A little over six years ago I was presented with the opportunity to go with friends to Maui. A good friend of mine from Baltimore had just graduated from Law School. She and some friends were going to take the vacation-of-a-lifetime to celebrate and 'while they had the chance.' I struggled with the decision whether or not to go. The expense was more money than I had ever spent on anything other than a house or a car. I was having trouble justifying it but I did decide to go.
We had an awesome time on Maui. I was staying in a very cool little efficiency condo. My friends were staying at a hotel resort a short five minute walk up the beach. I did a lot of things there and had a great time. I went snorkeling in a semi-submerged volcanic caldera...and almost drowned. I took the helicopter tour of the island. I saw the sun rise over the rim of Haleakala and then rode a bicycle 38 miles from 10,000 feet elevation down to the beach. It was great! I told friends when I got home it was worth every penny as I had seen the 'Face-of-God.'
My last day there I had checked out of my condo early and had my stuff up at the friends' resort. They would be taking me to the airport for a 5 o'clock flight; their flight left later. After eating breakfast I went down to the beach for a little while. I stopped to shower the sand off my feet before returning to the pool. A couple was doing the same thing nearby. We began talking.
They lived in NYC but the wife was born in Allentown, PA which is about 50 miles from here. She was very familiar with Amishland. They lived in Greenwich Village. They were very nice people. As we walked back towards the pool, Kevin asked me if he could buy me a beer. I said, 'No sir, it's only 11 o'clock in the morning and I'm flying out today. My flight leaves at 5 so I have a long day/night ahead of me.' He insisted.
As can so often be the case, one beer lead to another and another and before I knew it I was having lunch with these people. After lunch I told them I had to go 'touch base' with my friends, let them know where I was and what I was doing. I also told my lunch companions that I had four bottles of beer I would give them in the hotel room. That I would be right back.
I talked to my friends, retrieved the beers, and returned to the table by the pool. Kevin had taken his t-shirt off. It was folded on the table. We began talking some more. Kevin looked at me and said, 'I like you. There's something about your spirit. I want you to have this on one condition.' He handed me the folded t-shirt. 'What's that?' I asked.
He said, 'You promise me you will wear it.' I agreed, thanked him, put it in my backpack and we said our good-byes. A nice end to a great trip. I was soon off to the airport and headed home.
FAST FORWARD TO THREE DAYS LATER....
I got home from another hot late-August workday still trying to adjust to the time change from my vacation. It's always easier to fly 'back in time,' instead of 'forward.' I sat down in front of the PC and turned the TV on. I was checking e-mail, chatting or something. The TV was just backround noise. A commercial came on. It was for an online travel website. All I heard was, 'Ever want to go on a bike ride at 10,000 feet?' My head swivelled. I turned and looked at the TV and there was Haleakala! I had JUST BEEN THERE! I almost jumped out of my chair.
FAST FORWARD TO THREE WEEKS LATER.....
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was bright, the birds were singing. It was going to be another great day to be out-and-about. We start work at 8:30 and I don't waste any time getting off the lot. The office is the last place I want to spend time at while working. I followed my usual routine and stopped at a convenience store to buy a paper and my morning iced tea. I had turned the radio on; was listening to Howard Stern.
I began driving to my first job. On the radio they began reporting a plane had struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. I listened as I drove, parked the van and knocked on the apartment door. The door opened and it was obvious to me that I had awakened the man. I said, 'Good Morning, you don't know what's going on do you?' He said, 'No. ?'
I said, 'turn on the TV...any channel.' He was stunned, sat back in his chair and just stared. He had moved down here from the city. I immediately thought of my new friend, Kevin. He was a NYC firefighter, Lower East Side.
That was on a Tuesday, the following Thursday they told us at work that we could forgo the uniform on Friday and, with a $2 donation to the Red Cross, we could wear anything we wanted as long as it was red, white, or blue. I knew what I was wearing. Poolside in Hawaii Kevin had given me his FDNY shirt. I cried as I put it on. I promised him I would wear it.
I got to work and the other guys loved it! They all asked, "Where'd you get that?' It has his engine and ladder number on it, it is very cool. That was on September 14th, long before the shirts were a dime-a-dozen. I told them, 'Believe it or not, I got this shirt three weeks ago on a beach in Maui.' Unbelievable.
That Sunday I got an e-mail from Patty, his wife. I wish I would have saved it. One paragraph. To paraphrase...'thinking back to three weeks ago at the Wailea Resort....seems like a lifetime ago.' Much to my relief, she had signed both their names so I knew Kevin was okay.
I wrote back and in my response I told her how unbelievable to me that through events of history his casual act of friendship had become something I will treasure forever.