Kahana-The Untold Stories

by Ann Kennedy

  He says, “I hear about one hundred bees buzzing around me, and chirping sounds from lots of birds. I also hear the hammering ‘wuk-wuk-wuk’ sounds from a couple of nearby woodpeckers. They keep tapping and tapping.

  He yells at them to get the hell away from him. Then he pauses for a moment and pronounces, “I’ve never heard so many noisy bees or woodpeckers before.” He does not realize how important it is that he’s beginning to strengthen his hearing and sense of smell.

  One day while Jenny is outside with Kim, she says, “Kim, when we lose one of our senses, like our eyesight, our other senses become stronger. Some animals are born with poor eyesight or are blind, yet they survive and thrive in their environments. Their heightened awareness makes them extremely strong. They rely only on sounds to find and hunt their prey.”

  Kim is interested in what she is saying. He wants to know how these animals do it. She replies, “They move their ears like humans use their eyes to track an object.”

  Kim interjects, “Hey, look at me. I’m trying to flap my ears, but I can’t do it.” They both laugh, and then he adds, “I can hear better than I ever have before.”

  Jenny smiles and says, “We have focused on hearing and scents. Let’s start putting that to use. As we head back to your room, I want you to give me directions on how to get there.”

  He does not understand, as he shouts, “Why do I have to direct you?”

  Jenny replies, “It’s time to move on. You have conquered hearing and smelling. Now, your new goal is to conquer directions. Let’s get started.”

  Jenny tells him that she is wheeling him to a new area and she wants him to try to remember everything he hears and smells along the way. Then when it is time for her to take him back, he will direct her. She also tells him that tomorrow and every day, they will go to different spots on the lawn, and he will always give her directions on how to get back.

  When they do head back, he tells her to make a wide turn. She makes the turn and then stops. He shouts, “I didn’t tell you to stop! Why are you stopping?”

  Jenny responds, “We are six inches from the lake. I don’t think you’d be happy if I wheeled you into it.”

  Kim bursts out laughing. Then, he says, “Wait a minute. I know what I did wrong. I’ve got it now. Wheel me back to where we were before I told you to turn.”

  She does as he commands, and then he says, “Make a left turn now. I remember the scents and the sounds.”

  He nails it this time. Jenny laughs as she says, “Kim, you’ll make a great director one day!”

  He smiles when he hears her comment.

  Several weeks pass, and Kim’s senses have become stronger. His confidence is also soaring. He trusts Jenny and listens to her. One day while they are sitting in a quiet place on the grounds, Jenny tells Kim, “It’s now time to develop the skills you will need to wheel yourself. It will be like learning to drive.”

  Kim says, “I’ll do it, but I want to learn how to go fast like a race car driver.”

  Jenny figured he would say something like that. She tells him to wheel himself a few feet. He has tried to wheel himself many times in the hospital, but he always banged into the walls, gurneys, or anything else that was in his path.

  Jenny assures him that it won’t be hard after he gets the hang of it. Once he begins, he finds that it is hard to do. He keeps banging into the trees or getting stuck in the bushes. It is far more difficult to learn than he ever imagined. He starts to think how weak his hands, wrists and arms have become. This is not acceptable to Kim. He wants to build up his strength.

  He also begins to get used to the idea of being in total darkness. He discovers that he has the ability to sense someone coming at him from any distance or direction. He also can hear a voice one time and connect it with that person from then on.

  Then, one day while he is with Jenny, he tells her that he wants to try and do wheelies. She says, “Kim, that takes a lot of practice. It could be dangerous.”

  He smiles, answering, “That’s why I want to do it.”

  He tries repeatedly, but he stumbles and falls out of his chair every time. Each time he falls, Jenny has to help him get back into his wheelchair again.

  Jenny is exhausted and tells him, “Instead of wheelies, let’s work on you walking with a cane and getting out of that chair.” Kim knows that she’s right, but he does not feel confident yet.

  In a brief time, he can stand up using his cane and sit back down again. Jenny tells him that he is making excellent progress. She says, “Kim, the more you do, the more you can do.” Her statements always encourage and motivate him.

  Then Jenny shocks him when she wants him to show her the movements of the Samoan fire sword dance. Kim yells at her. “Are you crazy? I’m not even walking two feet with a cane!”

  She responds, “Then it’s time you begin. I want you to take your cane, stand up and walk a few feet, then go back and sit in your chair.”

  Kim gets up from his wheelchair and manages to walk a few feet. He’s wobbly and falls many times.

  Jenny tells him. “Walking will be easier for you if you work with your physical therapist to get more muscle strength in your legs, which are weak.” Kim knows that what she is saying is true.

  Within a few days, Kim is walking short distances with his cane. Jenny tells him that she wants to teach him the katas. She goes on to say, “Once you are proficient in the katas, I want you to show me the movements of the Samoan sword dance.”

  Kim has never heard of the katas. He asks her, “Who or what are ‘the katas?”

  She tells him that she began the katas fourteen years ago after her car accident, explaining, “It was the one thing that helped me. I was fortunate that one of my therapists came from Okinawa. He was a sensei in karate. He taught me the katas, and I practiced doing them every day. It became one of my passions. I reached heights that I never thought possible. I am still going to a kata group that meets three times a week.”

  Kim asks her if her teacher who helped her after her car accident still instructs her group. She tells him. “No, he taught it for a while until he went back to Okinawa. I’ve traveled there two times to see him. Each time, I spent two weeks training with this great sensei.”

  “Tell me more about it,” Kim urges.

  “Karate was the only self-defense the unarmed farmers in Okinawa had a long time ago,” Jenny explains. “They used it against the attacks on them from armed warriors. Later, it was introduced to Japan. Karate means an empty fist. It’s a way of fighting without weapons.”

  Kim responds. “That has nothing to do with me. I am not a warrior, soldier, or fighter anymore. I’m all washed up. I am finished!”

  Jenny answers, “Kim, the katas are not about being a fighter. It’s a lifestyle. The katas are born of humility, discipline, and self-knowledge. The katas helped me and still help me to deal with everyday living.”

  Kim wants to try it and begins his katas training with Jenny. In Kim’s first lesson, Jenny says, “Karate needs one to draw power from the ground. You must root your feet into the ground.”

  He does as she says, but she tells him that he needs to root his feet deeper. He concentrates as he digs his feet deeper into the ground. Then she instructs him in other movements, techniques, and routines of the katas. He practices and likes it.

  The next day, he is outside practicing more routines under Jenny’s supervision. Small groups of doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors walk by him. They watch the many poses and movements that he performs. Some try to avoid him by walking as far away from him as possible. Many of them whisper to each other that he is acting like a crazy man. At times, he overhears people saying, “Poor soul, he’s loco.” He doesn’t care what anyone says or thinks because he is on a relentless pursuit of independence.

  At the end of the session, Jenny tells Kim that she is proud of him. He is learning not to focus only on the fighting aspects in the martial arts. He is now learning the mind of the real Bushido Karate.
He is acquiring knowledge and techniques that will help him ease the rage that is inside of him.

  One day after practicing, he sits down on the lawn to rest for a few minutes. His right hand begins to itch. He scratches it and feels a couple of ants. As if he could see, he bends his head down in the direction of his hand. He cannot believe it when he sees a blurred image of a few ants. He blinks, and the image becomes clearer.

  At first, he does not know what is happening to him. He looks away into the distance. His vision fades in and out. The light from the shining sun hurts his left eye. He must close it for a moment. He looks down at his hand again. He knows that he can see the ants that are on his hand. He starts to pick them off his hand. His sight in his left eye is coming back!

  He slowly looks up at Jenny and sees her! He finally gets to see the wonderful, caring woman who helped him become whole again. The emotion he feels is overwhelming. There are no words to express what he feels. He cannot stop staring at her. With tears in her eyes, she says, “Kim, you can see me.”

  Kim says that she is the most beautiful lady he has ever seen. Then he says, “I don’t have the words to tell you how much you have meant to me. Saying thank you is not enough.”

  She wipes a tear from her face and says, “It’s enough for me.”

  She pauses for a moment as they continue to stare at each other. Then she adds, “One day soon, you will be leaving here. We both know that we will have to say goodbye. It will be time for our journey to end.”

  At this moment, bittersweet tears of joy fall from their eyes. Then she says, “There’s only one thing I regret.”

  Kim asks, “What? What do you regret?”

  Jenny replies, “If I had known you’d regain your eyesight today, I would have put my lipstick and makeup on.” They both burst out laughing.

  Then, Jenny expresses her feelings. “I know what you have achieved is momentous, but you are not through. I know that I will read about your achievements in the newspapers one day. You will help, inspire, and guide many people.”

  Kim smiles at her. “It’s not me,” he protests. “You are the great one. You are one of the greatest sensei’s I have ever known. I’ll never forget you.”

  Jenny responds, “You will go where you are meant to go next on your journey through life. Keep your feet grounded, practice the katas, and it will be shown to you. Everything that has happened to you was for a purpose. You may not understand that now, but you will later.”

  Kim remembers that Thalia said something like that to him. He chuckles to himself as he thinks, “I wonder if they both know something that I don’t.” Then he says, “I got it! I know where I want to go after I’m released from this place. I never thought about it before. I never had to. All I wanted to do was die, but everything has changed now.”

  They begin to head back, but Kim asks Jenny to wait a minute. He walks back to the tree where they were sitting and places his cane beside it.

  Jenny does not say a word when he leaves it there. Instead, she smiles as she watches Kim walk back towards her without it.

  Chapter 14

  The Calling

  The Korean War is not over yet. It continues for another year after Kim is discharged from the V.A. medical facilities in Massachusetts. The day he is discharged, he goes to the airport and boards a plane to Los Angeles. He chose to live in L.A. because it is the first step in executing his new plan. He realizes that he must start over again because his life is not the same anymore. He is no longer a boy or a teenager. He is a wounded, young man who is a Korean War Hero.

  When he walks down any street in LA, he sees the different ways that people look at him and treat him. Some pay him homage, while others shun and hold prejudice against him because they think he is Japanese or Korean. They view men of his nationality as America’s enemies because of their part in World War II and the Korean War.

  The different reactions he receives from others ignite many memories for him about some of the military veterans he has known. Giovanni, who was a World War I veteran, gave up all hope in life after he was discharged. He wanted no ties or responsibilities. He did not care about anything or anyone anymore. He did not give a damn when he hopped a train and left young Kim behind at the railroad tracks.

  Kim also thinks about Luke, the teenager, who attacked him in the alley. Luke was not a veteran and never served in the military. Yet, he experienced uncontrollable rage and hate because of the war. He blamed Kim and all Asians for starting a war that killed his brother. His hatred of the Japanese people blinded him.

  But Johnny and Jackie, the boys from Nebraska, were proud that they served their country. They held no resentment nor bigotry towards the soldiers who they fought against during the war. They left it all behind them. They were happy to go back home to their farm and begin their lives again.

  Biker Mike did not go back home to Pennsylvania because he found his true passion when he served. He became determined to live the life of a biker. When the war ended, he went to Sacramento to pursue his dreams.

  Kim realizes how much he learned from all of them. He now understands why they thought and behaved as they did. He also found one enormous difference between them and himself. None of them had suffered a physical disability. None of them had to fight his type of battle after the war.

  He begins to think about the loss of his eye sight in one eye. Instead, of feeling sorry for himself, he thinks about what he has left and what he has gained. His loss of his eyesight continues to elevate his other senses. He knows he is stronger than he was before.

  Kim does not want to think about his past anymore. He knows it is time for him to move forward. He also recognizes the fact that making a living is the most important thing to him now. His money will be gone soon, which means he does not have much time to begin his new life. He knows his first step is to test his abilities. It is important that he finds out what he can or cannot do. So, he deliberately choses to live in an area that is close to where groups of bikers hang out.

  He seeks them out and finds one group of bikers who hang out in a large quarter acre lot in a run-down area. It has one enormous building that the bikers use for their garage. It is an ideal place to gather and work on their bikes. Some of these bikers are like Biker Mike. They were veterans, who rode bikes as messengers during the war.

  The bikers welcome Kim into their group. Kim volunteers to help them work on their bikes, and they let him ride their motorcycles in the large area that surrounds their building. He quickly begins to pick up speed and learns to easily maneuver and control any motorcycle. His high-flying jumps and wheelies are top-notch. With precision and grace, he speeds around curves and performs many dangerous tricks. He was able to find ways to maneuver a bike while only using his eyesight in his one good eye. He has achieved his first goal.

  He now must start his next quest. He needs to find out if he still has the control and balance necessary to perform the fire sword dance. He wants to perform as a fire sword dancer, but he is not sure if he can do it with sight in only one eye. Kim does not let that fear take control of him. Instead, he becomes more determined to control the swords with the flaming fires again.

  He begins to practice for a few weeks with the sword dancers in the area. He does not feel he is ready to visit Freddie Le Tuli but he has no other choice. His money will be gone in about six weeks. He decides it is time to see Freddie. It is now or never!

  Kim walks into Freddie Le Tuli’s office and introduces himself. Freddie then conducts an informal interview with him. Kim tells Freddie about himself and his work experience as a fire sword dancer. Freddie likes what he hears and tells him that he will give him a chance. He will let Kim take part in their rehearsals under his supervision and guidance. He goes on to say that after two weeks he will give him an audition and then he’ll judge if Kim is ready or not.

  Two weeks later, at Kim’s audition, Freddie watches him closely and gives him two thumbs up.

  Then Freddie congratulates him an
d says, “You are now a part of my Samoan Warriors troupe.”

  Kim feels humbled by his accomplishment. Bowing his head, he says, “thank-you.” Then Freddie explains to him how his operation works. He tells Kim that his first fire sword dancers were a success. People from all over the world wanted to see their dangerous performances. He couldn’t fulfill all the contracts unless he started more troupes.

  He discloses to Kim that they have bookings for live shows in Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. His agents, Olsen and Johnson, just booked many more Las Vegas shows for them.

  Then Freddie says, “Hawaiian and Western movies and television shows are popular, which means there are more roles for people like us. Hollywood wants people who are believable as Hawaiians, Asians, Mexicans, Polynesians, and Indians, and we fit the bill.”

  “The members of my troupe get their own work too. They have gotten work as actors, extras, dancers, and stuntmen in Hollywood movies, and I encourage all of them to do so.”

  He finishes by saying, “Kim you must get your Screen Extras Guild card, which is known as your S.E.G card to perform in movies and TV shows with me and my troupes.”

  Freddie’s energy, hard-work, and passion impresses Kim. He thanks Freddie again and leaves. He walks to the large garage area to hang out with his biker friends. When he gets to the garage, he daydreams about his future as he works on a motorcycle.

  Then Whiskey Bill, one of Kim’s biker friends, bursts into the place. He shouts for everyone to stop what they’re doing and gather around him.

  A few of the bikers start grumbling among themselves, saying, “What does he have up his sleeve?” and “This better be good. I don’t want to hear any BS.”

  Whiskey Bill gulps down a few swigs of Jack Daniels, then yells, “I have some big, big news! It’s almost as good as hitting the mother lode.”

  He’s interrupted by Killer James, who says, “Spit it out! We don’t have all day.”