For Mom, Love Steve

Good morning/afternoon/night (it’s a Virgin Island thing.) My name is Steven Kazuo Nakano. Currently I live in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. I’m 37 years old and a third generation Japanese/American. Born and raised in Fresno, California USA with my sister Patricia/Tricia/Trish, my mom May, and dad Tim. This makes me what I would describe as a sushi wrapped Big Mac. Growing up was a mixture of city life and farming life. I spent half my time living in the city and half my time at one of two “Ranches.” My mom’s side of the family grew seasonal vegetables and my Dad’s side of the family grew grapes for raisins. Why I bring this up, is that I believe it was an integral part of who I am, or at least who I am not. What I learned was two things. One, there is no such thing as hard work when compared to farming. This has imbedded into me an unbelievable work ethic that has done me well. Two, I am not a farmer. Waking up and going to work before the sun came up, actually standing out in the field waiting for first light so that you can actually see what you were doing, coming home at dusk. I can actually identify the moment that I knew that I was not going to be a farmer when I grew up. I was probably 8 years old, taking a shower after a day on the ranch and looking down at the drain as a slick of mud rolled off my legs and into the drain. Ding, Ding, the bells went off and it hit me….. farming isn´t for me!!!
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Instead of a bio about me (I’m sure you’ll get enough about “me” in the upcoming year), I would like to just dedicate this space to my Mom, Dad, sister, family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances that I have sort of abandoned in the last 15 years. Hopefully, by taking all of you on a trip around the world with me, and you getting a chance to see and feel what I do, it will pay back a little of what I owe.

For mom, I will leave a little bit of info here and there to kind of help you to understand me and how my life has been affected by you.

With that, I hope everybody is ready to go on an adventure. Oh yeah, when I get back I plan on being unemployed and homeless so expect a lot of “quality time” with me!!!!