“Swim dis way! C’ mon!” This crazy Hawaiian in a sarong whom I paid 20 bucks to take me out surfing at night says. It’s my very first time on a surfboard and I’m on my belly paddling as hard as I can in warm black water. “We need to swim past dat jetty and stay dher. Dah tide will keep pulling us back.” We’ve stopped and I’ve propped myself up to sit on the surfboard. I’ve never quite experienced anything like this. There’s so much activity, so many lights on the shore from towering hotels. So many starbursts from far off boats out on the horizon. Yet it’s quiet and hear only the sound of gentle waters. I wonder for a split moment if this is what paradise in outer space would feel like. Continue reading →