“I hear you RB but I think keeping surfing a lifestyle is legitimate. Remember the roots of modern surfing? Beat era counter culture, Dora and that crew, an antithesis to the status quo, like Blues, flamenco music, like Kerouac. The guys that know and live it; everyone else can go to hell.”
“Well I hear you Billy, maybe it’ll be possible for the two visions to exist side by side?”
“Maybe, I guess it’s here for only one day. I can cope”
“Great. Because you have no choice haoli boy, we make the decisions.” Baby says in his raspy authoritative voice. A voice that lets you know he is the boss and his decisions come from a place beyond good and evil. “Let’s play croquet.”
“I can pay Billy’s ante.” Nicole says without thinking about Billy
“OK I'll give it a go, but I’ll get my $50 from the house." Billy walks to the house thinking ‘these guys are dangerous, and the $50 shows how far Nicole’s world is from his. Billy can live easily for a week on $50.
Returning Baby instantly give him a mallet and a beer, as if Billy’s an old friend and not someone Baby just put in his place with a threatening raspy voice.
It’s like playing croquet with the Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Oscar the grouch; with guns. Also it’s like being with business men relaxing on their weekend.
"What happened to Sunny? Thought he was moving in with you guys.”
"We threw him out, before we got started." Baby rasps," I know it's his uncle's house, and you’re in his auntie’s house, but he seemed too hard on old Nikido.”
“Ya Billy,” Bla says “Sunny wanted to put him in an old folks home bra, Nikido would have jumped off the roof or something. Naw we made a cool place for him in the shed on the edge of the seawall. He’s stoked, we pay the mortgage, we’re stoked, we can fish and keep thing mellow. And he can pee on the waves through his front window!” Bla James gives a huge tight lip smile.
‘Plus Sunny had to go, he does drugs. It's like always bringing your work home.”
Nicole lectures everyone on how croquet came to South Africa in the 1850’s from England and then she blew them away with the roquet shot.
When Nicole wins they insist she takes the money.
Out on the lawn Nicole trying not to take everyone’s money
“Naw bra you’re taking it." John John says very clearly but with a big gold tooth smile. “And if you’re here tomorrow you better give us a chance to get our money back." With John John you know you’ll make him mad if you don’t let him do whatever good thing he wants to do for you. And if you make him mad he’ll probably shoot you.
“Nobody expects any trouble at a surf comp do they?"
"No trouble Bra." Bla says, " Everybody knows John John always keeps a sawed off shot gun under the seat of his Mustang. No trouble Bra."
"Right.” Billy says remembering how a good goofy foot, Willy Fond, was shot dead on his couch at the Rocky Point Quonset hut because he stiffed the Hui on a drug deal.
CHAPTER 8
The Banzai Pipeline is obvious with a touch of overt complexity.
Big black ocean swells abruptly engorge over a lava reef cylindrically folding water into crystal green spinning energy, “Pipeline”, which then collapses like squeezing soap through your fingers creating a cannon shot of inner wave; white dragon spit.
The Banzai Pipeline kills more surfers than any wave on the planet.
The men who ride Pipeline almost growl as they paddle shoulder to shoulder. Who will get the wave? Backs can be broken in an instant reputations can be made in a session and if you’re a hardened elite North Shore surfer it’s just another day at the office.
The beach is broad coarse sand with cliquish groups of spectators, photographers, and industry people who rate each ride like a vertical Mondavi wine tasting.
Just off shore awesome green waves thunder surgically. So close you feel the thunder in your stomach; laughing lions in a Coliseum.
Billy sits at the waters’ edge, feet wedged into the coarse sand, 7’7” single fin pintail “gun” across his lap, riding each wave with his mind’s eye…gathering energy, from the flawless eight foot waves; power and perfection. Jake comes up from behind.
“What’s it look like Billy.”
“Oh hey Jake, stoked, decent really decent.”
“Well if you don’t over amp from tripod fever” Jake nods toward the massive lenses, “we ought to have a lot of fun.” Nodding toward the approaching waves.
“Hum a lot of guys’ man, but I’m in there!” Billy says as they jump on the back of the last receding wave of the set.
Waiting patiently out the back Billy avoids the man on man jostle, just reading the ocean like he was the only guy in the water. Quite naturally he finds himself in perfect position for the biggest wave of the day. There is no hesitation, the animal clicks in, breathing becomes natural and deep, Jake hoots him on and fakes at paddling in too, backing off the other desirous surfers before leaving the wave of the day for Billy.
Green energy over an unforgiving reef, the catching of the wave and snapping to his feet is unconscious, the drop is deliciously steep, fast, and the backside turn is the electric matador driving a slashing edge, pulling the cape at the instant of the horns. As he squeezes up into the salivating tunnel he throws his head back arrogantly Manolete. Tons of cascading water securely surrounds him; humming energy, eyes toward the opening at the end. Squat low, ride high, sense the power at the back. As he is exiting the tunnel he straightens up too soon, the board catches a stress line throwing him up, detached from the board. Board and rider independently go over the falls and in slow motion miraculously re connect. Laughing at how he could have made it Billy goes to shore.
Satisfied and sitting in the sand… smiling at the spectators. Billy joins some kids making sand castles…" Hey cool castle.... You guys ever make drip castles?"
"Show us how."
“Just pull out wet sand like a crane see? Then you hold your claw hand over a bit of wall to make twisted turrets. The guards can climb up on and watch over the land." and the red headed little girl says,
"Oh and we can tie our horses on them also."
“That’s so right" Billy says. Oblivious to the "scene on the beach" the three of them carefully build the inner chambers of the castle. As they concern for how far they'll allow the horse to approach the center the boy says, “It’s not very strong in the center”
“It never is, it’s all about the walls.” Billy smiles
“Just create places for peeking eyeballs over, and maybe a spear”
The beach is in a roar as camera men fire away at machine gun speed. However Billy and the kids have found the path to the center ...they've had to hold the horses as the clomp of their hoofs echo rudely on the fine Venetian tiles. They sit on throne chairs as sunlight streams in from oval in the frescoed ceiling. 'It's beautiful" she says,
“How many can it hold?” the boy smiles
“Probably a billion including angles”. She says
“You never get to stay you know." Billy mentions
"Why?"
“The tide" Billy says, "it's always coming up and levelling things out."
"We can save it!" the lad says
"Well we've got to try eh?" Billy smiles
"Oh have you got a plan or should we just get out of here?" she says as waves begin to surge through the outer walls, the troops arrive but it’s all lost.
“Well we’ll just start again.”
Jake comes up to Billy
“Hey did you see my last wave?”'
“Missed it man, ‘been making sand castles. Good fun.”
“You are such a goof ball man, this is the ultimate surf arena, the power pit, and here is where you make it or break it for surf status man.”
“Hum? Feels like a day at the beach.”
“Right Billy.” Jake rolls his eyes. “Excuse me kids. Billy come over here and meet some of my friends.”
The rest of the beach h
ad been watching Jake do his fully tested power dance. Jake learned to never fall so the camera men can count on you.
“Nice ride Jake.” Classically understated by Hap
“Nice? Brilliant would be better…” Jake flashes the full tooth smile
“You boys want a beer?”
“No.” as Jake grabs two beers handing one to Billy
“Hey Hap remember my friend Billy?”
“Right. Billy we met when I shot you at Wiamea, and Billy I got that bizarre last ride of yours. It’ll be in the movie for sure. … and Jake that last wave was brilliant,” Haps turns to the crew lined under palms and says,
“Jake drops in, set wave, so late that he’s so far out in front he has to crash through the lip to get into the tube! Where he gets blasted in the back by the compression spit. Impossible but he does it before stylishly exiting, hands draped at his hips and rides to shore”
Billy smiles, Jake’s ego inflates, and the groupie girls on the beach are trying to get their attention.
Stretching in the sand and feeling a bit public. Forgetting for a while that Lloyd waits at home and Nicole’s planned a dinner party at his place.
“Hey Jake, maybe we should go, dinner party, Nicole and Julia?”
"Hey Billy we better get going; dinner party at your place right."
"Right right right...”
… men are desperately waiting for their epic story. For a clear vision of their place in the cosmic battle between good and evil. Men sense this tension between the forces better than women, there is a necessary primal-ness and sexual inertia, “Where is the thing worth fighting to the death for?”…in the indecision we feel like imposters …It is like a tropical storm brewing on the horizon, the fight is eminent but the waiting is excruciating. Wonderfully, as surfers, we can retreat to neutral ground and cleans ourselves for the battle ahead… we just go to the ocean and surf.
CHAPTER 9
Arriving home finds Nicole's car parked on the lawn space between the house and the seawall, Billy's usual space.
"Glad you finally made it! A proper dinner party takes organizing Billy." her amber eyes flash, but she laughs and throws him a tea towel... “Wipe all the plates, cutlery and glassware." I've got a full tuna in the oven, made lomilomi salmon, bought poi, cooked vegies, brought Chardonnay, and got houpia for desert. You need to tidy up your house, set the table, get some ice, chill the wine, and put beer in the fridge for you and Jake…
Billy do you think he really wants a relationship with Julia?”
“ Her family are old north shore which nicely bridges the gap between the locals and Jake…maybe the course of his life hinges on that decision; maybe not? Sometimes you never recognize those moments until there long gone.”
“Well a proper dinner party is a rare thing on the North Shore, and it’s as much for them as anything, so let’s do it right. Oh I brought my own glass ware and cutlery, your hand painted plates will be fine.”
"Sure, I'll feed Lloyd and then get going."
"I already fed him. You get going. Move the table to the front windows, iron this tablecloth, get a vase for the flowers, take the candles from next to the turntable and fold these cloth napkins, oh and wipe the chairs."
The house is more crowed now as musicians have been leaving amps, guitars, 6 foot wall speakers. These thing just appear as guys come to jam with Jake and Billy. Imperceptible really but now the room is no longer stark and Spartan; not totally Billy’s.
Jake and Julia arrive at sunset just as Billy finishes his chores. Thinking over kill can create weird vibes.
It's a north shore sunset, the glasses sparkle, the girls seem especially elegant, and Jake and Billy get into the idea that a dinner party can be a wonderful time-out from the routine, and a reminder that every moment doesn't have to be action or rest.
“Hey Jake, have you given the future any thought?” Billy says passing him a beer.
"I'm sorta caught up in this pro surfing thing right now but it seems like the North Shore is getting mellower. Maybe I could use my degree out here? Or maybe I need to do some travelling. Did you hear those stories from GL about Indonesia? These guys the Boyam brothers have supposedly found surf better than Hawaii?"
“That’s hard to believe. I mean the whole focus of the surf world is here isn't it?"
“Ya but I guess the question is do we hang here and be a part of the legitimizing of the North Shore or ...Or do we escape responsibility in the guise of adventure?" Jake flashes the smile.
"This dinner party makes me lean toward watching the North Shore mellow and working toward legend status.' Jake says as they settle into their chairs, Billy pours chardonnay, Nicole serves a beautiful dinner.
Suddenly, as the turntable plays" You better watch Yourself Sonny Boy" by Lightnin" Hopkins", the sound of a heavy fist hits the door and Sunny Boy bursts in. Billy jumps up to stand between Sunny and the table. Screaming in a strained, cocaine wizened voice Sunny Says,
" You frickin" houli, this is my aunties house, you don't belong bra." and he steps up to Billy nose to nose, Billy's heart is racing but no stepping back. Just stand there solid, eye to eye, no aggressive vibe no backing down. Sunny Boy's eyes are wild with drugs and vengeance but unbelievably he spins walks to the door, pauses, looks at Billy and derisively mimics the record, “you better watch yourself sonny boy." And slams the door behind him. Moments later they hear the sound of a beer bottle breaking against the outside wall. Jake says
"He’s vented his anger with that beer bottle."
“Well that could break the mood... but let’s finish the meal; civilized." Nicole says
"Sure, maybe my heart rate will settle.” Billy says picking up his wine glass. “What were we saying about the mellowing of the North Shore?"
"My families been here a long time" Julia says, “We know everyone, the good guys, the bad guys and the wild ones. Its how you come across, how you work for the community, what you put in over the long haul that defines how you'll be received. I'm expecting to grow old here and raise children here because I know that this community works thing out, and that’s comforting and safe once you’re invested in it."
“I like this girl Jake." and for a moment the veneer of surf stardom fades from Jake face, less nervous, less pose and almost intimidated by the momentary flash that he could be the father of Julia's children, grow old with grace; rebirth into a life he feels he’d forfeited many years ago when his heart turned cold. But for this moment all four at the table stare through a window into Jakes heart, just for this instant Jake believes God would somehow allow it. Before anyone can speak the moment is shattered as a cement block crashes through the kitchen window spewing glass across sink and floor. Sunny Boy is outside screaming,
"I'm going to shoot you, you fricking houli!! I'm going to shoot you!" The girls dive under the table as Billy's surfboard comes crashing through the fly screen window.
All this time Sunny is screaming "I'm going to shoot you! I'm going to shoot you!" Billy is still sitting, the girls are under the table and Jake stands with the wine bottle in his hand as Sunny comes crashing through the door with a gun in his belt. Julia scurries out the door on hands and knees, Nicole backs into a corner swearing at Sunny in her best South African. Jake steps in front of him looking into those coked-out crazy eyes and says, "You don't want to shoot anybody, Sunny, how about a glass of wine?"
"You! You're only here because pro surfing brings money and you pay Da Hui to keep the peace at contest. This fricking houli got no respect” Trying to reach over Jakes shoulder with the gun Sunny screams again. “I'm going to shoot you’ you fricking houli!" Amazingly the door busts open again! It is the neighbors, Baby, John John, and Bla James come in with Julia. In his deep gruff voice five foot three Baby says “Stop Sunny." and it's like Sunny got hit in the back of the head by a baseball bat, he drops the gun and drops to his knees. Before everyone’s eyes he turns into a whimpering puppy dog. Sunny owes Baby his life as years ago the Waia
nai Hui wanted to kill Sunny like a mad dog, for ripping off the Hui, and being out of control. His only saving grace was Baby who talked everyone out of killing Sunny in lieu of sending him to California which to them was similar. It was years before Sunny was allowed to return. "Get outa here Sunny, you make trouble in this house and it comes to my house. Get outa here!" and Sunny slinks off to his van. Just like that it's over.
It was rumored that someone went to Sunny's house and broke all his pottery and then carved their initials in his back with the broken pieces.
… and the window into Jakes heart snapped shut.
CHAPTER 10
Sometimes you can lose your line-up and not know that you’re drifting down the line… too deep… and too shallow
Jake pushes the gate open to find Billy and Lloyd sitting on the seawall watching the waves.
"Ready to go Billy?"
Ya, maybe.
How did you talk me into this Jake? All the way to town and back to get drunk?"
"Look Billy it’s the launch party for the Super Comp? Your beach is one of the venues?...and who's going to keep me from all those women?" big cheeky smile, "and who's going to drive me home? Plus Billy you need to loosen up pal, meet some new women, and give Nicole some space. It's beers with the boys tonight."
“I’m with you Jake; see I put on my '50s silk aloha shirt. Lloyd you’re in charge. Hop in the Jeep Jake, were outa here."
The whole club in downtown Waikiki is reserved for a national media" invitation only" surf party. Billy and Jake drive up to the entry and when they hop out John John is standing there in a black tuxedo, his gold tooth seems magnified, and he's got thongs on his feet.
"Billy bra, the blalahs goin' park da car, get inside and fine' Baby and Bla, dey get free drink vouchers!"
“John John do you guys run everything on the island?"