by RJ Krause
Chapter 17
Catching Waves
I reckon by now you folks feel like you know Paniolo Pete, the ranch crew and the Kahiona family fairly well. I suppose after all my rambling, you probably do. But there was another side of Pete that I haven’t yet talked about much.
One of the reasons Paniolo Pete was so well loved was because no matter how old he got, he always had the heart of a boy and loved to let loose and have fun. Don’t misunderstand me. He was a man through and through. But I think it was that playful quality in him that affected people. You couldn’t help but love Paniolo Pete. As they say in the islands, “He’s good people.”
I remember one day when we were working a small herd of yearlings down around Hilo. We were moving them toward the docks to barge them to Molokai for auction. The cattle were taking their sweet time along the beach. It was a beautiful tropical afternoon with tradewinds blowing, and no one seemed to be in a great rush. Pete, myself, and our Texan ranch hand Johnny were trailing behind the small herd when Pete noticed some young local boys out in the surf area yelling and laughing and obviously having a good time. As we stood there watching, one of the boys stood up on his longboard and rode it all the way in to shore.
“Shoot Bill, did you see that? He caught that wave like he roped it! Sure does look like they’re having fun. I think these cattle could use a little break after such a long walk. If you two don’t mind, I think I’ll take a break myself and go for a swim to cool off.”
Now I don’t know about the cattle. I think Pete was the one that wanted a break. Next thing you know he jumped down from his horse, stripped off his clothes, and dove into the surf. I don’t know where he learned how to swim, but Pete was a swimmer if I ever saw one. His long powerful strokes took him out where the young surfers were sitting on their boards. A minute later I saw Pete’s white behind on top of one of those longboards. Then a big wave came along and grabbed him and pushed toward the shore.
“Hey Bill, did you see that?” pete yelled to me. “Reminds me of the time you got dragged across the paddock by that old steer you roped. But this is a might more fun! Yee Haw!”
Pete turned his board around to paddle back out when one of the other boys passed by him riding a big wave. He was so caught up in watching the boy he wasn’t paying attention to the approaching swell. But that wave sure saw Pete. It picked him up clinging to his board, tumbled him around some, and washed him up on the beach. Paniolo Pete sat there in his birthday suit, covered in sand, and laughing for all he’s worth.
“Bill, you guys should have a go at this. I haven’t had this much fun in ages!”
He picked up his board, turned around, and paddled out again into the wild surf. Pete spent a good part of the afternoon out there riding waves, and by the time he finally swam back to shore, he was able to stand on the board and cut back and forth across the water. All of his new found surf buddies were waving to him as he stepped up to shore, and Pete himself was glowing with pride and excitement.
As he dried himself off with his shirt and began to dress, he told us, “That, my friends, is called surfing! Those boys out there helped me learn how to stand, and I’ll tell you I’ve never felt anything like it. Bill, why don’t you and Johnny give it a go? Even a couple of old cowboys like yourselves need a little fun in your life.”
“No thanks, Pete,” said Johnny. “Me and Bronco Bill here had about all the fun we need watching you out there gettin’ sunburned on your backside!”
To put it delicately, Pete had a little trouble sitting on his horse (or anywhere else for that matter) for several days after his surfing adventure. But he just laughed right along with the rest of us everytime he winced when he sat down.
Another of Pete’s little capers took place over on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Off in the distance Pete saw people sliding down the side of the volcano. We ended up riding a good two hours through snow and wind, fighting bone-chilling cold just so Pete could “take a shot at sliding down those slopes.”
As usual, I went with him, and I never regretted it for a minute. Some of the best laughs I’ve had in my life came from watching Pete try out new things. His first experience with skiing was no exception.
On his first try, he strapped on those skis and took off down the the slope. He immediately fell flat on his butt and slid all the way to the bottom. But by now you know Paniolo Pete was not a quitter. By the time we headed back home, he could ski as well as he could surf.