Mount Whitney: my son climbs it

The Japanese have a saying: 'oya baka.'

Literally, it means 'a fool about your children.'

I am and have been an old-school father, but I'd like to become an 'oya baka' for a minute about son Nao, 25, who just climbed Mount Whitney.

(His full name is Michael Naomichi, and Nao's his nickname; the Japanese 'kanji,' or characters, for his name mean 'honest path' or 'straight road.' They're beautiful in print.)

The recent college graduate (with a degree in Digital Media Arts from Cal State Dominguez Hills--the only CSU school that offers such a credential) went up and down the highest mountain in the Lower 48 Aug. 1-3 with two buddies. Here's his summary:

Elevation: 14,496.811 feet, 4,419 meters
Distance: 22 miles
Elevation Gain: 6,500 ft.
Backpack Weight: 60 lb.

Day 1: Acclimatization @ Whitney Portal Camp (8,000 feet)
Day 2: Whitney Portal > Trail Camp (12,000 feet, 6 miles)
Day 3: Trail Camp > Summit (14,496 feet., 10 miles)
Day 4: Trail Camp > Whitney Portal (8,000 feet., 6 miles)

They had trained on several lower peaks and ranges in Southern California for six months, gradually getting their bodies used to altitude. They worked out. And they studied the route.

Then they did it.

Here are a couple photos of the heir to the Elvis Shrine and paperback book collection, taken at Whitney's peak:

At first, when he told me they were planning to climb Whitney, I thought of telling him he needed first to get a job, to use his new degree to make money.

Then I remembered something that happened to me when I was around his age. I was just finishing a year of grad school in Wales and had planned to hitchhike around Europe with Bud Baldaro, an English friend. Then I got a letter from my dad in Kansas--written on one of those thin blue aerogrammes that we used to use to save international postage.

In it, Papa reminded me that my draft status was 1A--this was both pre-lottery and pre-volunteer Army--which meant I had to report for a pre-induction physical and, if I passed, would be drafted into the Army or Marines. The only deferments for grad school were for medical and dental students. He thought I should come home and take care of it, however it was to be taken care of.

I read his letter, knew he was right but was really bummed. Bud and I planned to start in Sweden and head south for at least two months. For an Okie-born, Kansas-bred kid, this was gonna be the trip of a lifetime.

But I resigned myself to going back to America, because my dad was right.

Next day I got another aerogramme from him. In it, he chastised himself for the first letter. In it, he wrote: Go for it--you may never have another chance. So I did.

That came to mind when I thought about telling Nao to put off his dream, to look for a job. Hell, I still may be right and he may have been wrong.

But I don't think so. How often do you get to hitchhike round Europe with a pal? How often do you get to climb Mount Whitney with two friends?

Anyway, I became a cheerleader for the adventure. And I'm glad I did.

Nao grew up in Japan, attending one private Japanese school K-12 in Tokyo. His second language is English, but when he used to send me college papers from CSUDH to check, I had to do far less with them than I did a lot of the 'stories' I assigned to my journalism majors at Cal State Fullerton.

So he's bilingual and bicultural--but his main language is music. He's got 11 guitars, taught himself to play during his mid-teen years and hears a voice and sound all his own in his head, ears, fingers, heart and soul. I describe his music as 'Zen reggae funk,' but it's more and beyond that. You can listen to some of it here:

www.myspace.com/psychoactivedubrockers

He was a model in Japan for a few years as a teenager--his agency flew him to Rome, London and L.A.--and did it for a year in Los Angeles till he started school and got serious about his music. I'm the one in the family who always wanted to be the rock 'n' roll star, but my son got both the looks and the talent.

I'll be glad to be his roadie and groupie.

Nowadays, he's looking for a job, trying to find something that allows him to produce and play music, videos and still photography. He's made numerous DVDs of his music and images, and I probably drive my friends crazy making them listen. Tough darts.

Remember:

I'm an 'oya baka.'