i went to dinner with some very important japanese people the other night. the 10 of us walked into Suntory Restaurant in waikiki. it was just after an awesome surf session so we were all very happy. there were only 2 other older japanese men in the room as we walked in. they were nicely dressed and looked very wealthy. anyway, we sit down, start talking, and before our first drink came, the 2 older japanese men looked over to all of us and and said in japanese “hey, you guys are too loud. you don’t have manners. you guys aren’t even qualified to be in a place like this.” we looked over at the man and were in total shock! he kept on going on and on complaining and complaining about us. i kept silent. yes, it was hard to do, but i didn’t to ruin such a great surf session we previously had. so i sit, and we continue to talk softly. then he kept on looking over and complaining to us in japanese “i shouldn’t have bought a house here in hawaii, i should have bought a house in santa barbara.” right there, 49% of me wanted to get up and say “hey, get of my island! if you don’t like it here, leave! the door is right there!” but the other 51% of me said to keep silent. a very wise japanese man taught me that silence is golden. that was in my mind the whole night calming my boiling blood. i was even talking to myself “keep silent, keep silent.” then after he kept on going on and going on, i couldn’t keep silent anymore and just told him in a soft voice, “hey sir, you should surf. then you would know how happy we are all right now.” after i went home that night, i really felt sorry for that man. obviously he’s living in a stressed out life. happy people bothered him that night probably because he wasn’t happy. i wish he can find happiness in his life here in hawaii. and if he can’t, he can go move to santa barbara. i will even buy a one way ticket for him. haha. and hey, he was very lucky none of my hawaiian friends were there. it would have been a totally different story.
it’s rare to get all the Moniz kids together. i was sitting on the table at the billabong house with Watanabe-san as he was getting ready to go in the water. then my sister walks out, then seth, then joshua, then isaiah, then micah, then kelia. as we sit on the table talking story and enjoying the beautiful morning on the north shore, i thought to myself “this is what family is all about. this is blood. all the kids are grown adults now. all champions in my eyes on how they go about life. we love each other, we support each other, and we will do anything for each other. my sister is 100% japanese like me, and her kids are all 50% japanese. i hope they will learn the really japanese way, i hope they will keep the japanese spirit, and i hope they will represent the japanese part of them in a respectful way. love you guys!
