Free Island Boyz by Graham Salisbury Page B

Just try to see what I saying, ah? Aint that hard. Okay, was fifteen guys on that boat, twelve Asian guys—new guys from Vietnam or Korea or Laos, I dont know, someplace like that. But anyways, also had two Hawaiian guys and one bossman who was the skippah. Local guy. Maybe Japanee. Anyways was his boat. The rest of them just working for him.
    You just making the bossman Japanee because you Japanee, yeah, Rats?
    Jimmy, I going slap your head you dont shut it up.
    Kay-okay, just joking for crying out loud.
    Maybe I aint going tell you this. Stupit haole.
    I was
joking
I said.
    Jimmy waits, but Rats just sits there. Out on the ocean a small yellow light bobs in and out of view. Night fisherman. Jimmy spits.
    I know why they call you Rats. When you was born and you came out and your mama saw your dingaling, she said,
Rats!
I was hoping for one girl.
    Thats good, Jimmy. You made that up all by yourself?
    Yeah cool yeah? Okay, so this loaded sampan was coming home. All the holds was full with
ahi
and pretty soon the wind was picking up and the ocean was coming rough and had swells coming from the side and was making that boat rock and roll and those guys was getting nervous. Then what?
    Okay if you going shut it up I tell you um. You going shuddup?
    Yeah yeah, what happened?
    Okay. One of the Hawaiian guys, he went up to the skippah and tell, “Skippah you gotta dump some fish. Look the clouds. Going get bad. We too heavy. We could capsize.”
    He said that to the skippah?
    True. And the skippah look at him and tell back, “I da skippah on dis boat and if you tink I going dump couple tousand bucks of fish you crazy and also if we did need dump um den I make dat decision not you.”
    Whoa, and then what the Hawaiian guy said?
    Nothing. What he can say? Aint his boat, yeah? So he just went back and got more nervous with the rest of the guys who was all watching the clouds and the swells and smelling the wind.
Ho man,
they thinking. The Hawaiian guy, he looking for land, yeah? But no can see nothing. Then little bit later one guy saw um. Small blue mountaintop coming out from the sea. Was Kauai, ah? Way off. Probly about fifteen miles.
    Yahh! That far and the storm was coming.
    And the storm was coming.
    Ho! And the skippah said he aint dumping no fish.
    Uh-huh, and the guys waiting around and the wind picking up and the boat rolling more worse and by now they nervous as rats, so the Hawaiian guy go back to the skippah. Tell, “You gotta dump some fish, man. We going
capsize
!” And the skippah tell the guy he going get arrested for mutiny if he dont shut up.
    Mutiny?
He can do that?
    I dont know. Anyways thats what my uncle told us thats what he said. So listen, now all those guys thinking, man man
man
! The Asian guys really soaking their pants now because most of them no can swim, yeah? And the sky turning, coming dark, and could smell the storm in the air. You know how you can do that, smell um? But the one thing is they can see Kauai. Pretty soon they see um little bit more, little bit more. They going closer, ah? Now most of the island stay up out of the ocean so at least they had that, the land. At least they could see land.
    Yeah but they still way out.
    Who telling this, you or me?
    You telling it, Rats. You da man. Go on.
    You making me mad you know?
    How come you so jumpy today? You had one fight with Janelle last night or what?
    How you knew that?
    I didnt.
    Then why you said it?
    I dont know. Cuz you so pissy?
    Stupit haole.
    Hey.
    Rats throws a stone into the sea.
    A rooster crows, somewhere way off.
    Over the mountain behind them the sky begins to lighten.
    You like hear the rest of it or what?
    Sure. Go ahead. All the guys was scared.
    Yeah and so now the ocean coming
intense,
yeah? All those Asian guys get
mempachi
eyes, all puff out like bubblefish. They scared that boat going flip. And of course the Hawaiian guys worried too because they
know
there going be trouble because now the swells was coming from the