Summary of “Pure Hawaiian”
Makaha is 1) a Hawaiian beach that is often 2) a risk of safety for tourists. There are many stories of visiting surfers being 3) chased 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, 4) a stone-faced teenager got on the same wave and pushed me off.
Makaha has a group of older men that act as 5 guardians in the community. They are called “uncles”. The most famous uncle is 6) Richard “Buffalo” Keaulana . He was the first person who ran 7) Uncle Buff and told me about a very talented surfer with a troubled past named 8) Sheldon Paishon. Later, I met Paishon and we went to 9) 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 10) supported him with surfboards, food, clothing and 11) advice. He competed in many surfing contests, but 12) early teens. He dropped out of school and started smoking marijuana. Sometimes he sold the surfboards his uncles gave him to 13) pay for the drug. The biggest setback came when 14) he was accused stealing money. 15) His reputation was badly 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 16) 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 17) Makaha. He said that they wanted the new comers to 18) introduce themselves.” I went back to the beach and started a conversation with man in the water. We saw a 19) a big wave coming. I looked at him. Mine? He gently 20) nod.