Papa, you are crazy !

I had another soul surfing trip with Mara as usual.

During this trip, Ken came with us. Ken was sick and he had a really high fever (around 38degrees) He said that he really wanted to go  because if missed this trip, he doesn't know when we can go again. (What determination !)

This trip was quite different from what we would usually do.  We didn't bring: lap tops, cell phones, iphone, and the favorite computer game of Ken, even if nobody suggested it.

We asked a boat man to bring us to our special place which nobody visits. In this place, it was only us three, until the next day when the boat man came to pick us up. 
The beautiful waves were breaking beside the cape at the left cove.

We surfed, snorkeled, camped, set up a bon fire then we talked while watching the stars in the beach. 

I talked a lot with Ken and I felt that we talked about so many things, more than all our past conversations and deeper meaningful talks, ,

As for me, this kind of relationship was able to make within Ken was prime and special thing more than any of the miracles I had in my life.  

The wave was small, but it like a miracle that was able to enjoy surfing in this situation of the wave forecast that whole area of Luzon expected a flat on that day.

And I felt that this experience is that I rode 20feet over big wave that I have never experienced in my life so far.

I already finished writing the miraculous story of me and ken in the middle of this trip. I am making a copy of this and I intend to send it to a Japanese publisher.

Of course the title is, "Papa, you a crazy" .

For me, the publication of this book is an important meaningful thing, together with the publication of "Soul Surfer's Journey". 

By the way, I got the email from my Master before going to our trip. 

"This made me cry too.

I am forwarding this to my wife also.

Between soul surfing and crazy papa, Hiro san can still be Hiro san. Without soul surfer Hiro san cannot be crazy papa and vice versa.

This crazy moment happens only briefly in our lives. Most of the time we will just be bored and tired and alone. But when we become soul surfer, it makes our soul ready so when this moment comes, we can own it and embrace it and love it. Also, because our soul is prepared we can make this moment happen also."

I will move forward, pushed from behind by such warm words.

Papa, You are crazy,

July 22, 2011.

One action produces the next action.

The book(web) I made this time brought various synergistic effects and produced other by-products.

There were many nice things that came out that I did not expect encountered in that. 

I have one son between with Maria Isabel, his name is Ken becoming 15 years old. 

Honesty, we were not close each other. He likes playing with a computer than doing something with me, and he is Mama's boy. He only goes surfing with us several times in a year and we really have to force him to go with us, then he goes with us as a obligation.

Few days ago, this Ken called me and asked me to pick up him at the Robinson's. After picked him up, usually he just do computer game without any conversations with me but the day was different. He suddenly asked me," Papa, what kind work are you doing?". He is always cool for me and it is rare that he ask me like this.

"What? You don't know the work of Papa?",.. maybe that is a normal reaction but I know we are not normal relations. And I didn't expect any for him also. He is not interested in what I do and what I did and I also never trying to fix for that . This was our relation and it was so cold and so poor. 

Such he was asking about my work at this time. I tried to explain about my doing in the work and what kind projects I am doing now. He was really listening while I was talking about that. 

"Ken, by the way, why you are asking about this to Papa?". He said," I was just with friends for a while ago, and they said they hate their Daddy because they are really strict and want to control them. And I said "My daddy is so cool, he don't say anything. He is a surfer and he is the first one who put first surfing school, "Yokohama Surfing School" in the Philippines. But nobody believed it until I showed them the web of Papa. Then everybody was surprised, yet they didn't half trust it.

After this conversation, he asked me," Pa, When is the next surfing trip?" , "I will go with you next absolutely." He also said,"I want to really learn surfing". Wow,… 

And he asked me about surfing a lot. I answered those one by one carefully as much as possible.  

I told him that there are many pupils came to me now and they like to listen my words about surfing. I talked about Paolo also. And I told him," They said that the words of Sensei should spread to everybody as a legacy". This is one of reason that I made this book.

"However, Ken, if you listen to me and if you call me "Sensei" more than anyone else, it is the gladdest for me" and, "I want to give this legacy to you more than anyone", that I told to Ken.

Then, he said,"I want to do it."And he said, " I call you "Sensei" from now on". 

And I talked about the stories: a start of my surfing, various encounters, soul surfing, and moon light surfing, etc. 

He was impressed by one and the one. 

And I told him,

"Speaking of an legacy, all of your friends are rich and they will get big money from parents as an inherit. But can you call that  they are really happy in it? 

As for you, You will get big money, houses and property which Mama worked hard and saved, but can you really find happiness with that alone? 

Papa does not have the money to be able to leave for you. However, I hand the experience of Papa and the book as my legacy to you. 

You have a Mama, Maria Isabel Lopez, the No,1 actress in the Philippines. Mama's leading roll movie,"Kinatay" was the only one got a grand prize of Cannes Film festival in the history of movie industry in the the Philippines ever.

And you have a Papa, Hiroshi Yokohama, what he did? He just did surfing. But he made a book of "Soul Surfing" for you. 

You will get the property of material things from Mama, and you will get the legacy of spiritual things from Papa. 

Therefore, you are more than lucky than anybody and you are a special. 

Special is your Identity.

Identity is to know yourself, to know yourself is to know your origin where oneself came from. 

You are awakened to one's identity and are going to search for it.  

Let's try to search for it together with Papa.

The Journey, the search of your soul,

for you make the "Soul Surfer's Journey" of your own."

After my words, he said," I want to be a soul surfer like Papa". 

When I brought Ken to home and I told this story to Maribel and Mara, they said that they are really pray about this, and they both cried,..

By the way, do you remember that I talked about the book of William Saroyan, "Papa, you are Crazy" the other day.

This book is the story about the relationship between an author William and his son. William got his son from his x-wife for a while and he tried to short trip from San Francisco to Half –Moon bay. ( Do you know this is the place, Matveric's, the biggest wave point in California.) But he is really poor and they only have ,,,,money for this trip. This is a story how to survive this trip for this small money. On the way, he wanted to buy hamburger but his son was the one advice to him that they don't have such a budget.

Through this trip, the son had been dealing with a crazy Papa who really different from daddy of friends or her Mom.

However, at the end of the trip in the book, the son noticed that he learned a very irreplaceable important thing through this short trip with his daddy who is this crazy. 

When I went book store to buy this shook for Ken, the staff said it was out of print because this book was published 1957,…. 

If it was so, I yearned so that I made a further story with Ken.  

Therefore, we go to our special place with three of us, Ken and Mara tomorrow morning. 

To make our story,….

(Of course, there is excellent wave.)

Master, I think this is my real direction of writing more than "Soul Surfing".

I think this theme will be more universal and able to catch the heart of public,…? 

Because this is theme of Love between father and son.

Bible said love is most important things than anything else.

"Mean while these three remain ; faith, hope, and love, and the greatest thing is love". 1 Corinthians 13; 13.

I also remember my soul brother, Tok told me once, when he worried about my relationship with my other son, Kanta,

" Even you became a great surfer or doing other great things, I prefer you become a good father more than anything else. 

Amen,

Hiroshi Yokohama

By the way, William Saroyan became a very famous author after published of this book. Most of students used to read this book like their Bible at the time with together, the book of Salinger,"The Catcher in the Rye" in 1951".

Homage. オマージュ

Homage.  オマージュ

I am sure you already noticed the title and the design of "Soul Surfer's Journey" is exactly similar with ”The Surfer's Journal".
There are reason for that.
This is my "Homage" for not only the magazine but also all of the connections of surfing in my life.

I dedicate this book to them as my Homage.

皆さんはもちろん既に、この"Soul Surfer's Journey"のタイトルが創刊時の”The Surfer's Journal"に極似ししていることに気付いているだろう。

パクリやパロディーとも受け取れかねない、このようなデザインに敢えてしたのには理由がある。

これは、今までか関わって来たサーフィンに関するすべてのものに対する私のオマージュである。

オマージュとはどういう意味か？辞書を引くと、フランス語でhommage、敬意、尊敬、献辞、賛辞とある。

ジョンセーバソンとステーブペスマンによってサーフ史上初のサーフィン雑誌"SURFER"は1960年に発刊された。この雑誌は、若者達に一つの文化とも言える大きなインパクトとインスピレーションを与え続けて来た。それに依ってサーフィンを始めた者や、その中にはのちに偉大なサーファーや編集者やサーフフォトグラファーになった者も幾多といるだろう。そのように、多くの若者に影響を与え続けて来た。その後、二人はこのサーファー誌を去り、ジョンはハワイで画家として悠々自適なアート活動を続けている。ステーブはまた新たに雑誌を作り始めた。それが私が冒頭で触れた、”The Surfer's Journal"だ。彼はこの雑誌の創刊に際し、「サーファー誌で出来なかったことをこの本でやる」と言った。そしてその通りに、かなり志（こころざし）の高い本を創り上げた。が、この雑誌は最近その表紙のロゴを変えた。その洗練された新しいロゴと共に、その中身にもある種の変容を感じた。「ああ、この本も、もっと売れる本を目指していくんだな。」と想った。それは、若者に、時代に迎合していくことを意味する。そんな本なんか私は読みたくない。それならば、彼らの志とロゴは私が貰い、受け継いで行こう。その想いで敢えてあのロゴにこだわった。

大それた夢をと笑うな。彼らが成してきたことはとても超えることは出来ないかも知れない。しかし彼らの志は引き継ぐことが出来るだろうと思う。

私には、私のことを先生や師匠と呼んくれる若者がいる。また、フェイスブックの"Soul Surfer's Journey"のファンページも開設して僅か数日で、百の数に届こうとしている。そうした人達に、私のこうしたオマージュ（想い）を伝えていけければと想う。

オマージュと言えば、この黒を基調としたこの本の創り、その文体に石井秀明氏の匂いかぎ出す方がいるがも知れない。彼の創り出したサーフィンクラッシック等の雑誌を夢中に読んだ時期がある。こうしたサーフィンの雑誌に関わっていた、ジッタ（畠山）、ニシ、カメラマンのタイスケ、柴田、伝次郎らと青春のある時期を共に一緒に過ごしたことがある。そうした若き才能にあふれた人達との交流の中で、多くのことを私は学んだに違いない。彼らに憧れて、ある時期彼らの後を追いかけていた事もある。今回この本を創っていく上で、そうしたことが何らかの影響を私に与えていることは確かだろう。彼らは今でも元気で、輝いているだろうか。彼らとのそうした日々を、この異国の地で懐かしく想う。

そのノスタルジーの想いは、オマージュに換えて彼らに贈りたい。

「オマージュ」とは、過去の名作に尊敬の意味をこめて、敢えて部分的に演出・表現を似せる技法」

Little red riding hood. 赤ずきんちゃん、気をつけて！

Little red riding hood

July 17,2011

Maribel and Mara used to hate it when I was dealing with young girls.

They always said that these young girls only love my money. One time, I introduced one of those girls to Mara but it was terrible. And I never did that to her again.( I will send this story by separate email.)

As you know, there are many young girls that come to me recently. They are very smart, talented, and attractive girls. (most are UP students.)

I realized Mara and Maribel do not hate my interactions with them. Mara has also been getting closer to them more than me now.

When Mara recognized those my new friends, she tried to reject them from me first. But she was not able to find out any abjections for them, because they are so smart and decent. Like Bible said, "If you are righteous, nobody against you". And you know Mara said after that, " Papa, I want to see them, I want to be friend with them,.."

Today, Maribel and Mara met one of those girls, one of my excellent pupil. She will help Marbel's Movie promotion, movie "HIV", Maribel is a producer and leading actor is Jack Cuenca. Please ask Kat about this movie and buy a ticket from her, so she need not become below,"Little red riding hood".

Also she will do some sessions with Mara, Skate boarding and Bible study etc. Her name is Kat Bolina, 20 years old, a scholar student of University of Philippines and she will take a Master course of sports since in UP next year. 

On the way I sent back her to her class, she said she has a plan to apply a part time job for teaching English on line. I replied to her, "Do you know those people who what to study on line? They can speak English well.  But why they are willing to pay for that because they want to be a friend with young smart student because they only know night club girls. 

Why I know that? I sometimes talk to my Japanese clients about my life, my surfing and about my nice young pupils like you. 

They said they are boring with night club girls and they want to meet young decent student, especially like UP students. But they don't know how to do. They finally discovered such a internet meeting (not for study from them). They envied my relationship of you guys, but I know they cannot do like me. There are secret why I can do and why they cannot do. One of secret is wasting time,…What that,…??? (I will talk about this next time.)

So, Kat, when you talk to them on line, if they are good English speaker, be careful!  Because when you are trying to teach English for them so hard, they are checking your face and body. You should know your situation! You are so pure and innocent as "Little red riding hood" in front of those wolves.

But I also know that you all of my pupils are too smart and strong for this kind of stupid greedy wolves. And I know they don't get any but they just westing their time and money. Ha ha ha.

By the way, she said she like my writing without any corrections of somebody. She feel it is not come from me anymore after the corrections. 

She also promote my Soul Surfer's Journey to her 2000 followers. And my fun page of Soul Surfer become almost 50 members from 3 in a one day !

Thank you and Be careful, my Little red riding hood !

(The attachment is the story for you and give your children someday,…)

 

A word I found out in this morning 今朝、目にした言葉。

A word I found out in this morning.

The most important things now is,

Not,  "Where" I am now,

But , "Which way" I am aiming for. 

今朝、目にした言葉。

今一番大切な事は、

自分が今「どこ」にいるかではなく

「どの方向」に向かっているかという事！

Facebook

Facebook

July 11,2011.

About Facebook,

Off couse, this is good for the enjoyment, you can communicate with your friends, you can update your current doing, and even you can appeal what you think,etc…all through this.

But this can be an addict for us also, even you can be a stalker, you can go enter the other's life and able to check those through this Facebook,... I sometimes used to go to other people's pages and check their photos or doing, even I don't know some of them. After those doing, I felt I became a stalker and that made me some straggles.

Mara also realized my addiction for this at the time and she said, "Stop Papa, always checking Facebook! If you are always do that, you are no more a soul surfer".

Then I stopped Facebook for a while and when I returned to Facebook again, I never goes other people's Facebook agin anymore. I just update my doing and photos. And if somebody come to me, then I just reply or ignored. That is most peaceful way to use Facebook for me.

But recently, I recognized I can find out my old friend through this, even very old missing friends. Then I found out those my old friends through this. 

One of those is a successful legends shaper in the surfing world. I met him 25 years ago in North Shore, Hawaii and now we are talking about some project about special surfboard making together.  And one of others is my super hero of surfing world. He is around 80. The discover of his alive is already amazing for me but more than that is he still stoked in his surfing, and now he is planning to come and surf with us in our Blue Heaven, because he saw my photos of the waves and place in my Facebook.

My excellent pupil, Ninja used to tell me,    

"I don't like Facebook because most of the people you are dealing with don't really know who you are.  I don't want to deal with people who don't know me. And I don't want to appeal myself. I am elusive."

I agree with her philosophy at the some point but I realized if I use this Facebook for good way, it will be a great tools for opening the door of your new or old world. You can communicate all over the world with excellent people through this. I started to communicate those people in my Facebook now. Of cause, all of those people are belong to surfing world.

When Ninja will appear to me again, I want to share with her about my those communication with those friends in the Facebook, and I am sure she will amazed for that because she knows all those legends through her study by book and I know she really adore them a lot. 

When I saw those to her, I will say "I know them as a friend, not through book!".

Yesterday, I suddenly communicated with my old surfer friend through Facebook. Our last communication was 30 years ago. Can you believe that?

Of cause the time we didn't have any Facebook, internet and even cellphone,…His name is Mitsutaka "Mitttaka"  Ikeda, he was one of a hottest professional surfer at the time. We used to travel my Island for the Surf magazine. By the way, I wrote below sentence as the prologue of my book before. 

"I have been living in this foreign country for more than 20 years since I had left Japan. I remember when I just started surfing in my homeland. I used to read many surfing magazines and watched many surfing videos. Because I wanted to know more about     surfing, which had always caught my eye and never left my mind. Some articles were very impressive. For example, the article of Gerry Lopez’s surfing trip to G-Land of Indonesia, or the piece on ultimate cut back of Thornton Fallander  at Nias Island, the set of the film Storm Riders, directed by Dick Hoole. I started to dream. I also wanted to go on one of these surfing trips to the southern  islands some day, and I wanted to surf the ultimate waves of the most remote points, alone. I think all surfers have this kind of dream.

After 35 years of my surfing journey, I had finally discovered my own ultimate places ; I can say that I have had the greatest surfing life, more than I had ever dreamed of  at a young age." After the communication with Mittaka today, I realized I already traveled with this Thorton Falender and Mittaka together before. It was 30 years ago and I already had forgotten about it. The amazing is I still keep the magazine which featured our surf trip to my Island by our crew, Tai-can and Nishi. (1st Photo is Mittaka at our trip, Mara, the one Nishi riding the board was your yellow board that you are using now after 30 years.) And now, I also remember the last trip to Point C followed for my soul surf brother Colin. That was like a "Deja Vu" of my long-chelished dream and intensity for surfing from 35 years ago when I just started surfing. (3rd one is that photo of Thorton in Nias.) Another surprised was, I realized this Dick Hoole became my soul brother after 20 years later of my watching his movie. And we did a lot of things together for the support of Philippines surf. By the way, you believe or not, our name of group, "Manila Storm Riders" was given by him from his movie,"Storm Riders". Our communication between Mittaka and me was really fun to jump from the time of 30 years. He was also so exciting after checked the my photos in the Facebook and he seemed like he want to fly to Philippines already tomorrow. He said that after his professional surfing career, he became a businessman and have been traveling the world to buy Lobster and now he has own company for that. He is asking the possibility to buy Lobster from Philippines. Maybe, I should ask my soul brothers in Blue Heaven to catch the Lobster instead of catching the wave of tube.   Is there anybody can advice me for this is possible or not  to able to business in the Philippines. If possible, I really want to give any business opportunity for my soul brothers in Blue Heaven seriously. Mittaka, come to the philippines asap! I want to bring you to my Blue Heaven. There is best wave and excellent surfers. I want to take the photos of the session between you and them. I also expected your performance of Japanese spirit surfing, "Samurai Surfing" which you used to be called! I didn't know what will happen after 30 years at the time. I also don't know what will happen tomorrow.  But I only know life is so amazing and I am so exciting for what is the next God will provide to me,… Mahalo for Facebook, Hiroshi

Kyakka shouko. 脚下照顧[きゃっかしょうこ]

I just got below txt from my old friend today.

We used to surf together in La Union, it was 20 years ago. And now he lives in Australia.

He said  there are excellent surf point near his house and he surf every day before go to work.

Please check photos which is wave of yesterday, he was there also, Wow. 

But we should never envy for this,.. 

We should know that we have more excellent waves, no crowd, no wet suite,..

Always looks beautiful for the others, but sometimes we have more beautiful one than others,.. 

There are Japanese proverb, "Kyakashouko" said,

脚下照顧

[きゃっかしょうこ] 

look carefully where your own footsteps fall, seek enlightenment by knowing yourself and not by watching others, know thyself