We did much of the typical stuff on my birthday (Thursday) - hit some beaches, had some good food, enjoyed it like any other day. Mandy and Leila went for an afternoon nap, at which point I was going to do my football picks, post up some more moments, etc. However, Larry was outside, and we started chatting. This made the day extra special.
Larry and Daniella are the couple whom we are renting from. It's kind of a side split house, with us on a raised level to ourselves. Daniella is Italian and speaks with a very strong accent, has always been very friendly and made sure that our stay has been alright. She teaches yoga, sells real estate, and some other stuff I'm probably forgetting. Larry, well, neither of us really knew what he did. He was always helpful and answered anything we needed, but it was difficult to figure out if he was happy, irritated, or indifferent. I had a chat with him earlier in the week where at one point he was talking about surfing and the waves and he exclaimed "cuz that's what I do..." but I didn't understand what "that" was.
And then it happened. Over some small talk he babbled something about a website but I couldn't quite follow him since he was using a lot of sounds to describe what happened. Sounds like "whoop" and "chchch" and other ornithological mating calls made the chat interesting, but incomprehensible. I looked up Larry Haynes Hawaii and the truth was laid before me. He was a professional surfing videographer. If you ever seen footage of anyone surfing, there are always those crazy guys bobbing around in the water, catching that perfect moment. Larry has been one of those guys forever and is somewhat of a legend in the North Shore. He's been to all of the best surfing spots in the world and in some of the biggest, dangerous freight trains of water that break over coral with the depth of the shallow end at your local pool. It also explains why, any given moment that I've mentioned a wave on O'ahu, he knows exactly how big the swell is. And now, I've got the privilege of sitting across from him over a Longboard Lager.
If you feel like reading, here's a great article on Larry from Surfer magazine. It also explains a bit to me why I can't understand some of the things he's saying. I started asking him about different waves around the world and some of the surfers he's captured on video, and he becomes animated and jumping in and out of stories like the Mad Hatter. He's been tossed around by the ocean so much his head should sound like maracas.
Mandy and I offered to make dinner for Daniella that evening. A classic at our house, we made panko crusted marlin with a bulgur wheat salad, something that should be approximately a million times tastier here since the fish was caught the same day. They appreciate our offer and are hesitant at first, only because they have another friend coming over that same night. We all agree that this will only enhance the evening.
His name is Stefan (something), and his job is designing the titles for various feature films. He's a Swiss born U.S. resident who has just bought a house (from Daniella) on the island and his family is scheduled to join him in a day or so. Mandy and I brought half the dinner, and Daniella picked up a bunch of Thai food on the way home so that they could provide something as well. We had a great night and chatted about all kinds of things. I enjoy spending a chunk of time with people I've never met, because in many cases your conversations dart all over the map, like a kite in the wind.
At one point, Mandy let's them know it's my birthday. Daniella is immediately embarrassed that she didn't know and did not have a cake for the occasion, even though she had no clue. Larry comes through with the sneakiest bottle of Moet champagne and we toast the night away, from birthdays to anniversaries to new friendships. Certainly an unexpected birthday present, but a gift that will last a lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment