I  know I am Mr. Dreamer but I believe any Miracles and Grace start from a dream.                                                                                                                                                                          I was orphaned in Japan when I was 3 years old.   I was raised by a family friend who was a gambler.   By the time I was 16, he could not support me and I have been on my own ever since.
It took only a week to become homeless from having a normal family.  I had to get two jobs to make $1200 a month to feed by myself. The only way was to work at night clubs or discos.   That is right, I grew up in 70’s.  Disco was super happy music in all of the world at the same time.   I had to work 5 P.M. to 12 A.M. at the disco and 1:00 A.M. to 6 A.M. at night clubs, then went to high school for sleep.

One day,  one of my best high school friends told me he will become a fire fighter.  I knew what firefighters do at a fire scene but I didn’t know how to become fire fighter.    My friend was a very smart guy.   I never had time to study because I was always working.  He called me almost a week before the fire fighter exam. He said he will go find copies of the last five years of the Fire Fighters exam at the Public Library.  Do I want to come?

I went with him. He was copying all the questions by hand, but I had no idea what they were asking about, so I started counting which numbers were the most popular answers in the five years. I found magic number ‘3′ was always a popular answer.   At the day of real exam I marked number ‘3′ more than 90% and I passed!

Second test was the physical exam but I had no problem because I was dancing 6 hours every night and was in great shape.  Third exam was interview but I had no problem communicating with anybody because I was dealing with different customers every day and night and I was very polite to all customers.   It was great way to become a firefighter from King of Night.

I did 2 years of fire fighting, 8 years of rescue squad and 2 years of EMT.  Then, in the 13th year I received an order and I got transferred to a 9 to 5 desk job at HQ dealing with politicians, making up budget meeting scenarios–both questions and answers–and finding the boss’ favorite girls at night clubs. It was a totally different job, compared to working at a fire station.

One night we were watching the movie “Back Draft” at our fire station.  I decided to go to New York to become a firefighter.  I didn’t know Back Draft was filmed in Chicago.   I just believed that story was about fire fighters in New York because most Japanese still have the image that New York is America.   In a month, I quit the fire department and flew to N.Y.

In New York I stayed with an Italian family.  They were a super great, big hearted family and fed me really well with pasta, lasagna and fat pizza with beer and wine every night.   My weight gained from 165 lb. to 200 lb. in 6 months.

I tried to become a fire fighter in New York, but couldn’t because I didn’t have U.S. citizenship.  I only had a green card.

The secretary at NYFD was really nice to me, and she suggested I become an Emergency Medical Technician in Westchester, NY. because there is a big Japanese community there.  So, I became an EMT in NY, and worked in very cold weather and carried very heavy patients day and night. But my wage was only $7 per hour.

After two years, I was watching the Travel Channel having Crazy Horse Beer and baby carrots.  The show was showing the paradise of Waikiki, Hawaii.   Mr. White Shiny Tooth Diving Instructor was showing off his diving skills with his brightest teeth and taking beautiful ladies into crystal clear water.

I was so envious about Mr. Shiny Tooth compared with my life at the moment.  Don’t get me wrong, EMT is a great job but it was not forever for me in N.Y. . .

TO BE CONTINUED. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED TO RECEIVE THE 2nd CHAPTER –OR VISIT US AGAIN

After two years, I was watching the Travel Channel having Crazy Horse Beer and baby carrots.  The show was showing the paradise of Waikiki, Hawaii.   Mr. White Shiny Tooth Diving Instructor was showing off his diving skills with his brightest teeth and taking beautiful ladies into crystal clear water.

I was so envious about Mr. Shiny Tooth compared with my life at the moment.  Don’t get me wrong, EMT is a great job but it was not forever for me in N.Y. . .

The Miracle Oddessy continues. . .

So, a week after the TV show, I arrived in Waikiki.  But it rained heavily.  Dark sky and thunder all day.  I went out to one of the traditional Japanese restaurants for Japanese sake, beer and food.   I asked the waitress at the restaurant “Is the weather always like this in Hawaii?  Where is the sun?”  She said, “Waikiki has lots of rainy days.  You should go to Maui, if you want sunshine”.

Next day, I was on Maui.  It was a Sunday sunshine morning– very quiet and peaceful.   I bought a Sunday newspaper and I was just checking what was happening on Maui.  I almost always start reading from the classified section to find good deals, even if I don’t need anything.  But somehow, I was interested to check out people living life in Paradise.  Then I started calling apartment rentals.

It was Sunday morning and nobody was answering calls.  But one guy answered and said “Super Great Deal!  First come first served, because I have to leave in an hour”.      I told him my situation and asked him if I could just look his unit.  I was still paying rent in NY.  He said, “O.K., just come here and you can stay here for a week just by paying $500”.  I had only $500 cash in my pocket.  When I got to his condo in Ma’alaea, I saw his luggage right next to door.  His name was Steve (he was like a Danny DeVito character).  Steve said, “Pay me $500 and you can stay for a week”.   I thought it was a great deal but I couldn’t spend all of my budget.  I asked him, “How about $200?”.  He said, “Deal!”,  shook hands and left with his luggage.

So, my first day on Maui, I got a new ocean front apartment for a week with only $200 cash.  But it was such a filthy room–every single piece of furniture was smelly– bed, sofa, dishes and two tons of rubbish.  I cleaned from corner to corner.  It took me four days to make that room like a five-star hotel room.

On the fifth day,  a lady knocked at my door.  She told me, “I’m the owner of this unit.  Who are you?  Where is Steve?” I explained everything that happened and then I found out Steve hadn’t paid the rent.  He was 8 months behind.  She asked me to leave right away but I showed my N.Y. EMT I.D. and promised her to leave in a week, but I felt I had already made the place like my home and had been living forever.  So I stayed there after that week.

I found my first job with a diving company.  I worked 7 days a week for two years. Then I started translating English menus, brochures, signs and web pages into Japanese.

Today I live in a condo practically on the beach with my lovely wife and baby dog.  We believe Maui is the miracle island.  We have decided live on Maui forever.
Sunny K– Maui, Hawaii

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

The need for the “feeling” fuels my addiction
Yet the fire in my vein
Reeks havoc on my body –
Gray skin, sunken cheeks, darting eyes
Weight loss of thirty pounds –
Little more than a shell – “existing”
Empty – searching – lonely Isolation, shame.
The fire in my vein – creating the illusion
Of power and confidence – yet
All the while creating a dependence
On a “feeling” – artificially induced
By the fire in my vein.
The shadows ever so subtly obscuring the Light
Creeping closer to the edge – the precipice – I teeter
Life and death – the fire in my vein demands more!
I gaze into the mirror and see only remnants
Of what I used to be – a shell
A tear lands on my cheek – HOPE!
The fire in my vein demands more –
Another tear falls – LIGHT!
I drop the syringe –
I see like I have never seen before
Beyond “physical” – my spiritual essence –
LIGHT – flickering – waiting only to be fanned,
Igniting purpose and passion, creating LIFE,
Immersed in LOVE.
I have never again picked up a syringe
I have no need of the fire in my vein
For a fire has ignited in my soul
Fueled by the desire to live purposefully…
And love passionately!

David –Grand Rapids, Michigan is a former addict and IV drug user.

IF YOU WERE MOVED BY THIS STORY, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT