14 years ago Hugh survived an unbelievable accident off the coast of Maui. The entire incident including a dramatic and heroic rescue was captured on a watcherby's home video camera. Thus began Hugh's 15 minutes of fame. That 15 minutes has now extended to well over a decade. His story has appeared on literally dozens of reality and news type television programs - in the US and continually broadcast via cable in countries all over the world. We know this because every few months or so a friend will inform us that while they were up in the middle of the night with insomnia in a pensione outside of Florence, they saw the Hugh Hawaii drama on TV - dubbed in Italian or whatever language of the particular place. I'm sure that even someone reads this post, they will suddenly realize - oh my god, I saw that episode on Rescue 911, Dateline or Oh my God I'm Alive last month, or last year.
The story itself is not mine to tell but the story of the story's telling has become part of my own. One of the first dates we had was an all expenses paid weekend in Hawaii courtesy of the producers from a docudrama that wanted Hugh to fly back to the "scene" and be interviewed along with his rescuers, lifeguards Bryan and Earl of Maui. Over the next 9 years, film crews visited our homes in San Francisco and occasionally flew Hugh back to Hawaii to reunite with Bryan and Earl and relive the story on camera. Each time we get a copy of the program to add to the Hugh's Near Death Adventure video library and a small stipend. If you haven't heard the story or seen one of the programs on TV, you might be wondering why the interest after so many years? I attribute it to two things: one - the story is that good, and worth telling over and over again. Add that the video footage is suspenseful and exciting makes for great tv. When you watch the live footage you wonder how he could have possibly come out of that experience alive and maybe it helps you believe in miracles. two - hugh is a skilled storyteller. the accident couldn't have happened to a more apt messenger. Each interview is as passionate, as emotion filled and vividly colored with details as if it were yesterday. He's also good at throwing in delicious sound bites like "then pow! i was thrown against the razer sharp wall of the cave for the 10th time in an hour" or "BAM! i couldn't breathe and thought i was going to die!". He's expressive and like most italians, uses his whole body to communicate. His eyebrows raise and sometimes but not every time, he can bring a tear to his eye when asked to recount the feeling of lifeguard Earl lifting him out of the water on to the jet ski screaming "i've got him, i've got him!".
About three weeks ago, the National Geographic Channel hunted him down, here in Buenos Aires. They'd heard about the rescue and wanted to interview him and air a new program. So, they organized a local film crew and a bilingual producer and spent half of today in our apartment on Lafinur. We joked that the next time time the film crews come calling it will be for The History Channel or Where Are They Now? Hugh delivered as usual and this time I stayed and watched the whole interview. Breathless, I found myself hanging on his every word as if hearing it for the first time. Caught in that moment back in 1993 as he clung to his life and came out a changed man. He confessed to the camera "never once did I consider giving up". The producers posted the original video footage and a 10 year old interview on a website.
http://www.cherisundae.com/cattela/hawaiianhole.mov
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