MY LIFE: Challenging, Joyful and Getting Better

Last week for nostalgia Tuesday I presented a storyboard for MY LIFE.  Today, I will complete it.  Note that the title has been adjusted, and will involuntarily someday need a finalization, as I have suggested.

MY LIFE:  I'm not into anything like astrology, but the following sounds about right for me.

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  I will be 84 this year.  I was born in 1940, and I have noticed that I had a challenging first half of my life, scrambling to keep up and lucky to attain what I accomplished.  Hmmm...how do I get rid of all those Is?  Life got better from the age of 42, and has continued to improve to today.
• Started great, actually, for here is one calculation that the odds of me being born was 1 in 400,000,000,000,000, or 4 times 10 to the 14th power.

• But that was from Instagram, not a credible source.  Science Alert uses that beginning analysis and goes on to say that the real odds of anyone being born is 1 in 10 to the 2,685,000th power.  Keep in mind that there are only 10 to the 80th power atoms in the whole universe.  Why so impossible?  They go back to when microscopic life began and cranked in all the breakthroughs to get to us.  If you can't read that graphic, it was provided by Business Insider, and it is viewable there.
• To those two early "miracles" of the Big Bang and Evolution of Life, I add My Birth.  On day one I could only be deliriously happy if I had any recalled memory to appreciate this beginning.
• 
  My life started at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu, and the #1 song on 6September1940 was Tommy Dorsey's I'll Never Smile Again.  Perhaps I did not smile all that much for the first half of my life, for it was mostly less than optimal, but not that bad compared to many others, and no doubt most others, when you consider those growing up in Africa and other developing spots on Planet Earth.

• 
  Last week I watched Amy Tan:  Unintended Memoir (93 reviewers rating by Rotten Tomatoes).  She wrote The Joy Luck Club.  First, I thought that was the only book she published.  Nope.  30 books.  But what I learned from that documentary was that she had a terrible upbringing.  My life was terrific compared to hers, and true paradise relative to her mother.
• For the first 16 years or so I lived in Kakaako, a below middle class neighborhood of Honolulu, where my family was about average compared to our neighbors, all of us being poor.  Food and shelter was never a problem, but family life was somewhat stressful.

• 

  I belonged to a gang (not the kind that fought other gangs), we mostly played and had fun.  Lived close to the shoreline, so went fishing a lot.  My school grades were fine, but not outstanding.  I was not good enough to play Little League Baseball.  So life was not great but actually okay.  We were the Brooklyn Dodgers, and I just looked at their real roster of 1952 and actually recognized most of the names.  That was more than 70 years ago. 
• 

  I have the entire 1952 Topps baseball card series, and with a friend, a second one.  A complete set is on sale on ebay for $542,520!!!  Interestingly enough, the 1952 Topps complete master set Mickey Mantle RC 493 cards is available for $729,000, but, according to CNBC, $12.6 million for just one 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card.  This article explains why 1952 was a particularly unusual year.  Amazon.com also has all kinds of 1952 cards and sets. There is even a whole book on the 1952 Topps Collection.  Fanatics purchased Topps in 2022, and now just the trading card entity is valued at $10 billion.  But these cards of mine are not that valuable.  Such is the nature of sports trading cards.

• 
  In my sophomore year at McKinley High School, we were kicked out of Kakaako by Bishop Estate, as they began their vision to build Ward Village.  Moved to Kalihi and rode a bus to continue at McKinley, where in my first year there was placed in an average English-Social Studies class.

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  Had to have something to do with moving away from Kakaako--which was a terrible experience--but in my new environment, something changed.  There seems to be a pattern for me.  If something traumatic happens, my life improves, the worse the better.
• Can't really explain it.  No family member, friend, teacher or anyone particularly spurred me to improve my goals for the future.  Yet, in other ways, they were all catalysts in different ways.

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  I suddenly decided I would go to Stanford or CalTech to study engineering.  Maybe my older brother being at the University of Michigan engineering graduate school was catalytic.  I did not even bother to apply to the University of Hawaii, so absurdly confident I was that I did not need to do so.

• 
  In my junior year I ran for vice-president of the senior class, and against all odds, won.  I previously had never run for anything in my whole life.  This automatically made me chairman of a bunch of committees, which looked good on my application.

• 
  I joined the tennis team and became third singles, winning most of my matches against the best private schools.  Very few public schools had tennis teams in those days.  Oh, I learned how to play tennis when I tried out for the team.
• I could not write well, and was confused about poetry.  But I sent in my entries to two competitive national anthologies, and both my essay and poem were published in their annual publications.   I don't think anyone else in Hawaii qualified.

• 
  During the 8th grade my verbal score in a national comprehensive test placed me below 10%.  Interestingly enough, in a practice Scholastic Aptitude Test taken in my junior year, my verbal score was 200 something, again, in the bottom tenth percentile.  
• "Luckily," I broke my wrist playing basketball in my junior year, and during the summer before my senior year could not work in a pineapple cannery (as many did in Honolulu from McKinley), so I essentially memorized the SAT book.  Still remember the color of the cover, in 1958, red and blue.  My verbal score jumped into the 600s.  My math was close to 800, for I had always been good with numbers and spatial relations.
• 
  Keep in mind that all of this was stressful and challenging, for I was doing all the above, not having any need to do  any of that in the past.
• I was accepted into both Stanford and CalTech, but chose Stanford because they gave a full scholarship ride.  One of my postings was HOW I NOW THINK I REALLY GOT INTO STANFORD.  Had to do with pumpkin pies.

• 
  Two songs I recall in particular were Susie Darling by Robin Luke of Punahou and Here is Happiness by Teddy Chinen, who changed his name to Teddy Tanaka.  He was a year after me at McKinley.
• Our McKinly alma mater, Hail McKinley, Hail, sung at commencement 45 years later.

• 
  Stanford was of course challenging, but not particularly stressful because very few flunked out.  They want you to try things like travel, art and social activities, which are important for fashioning a successful life.  However, I most definitely was deficient, sociologically, financially and intellectually.  I was the only Japanese in my class, there were no Black students and the term Hispanic was not then used.
• 
  I remember in my freshman year, my dorm roomie, Jim, excitedly asking me, surely, you're going to see the Kingston Trio tonight?  Why?  Two of the three were from Hawaii.  I did not know that.  1958 was very early into their touring.  Tom Dooley?  Later, The Letterman actually came to our dormitory to entertain us.  I remember hits like Woolly Bully and joining a carful of us to the other side of the bay on Friday nights to be entertained by people like Marty Robbins singing El Paso and Running Bear by Johnny Preston.
• 
  All went well, and I graduated in 3 years 8 months.  The most potentially disastrous point occurred in my junior year when someone talked some us into joining him on a drive to Florida for the spring break.  First, stopping off at Fort Lauderdale where college students gathered in 1961.  Where the Boys Are was a popular film, with the song sung by Connie Francis.  I just saw that Paul Anka was co-composer.  But that was not the danger.  We were then to participate in the Bay of Pigs expedition, which was sold to us as a patriotic adventure.  Well, I was the first to chicken out, so no one went, probably saving our lives.

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  Most of my close friends joined the Peace Corps, so I had to do somewhat sacrificial.  Got a job working for C. Brewer in the Hawaii sugar industry.  Toughest I ever had in my life.  Met my future wife in Kau, served six months in the Army Reserve, which was, trying,  for I'm not made for that kind or ordeal.  Maybe because I kept hearing those songs during basic training, the Chiffons' One Fine Day and He's So Fine are seared in my brain.  Also Born Free.  Spent eight years, mostly on the Big Island and Kauai, where our backyard was where Bloody Mary sang Happy Talk to France Nuyen (who looked like Pearl) and John Kerr.  Here are two posting providing details, a recent one of Pepper, our dog, and another dealing with my Kauai roots.  Actually organized an outdoor rock concert while in Naalehu, before Woodstock.

• 
  C. Brewer provided full salary for me to get a master's degree in chemical engineering focusing on sugar.  LSU was the only college providing this service, so off we went to Baton Rouge.  Actually, because of financial support from C. Brewer, my full fellowship and Pearl working as a nurse, we saved money during this 3 year 8 month experience.  Living in the deep south from 1968 to 1972 was memorable.  All those festivals, like Mardi Gras, and Tiger football, with Pete Maravich in basketball.  There were sociological uncertainties.  Maybe surprising, but as an Oriental, there was no racial prejudice at all.  My attempt to build a tunable laser was trying, I somehow passed the language requirement and comprehensive exam, all huge hurdles.  
• 
  Found time to travel a lot and one summer, recalling what I did when I was in sugar, almost went to Woodstock, but again, imagined the difficulties, so drove by and went somewhere else.  I still today wonder if that was a smart or terrible decision.  Sweet Caroline was released by Neil Diamond.
• 
  Graduated with a PhD in biochemical engineering and was able to get hired as an assistant professor at the University Hawaii in 1972.  I was 32 years old and any transition is trying.
• Again, it was difficult, for the state had financial difficulties, and over the next three years I got two letters indicating my position was in jeopardy.  

• 
  This spurred me to work during summer for the NASA Ames Research Center just outside of Stanford  on the Search for Extraterrastrial Intelligence and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on laser fusion.  

• 
  Another summer activity was, with resident futurist Jim Dator, leading NASA sponsored Earth 2020: Visions for Our Children's Children.  While I had always balanced my schooling by taking more art than chemical engineering courses at Stanford, and minored in law/business at LSU, this experience led me to a more well rounded academic career, where I taught computer programming, environmental engineering and technology/society.

• 
  Then came the energy crisis in 1973, and this changed my life again, for in 1979 I found myself in DC working for Senator Spark Matsunaga.  Drafted original legislation on ocean thermal energy conversion and hydrogen, both becoming laws.  These led to the Blue Revolution.  Life here was maybe the most important part of my future, for I made contacts, had a chance to see much of the Eastern side of the USA, and really learned how to get funds for research.  They don't teach you this in college.  However, hours were long and stresses were at times intense.
• After three years, went back to the University of Hawaii.
• 
  I did not realize in 1982 that the difficult part of my life had passed.  
• I was 42 years old, and stressful challenge began to shift towards accomplishment and a lot more joy.
• I got promoted to full professor and tenured, which insured for a lifetime job.

• 
  A new dean of engineering, Paul Yuen, and I became lifelong golfers, and we formed the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) to serve as the pass through agency for federal funding.  You can also read the other articles from that link that lead to the Blue Revolution.
• 
  Starting PICHTR initiated me into international travel.  I haven't stopped, for I now am approaching 3 million miles on Star Alliance and have gone around the world at least a dozen times.
• I was selected as director of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and enjoyed total freedom to expand it from no positions to 12, which grew to 100.

• 
  Became the national centers for the National Science Foundation Marine Bioproducts Engineering Research Center with the University of California at Berkeley, Department of Interior Marine Minerals Technology Center with the University of Mississippi and Department of Energy Hydrogen Research and Education Center with the Florida Solar Energy Institute.
• 
  Much of what I got started coalesced into the Blue Revolution by 1992.
• There was some stress, of course, to get funds to support a hundred people, but HNEI was the highest performing research funding organization per full time equivalent for the final ten years of my time as director.
• 
  Honored as administrator of the Year during this later period, and won several national energy and ocean awards.
• Retired in 1999 at the age of 59, and am now in my 25th year of mostly joy.

• 
  Wrote three books, traveled a lot, gave a TEDx talk last year on the Blue Revolution and have continued this daily blog site for 15 years come April.
• I can't say my life is complete, but it phases in and out of euphoria because of my relationships, life at 15 Craigside and health.

• 
  Three grand trips are in various stages of planning.
• Will leave in a month on a global adventure, involving three cruises.
• To Europe mostly by ship to take a Christmas cruise at the end of this year.
• A focus on the Orient, spurred by the Osaka 2025 World Expo.

• 

  Sure, my knees hurt and I'm set to get a hearing aid this week, but I will be 84 soon.  Like everyone, there up and downs, daily, but life is great with a lot more fun to come.  How long do I have?  What about another 42 years?

• 
  This would mean that I would attain the age of 126, beating Jeanne Calment's record of 122.  However, there is Swami Sivananda, a yoga teacher for India, said to be 126 years old and still functional.  Survives on lentils and rice.  Well, not quite my kind of diet, but I do look forward to a few more years of wagyu, foie gras, truffles, otoro, scotch, beer, wine and more.  Wonder where humanity will be in 2066?

• 
  The reality, of course, is only a few years more.  Anyone born in the USA today is expected to only live to 79.  However, a male born in 140 was only then expected to live into the Year 2000, or just under 61 years.  So I've outlived my expectation by 13 years.  In any case, unless someone pulls me into Heaven, my final end will be eternal peace.

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