The Hottest Pepper Blog

It’s just before Midnight and I just woke up on the couch. I was watching the ten o’clock news and made it to 10:20 before I fell asleep. Two surf sessions of double overhead surf today at Rocky Point in not so pristine conditions wore me out. A lot of North wind means a lot of paddling to stay in the lineup. And that is exhausting!

Anyway, I am contemplating not going into the gardens tonight to look for slugs. I am just too tired. I lie on the couch for another five minutes, and drag myself up. I literally am half asleep and stumble into the kitchen to get a flashlight. Even though I thought how nice it would have been to go straight to bed, there was never a chance. This is a responsibility that I have to my garden because all that is in it deserves to be protected. There is also the matter of putting the protective containers back over the “Bhuts” so the many assassins cannot enter. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a better balance between the nocturnal and the diurnal? Where is my garden toad? I haven’t seen it in a month. Why don’t the rock lizards hunt by night?

I find 4 slugs in the garden above the beach, and 25 slugs in the garden in the front of the house. This takes about an hour and my back is aching from bending over. I am now fully awake and it is after 1:00 AM. So much for getting up at 5:30 to surf. I take a long, hot shower and head to the computer to write down my thoughts. The garden is a wonderful place to think, especially at night. It is a very clear night here in Hawaii and there is no light pollution where I live on the North Shore of Oahu.. The stars look as though you can touch them and it doesn’t take but a few seconds to look up and see a shooting star. By the way, did you know that the average size of a shooting star is smaller than a grain of sand? I am at peace in my garden, especially at night because there is no noise except the waves crashing upon the reef. I am so lucky to live here and enjoy all that Hawaii has to offer. It is perfect for me as the surf is fantastic, the running and mountain biking trails are world class and we have great basalt rock for climbing 10 miles from my house. You throw in kite surfing, diving, paddling, swimming and well you get the picture. I am living a dream, a dream that started when I moved here from California in 1975. Everyone must have a dream. I think that we all dream when we are children. In fact, we sometimes get punished for being a dreamer. “Hey, quit day dreaming and get back to work. You are chasing a pipe dream. You’ll never be an airline pilot.” Those things I heard often when I was young from people who didn’t have a dream or forgot about their dream. They were trying to spoil mine. It is sad people lose their dreams and are relegated to living a life that is full of concessions. I thank God that I am so strong willed and have never accepted anything less than great. I remember telling my friend Otis this when he told me I was chasing a pipe dream. “If there is one airline pilot job available, I will be the one who gets hired.” Of course I got hired and had a great career and traveled the world. So, live your dreams my friends, don’t listen to the naysayer and never, never accept mediocrity.

Good Night