It was 1951. My Dad had just returned from Korea where he flew photo
reconisance in the war there. He’d stopped in Hawaii on the way back and
brought me a silk Hawaiian shirt (I’ve still got it hanging in the
shop) and a pair of trunks with a pineapple print.
That summer, in front of the family house on the Jersey Shore, he
took me out on a canvas surf mat. He held on to the waist band of those
shorts as wave after wave hit us. I was hollering no no no. And then the
right wave came and he let me go. As I hurtled toward shore my fear
turned to to absolute joy. My first surf ride.
I still remember Dad, that ride and the wooden surfboard we built a few years later.
My dad flew air recon in Korea also, still has reels of 8mm that he shot from the front windscreen, did 2 tour in Nam while we were stationed in Hawaii flyin recon again.
I wish he was with me, but at least he didn’t go missing in some steaming Asian jungle, miss you Dad
My old man passed away 7 years ago, it was like yesterday and I remember it clear as day........................... He gave everything to us and sacrificied a lot so that he could spend time with his kids, to me that is success and I have been given the greatest gift a father could give, there is more important things in life than money, time with kids is gold, and a great example of how to be a man .... God bless him.
Hereʻs my Dad jamming Maʻili Pt. in the 60ʻs; he built boards in the garage and got me surfing and building my own; heʻs 93 and clear and can still remember the many joys of surfing…good on ya Pops
Ala Moana, you are one of the truly blessed among us, I look back at the 13 to 21 years for me and kick myself in the ass for driving a wedge between myself and my Dad.
I always tried my best in the years gone by to recapture the lost years the best i could, you can’t buy them back ay any cost, it is years of love and knowlege that are destroyed by simple boneheadedness. If I knew then what I would learn too late to change.
93 years, that is 20 more than I got from my Dad, cherish every moment of the day you two have on this earth
E Genius, thanks so much for the kind words about Pops; yes I am happy for my Dad; he has lived a full life and has wonderful memories that he shares with me; as I said, he built boards in our garage, balsa at the start and we rode our home made boards for years; we surfed all over Waikiki and made some trips to Makaha on rare occaisons; he had beachboy friends at Waikiki so he felt at home surfing Queens and Canoes; in the late 50ʻs and early 60ʻs it was still pretty mellow; heʻs told me many times that some evenings at Queens him and his pals would paddle out on almost flat days and just sit there soaking up the good vibes, shoot the shit for a while, enjoy the sunset, catch not one wave, and paddle in happy and content to just have gotten wet and enjoyed each others company; hows that for mellow??? I could go on and on but nuff already; thanks again for your good vibes…enjoy what we have!!!..aloha…Kapalulu
