Makaha is a Hawaiian beach that is 1) often venture for tourists. There are many stories of visiting surfers being chased from the water here after breaking some unwritten rule. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I saw what appeared to be an unclaimed wave. But just as I approached, a stone-faced teenager got on the same wave and pushed me off.
Makaha has a group of older men that act as leaders in the community. They are called “uncles”. The most famous uncle is 2) Richard “Buffalo” Keaulana. He was the first person who ran 3) a surfing contest. He told me about a very talented surfer with a troubled past named Paishon. Later, I met Paishon and we went to 4) the beach. He joined the dozen surfers already in the water and was quickly seen as being the best.
Paishon was poor, but the uncles noticed his talent for 5) surfing and 6) supported him with surfboards, food, clothing and advice when he was a child. He competed in many surfing contests, but didn’t do well in school. He dropped out of school and started smoking marijuana. Sometimes he sold the surfboards his uncles gave him to 7) pay for the drug. The biggest setback came when 8) he was accused of stealing money. His reputation was damaged and potential sponsors turned away. Later, he stopped using drugs, got a job and planned to use his salary to finance his dream of being a pro surfer.
I didn’t want to have another bad surfing experience like I had with the teenager, so I went to see a respected man for advice. He said that they wanted the new comers to 9) introduce themselves. I went back to the beach and started a conversation with man in the water. We saw a big wave coming. I looked at him. Mine? He gently nodded yes.