Tsai-ko Autobiography: James
Name: (withheld) Bonafide Tsai-ko
High School: Damien 1987
Tsai-ko Lunch Size: Large
Original Tsai-ko caricature:
third row, 2nd from right
Other:
From the Warrior Beat blog September 23,
2007:
ST's Intro:
We all have
remember-the-good-ol'-days stories.
Our blog has many of those, only they were just a year ago. One of the
early members was James, the quiet yet insightful blogger. His comments
have always been on the mark. He also has shown that state workers,
contrary to the har-har punchlines, are among the hardest workers and a
reason Hawai‘i is the best place to live.
Meet James:
Well, first let me say that it
is an honor and a privilege to be asked to give my bio for the Warrior
Beat Tsaikos. Luckily, ST gave me Sunday, which is a slow day on the
blog and so I won't bore too many with my story.
I was born in one of the greatest years of all time, 1969 (I know homey
will catch what I'm talking about…don't know if sister gigi will) in
the greatest city in the world, Honolulu. My dad was also born and
raised here when Hawaii was still a Territory. He met my mom, a
Louisiana girl, after serving in the Korean War. It is a long story on
how he actually got to Louisiana, but the ending is pretty funny –
essentially meeting my mom on a bet that he didn't have the guts to ask
the waitress of the restaurant he was dining at out on a date. One
thing led to another and they ended up getting married. They lived in
Louisiana for a number of years after that (my two sisters were born
there) but moved back to Hawaii to take care of my grandparents, thus,
I was born in Hawaii.
I'm sort of the tweener of the Tsaikos, meaning that I can still
remember things like the Old Honolulu Stadium; when the Neal Blaisdell
Center was still called the HIC; when you could drive in both
directions and still park on Kalakaua Avenue; when you could drive on
Hotel Street; Coco's; Tops; KC Drive in on Kalakaua with the car hops;
Kaiser Hospital when it was where the Hawaii Prince stands today; when
Ala Moana still had sandboxes, Farrells, Lyns Deli, and Keiki Land;
when the Royal Hawaii had a front lawn on Kalakaua where the Brady
Bunch was filmed and where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center now
stands; Hawaii Five-O filming around Oahu; the Skyslide; Checkers and
Pogo; and Wrestling Hawaii. However, I am too young to remember some of
the things the "old timers" on this blog have talked about, like Turkey
Day games, paintbrush games, when the ILH still consisted of current
OIA teams, when UH were called the Fighting Deans, the Honolulu Civic
Center; and demolition and roller derbys.
I attended private school my entire life. I went to St. Patrick's
School in Kaimuki for nine years and then to Damien Memorial High
School in Kalihi (below the bigger school on Kapalama Heights). I
actually was slated to go to St. Louis, where my dad and several family
members had attended and where most of my friends from St. Pat's were
going. However, when I was in the eighth grade and preparing to go to
high school, I had to make one of the first decisions that would truly
affect my life. Either I would go to St. Louis, play football for a
winning team, and stay with my friends, or I would go to Damien where I
had a full academic scholarship given to me, play football for the
consummate underdog, but save my parents the $1500 - $2000 a year.
Needless to say, I chose to save my parents from the financial burden
of paying for my high school education.
It wasn't a bad decision. Although I still keep in contact with my
friends from St. Pats, I met some of my best friends while at Damien.
Damien also taught me the responsibilities of being a man and to always
"Act Manfully", or "Viriliter Age", the school motto. While at Damien,
I did the typical high school thing. I was in the Honors class but
still played sports. Football and paddling were my favorites, but I
also was on the track team and did intramural sports. I also was in a
number of clubs so, needless to say, I had a busy life.
In time, high school life was over and it was on to my college years.
Although I had received academic scholarships from Notre Dame, Tulane,
UW, and USC, the financial difficulties continued for my family and I
chose to stay at home. Sometimes, I wish that I did have the 'mainland'
college experience that many of my friends did, but I don't have any
regrets about my decision. So, I went to UH where I majored in biology,
hoping to one day attend medical school. However, as things would have
it, that was not meant to be. I did get on the waiting list and was
told that perhaps I should try to get my masters degree and reapply
since many of the applicants that had been accepted had graduate
degrees and very few were first time applicants. So, I attended
graduate school and got my Masters in Public Health. At the same time,
I attended the Emergency Medical Services Program at KCC, became
certified, and chose to work on an ambulance, thinking that this would
further my chances for acceptance into medical school. When I finished
grad school in 1996, I was intending to reapply to med school. But
then, my dad passed away and that was the end of that. I was now
responsible for taking care of my mother and it was not feasible for me
to attend med school while trying to pay the bills.
In my experiences, I've have seen the joys of life, having delivered a
few babies both in and out of the hospital setting, and more than my
share of death, the most tragic two being the sight of a teenager
committing suicide right in front of me and my partner, and the
infamous Xerox murders, as I was one of the initial responders to that
incident. After that, I decided it was time for me to move on. I had
gone as far as I could in that position and wanted new challenges. I
worked in ambulance administration for a while, but decided to transfer
from that job, to a state position where I currently work. Some of you
know where I work and know that I do put in very long hours. However,
the job is rewarding and I feel that I make a big contribution to the
State and people of Hawaii.
Being the Catholic boy that I am, I, of course, am an Irish fan.
However, I have also always been, and will always be, a Warrior fan
(which made it difficult for me when UH played ND, but of course I
cheered on our Warriors).
Some of my most memorable moments in UH Football? Well, besides all the
times I got to spend with my dad at the games, there are two that stick
out in my mind (besides the BYU victories). The first one is Jeff Duva,
1978 , Hawaii versus eventual national champion USC. David Toloumu
threw a pass for the wide-open Duva in the end zone and Duva dropped
the pass. USC -- with players like Charles White, Ronnie Lott, and
Anthony Munoz -- led 7-3 with time running down, and that would have
put Hawaii up 10 - 7. The second one was Walter Murray's dropped pass
in the end zone as time expired which would have allowed UH to beat
BYU. I can still recall how ecstatic everyone had gotten for that split
second when we thought he caught the ball, and the silence that
followed. I can still remember Papa Leahey screaming on the radio…..I
could swear he said, "Oh the Humanity!" but that was many years ago.
As I said, I have always been a Warrior fan (yes I lived through the
Von Appen years too) and will be a lifelong Warrior fan. The teams that
Coach Jones has produced over his tenure have been remarkable and I
have been fortunate enough to see last years team and this years team,
two of the best I think I've ever seen at UH.
As for this blog, it's amazing how close we've all become. When I
started posting in September/October of last year I remember we'd be
excited about having 50 posts and we'd try to be the first one to
fifty. Now, 200 – 300 posts are the norm. I never expected that to
happen and it has been simply amazing. Even when I attended the first
blog party I was thinking…yeah, I'll go meet these guys, we'll have a
good time, and that would be it. Never in my wildest dreams would I
have guessed that we'd become good friends, but I guess that's the
beauty of it. We all are passionate about our warriors, have become
good friends in the process, and are truly worthy of the title TSAIKOS.
James