Waves

We had a tsunami alert this week, and amongst other things that went through my mind, was definitely an urge to go and check out the surf over at Onetangi beach. Turns out the earthquake in Tonga did little to send anything down this way, let alone a tsunami. There is certainly no laughing mattter involved here, but as a long time wave lover, it is seldom we get any kind of swell that arrives here in the Gulf Islands with any veracity, so if anything was coming (like good surf), I wanted to be there. I suppose if there was anything really dangerous happening, the Civil Defense people would let us know right? I mean, I only live 50mtrs from the beach (albeit on the wrong side for anything like this, but still, I am close) But no, I heard nothing until I read about it after the fact on Google News. So much for emergency planning.

So, naturally the only logical thing to do is head off to Hawai'i when in need of some surf therapy. Yes, it is getting on winter here, and the lovely rain that keeps our country green and full of energy is falling with regularity. I don't mind the rain. In fact, there are fewer more comforting sounds than the drops of precious life giving water running off the roof into the tank and into the earth, while I am inside with the comforts of shelter and warmth. All living things rejoice with water. When it is combined with cooler weather, a slight problem starts to exist in the comfort zone. C'mon, you know what I am on about. I used to live in a place called Seattle, and it rained alot there, with cooler winds from the North, so I head down to the South Pacific. But hey, any further and I would have ended up in Antartica, which is where the wind comes from that chills New Zealand. Think about that one. Hawai'i is at the other end of the great oceanic region of Polynesia, and the two island groups have much in common. One thing they don't is the weather.

Something about getting thrashed around in the surf cleanses the body and mind in ways that are hard to replicate in other areas of life. In the movie Step Into Liquid, there was a great description of becoming part of another element in nature, one that is changing rapidly in complete immersion. Nothing is quite comparable. Fortunately, I have long time friends, ohana, that look for me at this time of year, and it makes the trips quite an adventure. I could stay in the ocean for hours, silently floating in another world, another element...