Jack of Harts

I never thought that Ken Banno would end up flying off my wing. He was a worlds famous surfer from New Japan. I was a nobody from Northern Minnesota. But life is strange and he was an amazing person to have on my wing. Kenichi Banno was his full name, and he was a rarity in Los Angeles before Yosemite fell on it. He was a full-blooded Japanese raised up in the California-Surfer-New-Japanese fusion culture that dominated the city and its surroundings. He could Hang Ten on the waves in the morning and attend dinner with the Empress at night. All that changed after Yosemite turned his home into a water-filled crater, of course. It’s why he volunteered to serve. Though he was never as militant about his service as many of us were. And that was a good thing for all of us.