Bus Stories
5/14/12
I talk about my early days in elementary school and how my gym teacher made sure that I was a part of those classes in this installment.
2/25/12
2/11//12
I chose to post the excerpt below because it is a perfect tie in between my book and a very special event coming on March 31, 2012. But first, what am I doing in that silly hat? Well it is “Duck Season” here is Hawaii—er, make that “Rubber Duckie Season.” The Great Hawaiian Rubber Duckie Race is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawai’i. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of those poor toys trying desperately to get out of the Ala Wai Canal! It is all for a great cause because every duck that you adopt provides services for children (and adults) in Hawai’i with Cerebral Palsy. The tie in to my book is pretty obvious—I wrote about living MY life with Cerebral Palsy, but there is also a great story about that silly hat and me! Oh, part of the proceeds from every book sale will benefit a local chapter of United Cerebral Palsy, BUT any ebook purchased through my direct link (Click HERE!) from now through March 23rd will earn UCPA Hawaii a 50% commission and will get the buyer a duck in the race. Click HERE to adopt even more ducks and increase your chances of winning some great prizes! Enjoy!
Hawai’i is unique in so many ways and the take on local sports here is no different. We don’t have any professional sports teams here so the high school and especially the University of Hawai’i athletics are huge. Football is obviously a monster and people bleed Warrior Green here. I expected that, but what I didn’t expect was that the number two spectator sport in Hawai’i is UH Women’s Volleyball! I was first introduced to the game when it would be on television at the local pubs and people would be cheering loudly, so I started to watch with some curiosity. Curiosity gave way to genuine interest, especially since two of the ladies in my office were big “Wahine Volleyball” fans. They’d sit around at lunch and talk about the game the night before. Even my chiropractor/friend was interested in the game. I finally got tickets to the last game of the season in 2004. The arena was at least half full; meaning over 5,000 fans were in attendance! I was floored! It was great fun and I watched the Wahine lose a Final Four match in the NCAA Tournament from my living room in New York while l was home for Christmas. I was talking to my buddy early the next season and his sister got us tickets for a weekend tournament. We went and I bought season tickets the next day and have had season tickets every year since then. The two NCAA Regional Playoffs matches against the University of Southern California in the past two years were among the most exciting events that I have ever witnessed. They were both played at the Stan Sheriff Center and went to five sets both times. The teams split the two matches with UH winning in 2006 and USC taking it in 2011.
I started to photograph some of the games just for fun. Team photographs are passed out on Senior Night, the last home match of the season, and the players hang around after the game to sign autographs. I began to give the players images of the games I photographed. Some of the players actually ask me if I’ll have photos for them now. It’s a fun way to say: “thanks for a great year.” I’ve also gone on to work with some former players in more serious shoots One former player, Rayna, models for my outdoor lighting class and another went on to become Miss Hawai’i. Raeceen Woolford used one of my images of her for a fundraiser for her Miss America run. She was one of the finalists.
Rayna became one of my favorite models even after seeing me in the silly duck hat!
There is a very funny story that involves Rayna. I had met her at a couple of previous Senior Nights and saw her in the stands during a Spring exhibition match the following year. I went up to her and said hello and talked to her about doing some modeling. She was very polite, but it would be a while before we got together for a shoot. We chatted back and forth on Facebook until we bumped into each other again at an event called the Great Aloha Run Expo. The Run is one of the biggest charity events every year and the expo is a huge tradeshow where runners register. The biggest fundraiser of the year for United Cerebral Palsy of Hawai’i is our Great Hawaiian Rubber Duckie Race. We set up a booth and sell “duck adoptions” all weekend. I cannot participate in all of our fundraiser during the year, but I go all out for the Duckie Race. I was walking towards our table and I hear: “Steve?” I look up and it’s Rayna giving me a rather unusual look…because I was wearing a DUCK hat! It made sense at the booth, but not so much among the other exhibitors! Rayna was such a good sport that she shot with us anyway…and we still laugh at the stupid duck hat! That’s OK, that was 4 years ago and that silly hat and I have raised over $8,000.00 for the organization (Mahalos to all my friends and family–especially one super cousin–for the amazing support!) Of course, now I HAVE to wear that hat every year!
12/26/11 I lacked motor coordination, so my balance was never a strong point for me. I fell–a lot–as a kid. Some of these falls were quite funny. My parent’s had a film of me playing among the gifts on an early Christmas morning. We had a small play house where we could fit inside. My sisters were playing inside and I wanted to play. The film shows me looking out of the window with a big smile on face–just before I fell forward, taking the whole house with me! My bedroom was upstairs and the presents would be laid on the living room floor below. Our bathroom was on the left side at the top of the stairs. We were not allowed to look down to the presents because “one would disappear if we peeked!” I would feel for the bathroom door with my eyes closed with the stairs precariously close. Fortunately I never fell down the steps! On a different note, I can remember the check-ups out at St. Charles Hospital clinics. I would have to see how far I could walk without my crutches. The hardest evaluations were when I had to walk barefoot. Shoes, even without braces, provide at least a little support, but I was on my own barefoot. I wouldn’t make it very far.
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