these are the kind of things that make me happy. so just wanted to thank jared for his email and for bringing the deaf communities from 2 countries together. keep up the good work…
check out some photos of jared in japan with other deaf surfers… this is in hanamatsu, shizuoka…
BBQ’s in japan are the best. that’s jarad wearing the brown baseball cap backwards…
and when you guys do another BBQ in japan, give me a buzz. maybe jared and i can go grab some abalone, lobsters, and fish. and maybe even a wild pig…. yummy….
**and also wanted to thank eiko okano for linking me up with jared. that’s what friends are for….
and last, pipeline doesn’t discriminate. even the best get hurt on even the small days. pipeline charger nathan fletcher broke his leg in 2 places yesterday at 3-5′ pipe. yeah, so when ever people tell me that surfers have the easiest job, better take that back. our office is much more dangerous than yours. and if you dont’ believe me, i’ll drag your ass out to pipe on a small day and you can see for yourself. but before that, make sure you have life insurance…. hope nathen fletcher makes a speedy recovery. photo by sean davey.
