A lot of us brought up on the islands have fond memories of swimming, body surfing, and perhaps even surfing the wild, wild surf dat our islands are famous fo. Well, here is one hannabuddah story dat some of you may be able to relate to. Read through dis and let yo'wah own memories pour through about da good ole days of da surf in Hawai'i nei.

One yeeah, my grilfriend from da mainland we go come to Hawai'i fo' vacation. I wen go take her riding around da island fo' show her around wit few uddah peoples. She neva been to Hawai'i befo, so was one real treat fo' her. Every place I wen go take her, her eyes was popping out of their sockets, cause to her, Hawai'i was so NANI!!! What you es'speck? .... she stay from Southern California. She said da beaches wea she stay from, no could compare to how nani ow'ah beaches stay.

Anyway, on our long list of places to see, we went to spend da day at Waimea Bay... Bugah was averaging breaks of 6 feet and had plenny body surfahs out taking advantage of da almost perfect sets coming in on shore! Even wit six feet sets you could feel da explosions on da beach wen da waves made contact on shore. KaBooom!! Rumble, rumble, rumble.

Anyway, fo' doze of you who like da waddah and no can resist getting wet, yeah?... You must know how it is to play in da "white waddah"!! It is so much "good fun" to wait fo da wave to break and den wen da white waddah roll in, da buggah knock you off yo' feets and make you fall on yo'wah okoles! WAM,and Splish Splash, you go rolling up wit da wave on shore, and den da back wash would turn and start pulling you into da ocean like one Giant Octopus tentacles wrapped around all portions of yo'wah body. Whooohooo, sum'times hahd fo break loose from its grips and it pulls you right undah in da deepah paht of itself, yeah? Ho, da good fun!

Anyway, my girfriend no could swim good... but she was playing in da waddah way on da far RIGHT side of da bay, facing da beach.... And fo' doze of you familiar wit Waimea Bay, get one small pond/lake directly opposite of da ocean, yeah? Anyway... had one HUGE set coming in right about da time me and her was just about ready to fall off of dat "shelf" into da deep paht... so, of course da "suction" of da waddah was STRONG trying fo pull us out... She stahted fo' panic... so I wen grab per arm and push her infront of me and yell fo' sum'body fo' help pull her out. Good ting she wen get help jahs in time, and was pulled to shallower waddah so she could get one foot hold.... Me? Well, was one uddah story.

Wen she was on safe ground, I wen try fo get myself to da safe zone but, auwe, was too late fo me. I wen turn around and I wen spock three BIG Bumbucha waves on it's way toward da shore!!! Ho, I knew I was eiddah going EAT sand, or end up WAY, WAY, WAY ou'sai in da deep blues! Da uddah paht of me wanted to head fo' shore, but I no could! I was caught right in da middo wit da RIP pulling me toward dat 1st massive wall of waddah coming fass!

Abandoning da idea of scrambling fo da beach, I wen swim as fass as I could TOWARD dat wave..... and wen I got close, I wen dive, down.... down... down... Eh.. I couldn't BELIEVE how deep I had to go to escape da top paht of dat wave!!! Usually, wen I used to body surf out Makapu and Sandy Beach sai, no need have to dive DAT DEEP down to get away from one wave, but, eh.... was unrealz how fa' down I had to go dis time!!!

Finally wen I feel da wave pass. I went staht swim up, up, up to get some air. Whoohoo!! feel so good to feel da wind hit my face and da oxygen fill my lungs! But was oni one BRIEF relief, cause I wen spock dat da 2nd Bumbucha wave was moving closah and I felt da grip around my body pulling me into it..... K den, goddah DIVE AGAIN!!! Deep, deep, deep. Dis time I wen watch da buggah pass me above. WhooHoo dat buggah was so WIDE and FAT! Massive Base! And I was beneath it watching in awe. Das wen I wen remembah... AIR!

At da surface, I had to hana hou! Da 3rd wave was trying to scoop me up so I dove away from da critical paht wea da buggah tried to take me prisoner! I could feel da buggah jahs miss my feets! Eh, I was doing all dis swimming wit/out FINS!!! Talk about good work out! My legs was like rubbah already cause I was so out of shape!

Anyway, by da time doze three waves wen pass and explode on shore and I wen pop back up to da surface to drink in some air... Wow, lau lau... I was FAR out dea! No ways could I go back to shore wea I wen go get sucked out from. Rip tide and unda-tow was too fierce! I had to swim even litto bit mo' out and go left to wea all da body surfahs was. OOOooo, dark waddah undah me and no fins on my feets! Das e'nuff to give you bad dreams at nite. I was swimming parallel da beach going left listening to da "shark song" in my head... "Da dant, Da dant, Da dant... Dooo da doooo"!!!

K den... Now comes da BAD PAHT!! What? You thought da worse was ova? No, no, no!!! All of dat, to get to DIS!! Da WORSE teeng dat wen happenen.....

I wen jahs swim to da place wea all da guys was body surfing. Had Uka Peoples on da beach "watching" da ocean cause was one BIG day. I was still far out and had to swim toward da shore to get to wea da body surfahs was. Hea, da nightmare paht of dis experience....

I was exhausted and ready to pau hana... My arms was soa, my legs was rubbah and felt like I neva had any strength left to make it in shore cause I neva have any fins!!! But what??? Here comes one LIFEGUARD!!!! Sheesh! I felt like da whole WORLD was watching at dat moment. In his hand he wanted to know if I needed to hang onto his floatah. Dat florescent billboard that advertises "RESCUE CASE", if you happened to be holding onto one of doze....

I thanked him and told him.... "no need". Of course he said, "You shuah??" And of course, out of sheer embarrassment, I wen say, "I shua as shua can be". But in actuality, I was almost mah'ke!!! I felt like I was close, anyway. But I would have been humiliated if dat lifeguard had to haul me in. I could just have imagened it as me being dragged up out of da waddah by this guy, dumped on da beach fo' everyone to gawk at and point their skinny, scraggly fingahs at me, snickering. Would I EVER be able to live it down? I no teenks so... I raddah take my chances and be eiddah eaten by da great Mako shark, or drown... but NEVAH have to be dragged in by one lifeguard!

Den here comes one of da guys dat came wit us to da beach dat day... swimming out with FINS!!! Whooohooo! He finally reached me. He wen ask ... "You okay?" "Yup", I said.... And den he wen toss me my DuckFeet Fins. Da fins to me at dat moment was like one big ship stopping by to pick up one stranded person on one life raft who was stuck out at sea fo' one month. Life Savah!

I told da lifeguard.. "I get em, now" waving my fins in da air at him. Den bote dem guys wen leave me to fend fo' myself once again. Took me all my strength and courage fo' NOT to yell after dem and say... "Yeah, yeah.. I give up! Tow me in!!!" Gaaahh! But but I neva. Dat pride can sink you everytime, yeah?

Eventually, after allowing a few sets past, I found the opportunity to ride a couple small time waves in to da shore. Bumped my okole on da sand and scraped my knee on da landing, but my feets wen touch sand and I was home free. Of course I wen ack like nuttin out of da ordinary wen happen and wit one smile on my face I peeled off my fins and stood up, trying not to wobble too much on da two rubbah legs undah-neet me. I wen walk past dis one guy who had one smile on his face and he wen say.... "Eh, teedah.... was one trip, eh?" And I wen look at dat buggah, smile back and give him couple lifted eyebrows and a nod of da head and wen say, "Yeah, but I wen make'em"....

Yeah, I wen make 'em. And da "Shaka sign" I wen shoot out to dat guy sitting on dat beach dat day was one VICTORY SHAKA!!! Da same kind shaka all da guys wen give wen dey wen conquer WAIMEA BAY wen da teeng breaks 20 plus feet and dey come out of da wadda carrying their surf boards unda dea arms waving their "shaka signs" above their heads! Eh, fo' dat split second... I wen know how dat feels, even doe da waves I wen had to battle dat day couldn't have been ova 7 feet... But to me... I wen ride da "WILD SURF" on dat Day! I wen conquer Waimea Bay!

Moral of da story... Don't EVAH fo'get yo'wah FINS wen da surf stay breaking big! You may have to hitch one ride on one orange floatah and experience humility da hahd way!

Izzie Kikue was born in Honolulu and raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii. She now resides with her ohana several minutes southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Her career had her be involved as assistant Director of Ministries and a Certified Biblical/Pastoral Counselor for a large Christian Ministry in Southern California and later in Georgia. With a Th.D. (Dr./Theology), she devoted much of her time and energy traveling to third world countries offering physical and spiritual aide to people who needed assistance due to war situations and other misfortunes. Izzie is currently taking a breather from overseas travels and is now focusing her time and energy on her nani daughter, as well as "Bringing Aloha to the Internet" as AlohaWorld*s co-owner and host on a mission to promote Aloha in Action.