typhoon 14: kimura-san and i pull up early morning with kazubo-san to check the waves. it was too high tide so we decided to wait it out. i surfed this spot 10 years ago and i heard it’s only broke once since then and it wasn’t too good. this spot is so magical that i would have waited all day for a chance to surf this. anyway, 1 hour passed then it started to break. then started to look the way i remembered it to be 10 years ago. we paddled out and scored. and it was only 5 of us. now everybody will probably have to wait another 10 years….
**here’s a story i wasn’t going to say anything about. but it’s been bothering me a lot. while kimura-san and i were in the parking lot that morning checking the waves, this gaigin surfer who was also checking the waves yelled something to kimura-san while he was on the phone talking to satoru-san. kimura-san didn’t understand english so i looked over. i swore i heard him yelling “hey, why don’t you guys call everybody?” what?? i really thought this guy was my friend or something so i walked up to say hi. it turned out he wasn’t my friend so i asked him again nicely “what did you just say?” i knew he was surprised that i spoke english but he had the balls to say it again “why are you guys calling everybody?” i went from smiley face to angry face. first of all, we weren’t calling anybody. and if somebody yelled at me for calling satoru-san or kazubo-san, something is wrong. if it was the 5 years ago kirby, my fist would have flown into his mouth in a split second. but because i’m all about peace and happiness these days, i turned around and walked away. by head was boiling inside and i was pissed because that’s not the mensore spirit i’m used to. if a local told me that, it’s cool. but for a foreigner, or gaijin telling me that, it wasn’t cool. it was bothering me for the rest of the trip because one surfer is making people feel not welcomed to one of the most welcoming places in the world. will i forget what happened? probably not. what will happen if i see him again? that all depends. i’m just going to put the ball in his hands. if he says something like that to me again, i’m going to let myself go. if we’re in the parking lot, he better duck. if we’re in the water, he better be able to hold his breath longer than me. i thought about it a lot and i’m not just doing it for myself, i’m doing it for the okinawan people. what if he’s going around doing that too all japanese surfers around okinawa? i get pissed even thinking about it. i won’t stand around letting one gaigin ruin the mensore image that took centuries to build…
**sorry about my anger but i just have to let out at times. when it comes to things like this, i take it personal. even though i was born and raised in america, i feel as much as japanese as everybody else here in japan. i’m proud of my heritage and when an outsider tries to screw with it, no matter how long he’s lived in okinawa, i get pissed. that’s one thing i have to fix in my life…. help!!
**and back to the wave. here’s how you do it. take off behind the bowl, pull in, and get the ride of your life!!! then get ready for the 40 minute paddle back in. haha…. and if you want to surf it the way i’ve scored it, you might have to wait another 10 years. and if it breaks again, i’ll be out there. surf safe, surf happy, and be nice. we don’t need bad surfers in the lineups. the ocean is for everybody and if you respect the ocean and the locals, you shouldn’t have a problem where ever you are in the world. have a nice day[:?????$B!x(B???:]
