Aloha everyone and Happy 4th of July!
Things have been so great lately. Sun is shining, waves are picking up and summer fun is here! I was able to attend the Sunset On The Beach Movie last night and watched Soul Surfer. It was a very, very cool setup and a treat that Bethany Hamilton was there in person to introduce it! If you haven't been, I highly recommend it however I don't know how many more there will be. The next one is July 8th.
Kevin wrote in the last blog about the feeling you get from surfing and how his job is more then just teaching a surfing lesson. All of our instructors are truly the best around! It's what makes Hawaiian Fire..well Hawaiian Fire! One of our long time instructors, Marc Hino, just returned from a little leave of absence as he and his wife welcomed their little baby girl Kirin Lai Wah Hino to the world on March 4th! Congratulations and we are happy to have you back on the beach now too!
I thought it would be a good treat to interview Marc for the blog and in the future maybe you can help me pick another instructor you would like to know more about!
Years as a Fire Fighter?7 years this October. Time flies...
What is the best part of being a FF?
It’s just overall a very satisfying career. You never know what co
It’s just overall a very satisfying career. You never know what co
uld happen on any given alarm and you always leave the scene knowing you’ve done whatever you can to help. The schedule isn’t too bad either - especially now that I’m a father, I get to spend a lot of precious time with my little girl!
What's your favorite part about working for Hawaiian Fire?It sounds corny but spreading the stoke of surfing with our customers is definitely the best part of the job. The fact that I have to hang out at the beach and play in the water to do that is pure gravy!
What is your favorite Hawaiian Fire gear?Your fave restaurant?
Town – I love that they use fresh local ingredients and there are some excellent healthy menu items! (side note, this is my personal favorite too! Their gnocchi is from heaven.)
Your favorite thing to eat?
Almond butter, with just about anything.
Almond butter, with just about anything.
What is one of the oddest jobs you had before becoming a Fire Fighter?
I've had many! One that sticks out was a brief stint as a study hall/detention monitor at Mid-Pacific Institute. I was in college at the time but still looked very young, so for the first week none of the students took me seriously – they thought I was a new student trying to pull one over on them.
What's one of the strangest or most interesting (family appropriate for the blog) rescues you have seen?
In that case, I actually had to get a cat out of a tree once. The cat had been stuck all the way at the top of the tree for an entire day when we were called. Our ladder only reached half way up, so we spent half an hour coaxing that thing down with a can of cat food. When we finally got it down to the ground, the thing leapt out of my arms and ran up another tree 50 feet away! We had to inform the owner that there was nothing more we could do at that point and to call back if her cat got stuck for another 24 hours (when a different shift would be on duty).
Side note: Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree? No? That’s because a cat doesn’t get “stuck” in a tree, the thing just doesn’t want to come down! Sorry, I am not a big fan of cats.
In that case, I actually had to get a cat out of a tree once. The cat had been stuck all the way at the top of the tree for an entire day when we were called. Our ladder only reached half way up, so we spent half an hour coaxing that thing down with a can of cat food. When we finally got it down to the ground, the thing leapt out of my arms and ran up another tree 50 feet away! We had to inform the owner that there was nothing more we could do at that point and to call back if her cat got stuck for another 24 hours (when a different shift would be on duty).
Side note: Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree? No? That’s because a cat doesn’t get “stuck” in a tree, the thing just doesn’t want to come down! Sorry, I am not a big fan of cats.
A big Mahalo to Marc for answering my questions! We are so privileged to have such great instructors our there like you! Send a comment on the blog of FB if there is another instructor you want to know more about.
I hope you all have a very safe and fun 4th of July celebration. If you are here on Oahu, dont miss the 8:30pm show off Ala Moana. It's a huge show!
Jackie & the HF crew
