Happy New Year to all who are reading my first blog post for 2026!
I apologize if my writing seems unclear; I am currently battling the flu, which has left me somewhat foggy-headed.
Reflecting on my December blog about Duke, I recognize that it was rather delayed. The month was busy with holiday celebrations, and just two days before Christmas, both Rebel and I fell ill, which set us back a week in our recovery. Thankfully, we are now feeling better.
On a positive note, I made several sales, which is wonderful as I am contributing some of that income to my trading account. I look forward to regaining mental clarity so I can continue to increase my earnings.
Before the day concludes, I intend to share my thoughts on a custom license plate frame that I ordered on December 21, not expecting it to arrive until January 10.
In November, I read an article about the new Duke Kahanamoku license plate being released in Hawaii. I reached out to the Outrigger Canoe Club to inquire about purchasing one, but I encountered a significant hurdle: since I do not reside in Hawaii, I was informed that the DMV there would not sell me a plate.
As my Lexus registration was due by the end of December, I made an appointment to speak with a DMV technician. As I had suspected, I could not display Duke’s license plate in my state.
The plate I chose is vibrant and reads “STEM,” which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. You might wonder why I selected that; frankly, every time I see it, I think of M&M candies.
A few days later, I decided to purchase a custom license plate frame. This sparked the idea of creating something related to Duke, which I proceeded to do.
I began customizing the frame with the phrase “I blog Duke Kahanamoku” at the top and “Father of Modern Surfing” at the bottom. However, the font size was considerably smaller due to the length of the text. I experimented with other phrases, but they were similarly lengthy, so I set it aside for a while.
Among all the options I considered, I wanted to emphasize the wording “I blog Duke Kahanamoku.” My intention was for those who read it to look him up. Eventually, I settled on the phrase “I spin tales about Duke Kahanamoku.”
As time was running short last night, I opened my front door to find a yellow envelope waiting for me. Curiosity piqued, I picked it up and realized, to my delight, that it was the license plate frame I had ordered, arriving ahead of schedule. It felt like a wonderful gift just before the clock struck midnight, marking the arrival of 2026.
For Rebel and me, the end of 2025 was spent at home, as it is the quietest and safest way to welcome the New Year.
Today, Rebel installed my license plate frame, and I am truly grateful.
I feel a sense of pride regarding how my plate frame turned out. Although I am unable to display Duke’s license plate due to my residency, I have found a way to honor him and extend his legacy through my own means—by simply driving my Lexus around town.
