I remember a day in the winter of 1975 when I had an office in Koloa Town on Kauai's South Side. I was in the habit of driving the two miles to the Waiohai break and surfing over my lunch hour. A newcomer to the Islands, I was an awkward, skinny improbable surfer and a malihini, to boot. My presence must have been offensive to the home-grown wave riders.
One day, a local Portagee, David C., paddled over to me and started shaking his fist and yelling, "F**king Haloe -- Wot you doin hea! Get out of da wata." I ignored him and kept my distance.
Later that day, back at the office, I entered the exam room of a walk-in patient with a laceration that needed suturing. It was the same David C! "You da dokta??" he said with real chagrin. It was quite a monent. I sutured the wound, and from then on I was welcomed, indeed feted, at the Waiohai break. My "surfing" was never adept, but my pesence was tolerated.
Thus, it was with interest that I read Rough Waves, Tougher Beaches in the New York Times this week. There's lots of material about Obama and Aloha in the press these days. But, there is a dark side to Paradise too. Making darkness visible, as this article does, adds depth and interest to the story.
Eh brah... No miss da video: "Surfing's Dark Side on the North Shore."