A Time for Courage

Jacopo Tintoretto
Saint George and the Dragon

In Eastern Los Angeles, panic has swept through the population. Grocery shelves are empty. Toilet paper is gone. Schools have been shutdown. Libraries are closed. Events are cancelled. Church gatherings shutdown. Even the boxing gym I attend is closed until March 31st. Generally, people are afraid to go to public places.

But for those who follow the Christian faith - we must not let fear seize us. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control." From the Old Testament, Psalms 23:4 says, "Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me."

I find it disheartening how many Christians I know are terrified of this disease. It's a terrible testament of our faith. I'm not saying we shouldn't be prudent and prepared, but as Pastor Francis Chan pointed out, according to Charisma News, "It's a test of our faith - not to be foolish but to show that we fear nothing, especially not death. And we are anxious about nothing." Chan tells how Chinese Christians are witnessing their faith in Hong Kong, even amongst the coronavirus outbreak there.

During this crisis, if we can't draw on faith, love, and hope, what kind of testament are we to this world? How are we the light? How are we salt? If salt loses its saltiness, it's thrown away.

We're called to be strong in crisis, because "If you're weak in crisis, you're weak indeed." (Pro. 24:10, GNT).

The Bible never promises us that we'll live forever on this earth. So why are Christians and others believing in this lie? We act like we're all entitled to immortality here.

I'll repeat it again. We're not going to live on this earth forever. What counts is what you do with your time here and now, no matter how short it is.

In fact, Scripture says "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will find it."

Suffering is a plight Christians are all called to endure. That's what it means to take up your cross daily.

And yet, I had to be taught this lesson by an atheist civil rights attorney. In Russia, I staged a protest, because the Russian government in Saint Petersburg wouldn't let me board my flight without paying a bribe. I was placed in indefinite house arrest within the country. It was an upsetting experience, where my State Department did nothing for me. Kind Russian people I had barely known, however, stepped up and gave me compassion; hospitality; and most importantly - their time. The lessons I learned there stayed with me for life.

When I returned home, my atheist attorney praised me for what I did.

And I asked her, "But what did it accomplish? I could've got really hurt. One of the officer pushed me to the floor."

"If anything, it's good for you. It cleanses your soul," she told me.

How shameful for the Church that I had to learn this lesson from someone outside of the faith - who understood the lessons of suffering better than I've ever heard from any sermon preached.

The solution to this kind of disobedience is repentance to God. The sin is clear. It's placing fear above Him. And in doing so, he is no longer God of your life, fear is. It is written - "Worship no God but me." That includes the god of fear.

I end with a verse in 1 John 4, which reminds us all of the purpose of our being: "There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment."

The Helper Cell Driven Solution Model of the Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Immunity to the Coronavirus, unlike the typical flu, is CD4 driven and not CD8 driven. That's the key to understanding immunity and treatment of those infected with the disease. I wrote an earlier theory article about how it works here, but I now have a clearer thesis for the solution.

Since writing my last article on Corona, I have two new insights, which led me to conclude that Corona immunity must be CD4 triggered.

One, children are not likely to be vulnerable to Corona, as explained more thoroughly below. (I have corrected this in my first article.) Two, I still believe that there are similarities with this virus and HIV, but it may not be in the suppression of the immune system.

This new data suggests that there's an independent path to immunity that is CD4 driven and not CD8 driven, which defies conventional knowledge. There may be two types of CD4 cells. Conventional knowledge currently says there's only one. The solution to the problem lies in increasing CD4 counts in the infected.

A New Class of Viruses

It appears that a new class of viruses are emerging that evade initial detection from the killer cells or CD8. These viruses are Corona, SARS, HIV, Hepatitis A (HAV), possibly Herpes, and others. Currently, we're taught that the killer cell contacts the virus, which kickstarts immunization. CD4, or helper cells, were always thought to be recruit cells. But this isn't true.

Experiments with Hepatitis A prove otherwise. In Hepatitis A, the first line of attack against HAV is from CD4. Vaccination is also difficult to produce. For immunity to be vested, experiments have shown that CD4 levels must be high. For this reason, immunity will not develop with those who have low CD4 levels.

This theory also explains why HIV antivirals work against Corona and SARS. Although not completely understood, there are two viable possibilities.

One, these classes of virus must have the same capsid development. In other words, their similarity must lie in the production of its protein shell. If the enzyme within the capsid development is blocked, then replication is slowed or halted.

Two, it can also be that these antivirals work by blocking the respiration and related metabolism of these viruses - which is a controversial idea. It's controversial because viruses without a host are thought not to be metabolizing. Although I wouldn't suspect this to be the case, it's important not to rule it out without more evidence.

HIV antiviral medication must be blocking an enzyme in either capsid development or metabolism. These classes of viruses have a key enzyme that's required for their survival or replication.

The new class theory also explains why adults and older adults have a difficult time fighting Corona. As adults age, the ratio of CD4 to CD8 declines. As a result, the virus can go undetected by killer cells, replicates, and produces a surprise attack on the body in mass.

(I personally don't believe that mortality rate is at 2%. SARS mortality rate was closer to 9%. Seeing they're almost the same type of disease, except that Corona appears to be a lot more contagious than SARS. Both diseases, however, have a mortality rate that is age dependent.)

Two Types of Helper Cells?

The data from HAV suggests to me that there are two types of Helper cells or CD4 cells. Our testing may be grouping them together as one.

I propose this. The first type is a patrol type that are designed to be a front line attack against viruses such as these. The second one is a recruited type of cell that has been formed from a blueprint in mass to eradicate the disease.

Elderly and Immunocompromised are at Risk

Both the elderly, and those with pre-existing diseases, like hepatitis and HIV, are at greatest risk of dying from Corona. If you followed my theory, the reason is simple. Both groups have lowered CD4 counts.

Children

It's been recognized that both Corona and SARS infects children at a lower rate. Follow my logic again from the top. Children have a higher levels of CD4, in general, than aging adults. Hence, they're capable of defending against it. In the same vein of that logic, children are more susceptible to the common flu, because immunity requires CD8 counts to be higher, which adults have, but not children.

Conclusion

To immunize against this disease, CD4 counts must be high before vaccination. To treat someone infected, CD4 counts have to be raised and the replication cycle of the virus has to be broken. It may still help to raise CD8 counts. Finally, raising CD4 counts can prevent infection from the disease, one just has to be sure doing so doesn't make one autoimmune.

There's a bigger picture here, though, that's not isolated to Corona. It's this: the initiation of immunological memory can be initiated by another pathway triggered by CD4. Also, it's very likely that CD8 cells can be comprised into two types: patrolling cells and recruited cells.

That's it for now.

Coming Home with my Prized Catch - Abalone

Adolf Eberle, Family of a Bavarian Hunter

When my mother saw me walk with my luggage at the bus station, she walked out of the car and gave me a hug. I was exhausted from the long journey home, but I felt accomplished. Mission accomplished. I brought home my mother's abalone. She looked at my face and saw how tanned I was, and said, "You're so dark." I laughed, happy that everyone could tell I came home from a vacation. I had my second summer.

I put my luggage in my car and began telling her about how I was detained as a security threat in New Zealand, my judo sensei, the Korean-Kiwi wedding, my time in Wellington, the changes in the country, and how I missed my flight.

Only a mother would be so eager and interested in hearing about all the details of her son's trip.

This time, I was able to board smoothly on my flight. I missed the flight, yesterday. I flew with American Airlines co-shared with Qantas. The food and service were really good. I had a beef curry, watched a few movies, and had a couple glasses of red wine.

Upon landing in LAX, I passed through Global Entry - happy I didn't have to wait in such long lines.

I then took public transport home. It took two hours. By car, it can take anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour and a half - depending on the traffic. (But I've stopped asking people to pick me up from the airport, because I go so often.)

When we arrived at home from the local bus station, my cat was saw my car approaching the driveway. I saw him running and running and running towards me. When I got out, the cat was wagging his tail excited.

He approached me, and I picked him up and said, "Jeh Pan!!!!" (That's Korean for trial. Get it the attorney with a cat named trial?)

Inside, I opened my styrofoam box and showed her the abalone, and she said, "You did well. This should last us the year." (Before I left to NZ, my mother made this request of me again.)

I said, "Don't be giving it away to all your relatives this time. It was hard work getting them. I threw up in the water a lot to get these. And who knows when I'm going back?"

She began to work in separating them out and refreezing them. Incidentally, everything was still frozen. Styrofoam box worked well.

I slept a few hours at home from the long flight. I woke up. I started working on a reply brief. My holiday in New Zealand was over, and there was no doubt in my mind about it. At least I had an amazing time. As usual, New Zealand is highly recommended on my must-see places. Now, it was time to get back to the grind.

Finally, a special thanks to American Airlines: Doug Parker, Alice Curry, and Nick. Also, thank you to Qantas: Alan Joyce and Rhonda. Although my journey back home was rough, they all did everything possible to make my journey back smooth, easy, and pleasant. A+ in customer service.

American Airlines and Qantas will be opening a new route from Los Angeles to Christchurch on October 2020 to March 2021. This will be the first direct flight from the United States to the South Island. Highly recommended, hopefully, they open a direct flight to the Fjordlands via Queenstown one day.

The Long Journey Home

I was on a night bus on the windy road to Auckland. My friends' love would protect me from evil spirits and curses and the creatures of the night - like ghosts and goblins. But I had to make a choice. Do I go straight back to the airport or do I go to central city? It would be nice to see my judo sensei again and have one more day in the City, but it would cost me more, because I'd have to buy another ticket to the airport. Then there was the whole ordeal regarding the Mudbrick wine. My friend in Los Angeles asked for a bottle, and I didn't buy him one while I was in Auckland, because it was too expensive. He was upset and said he would gladly pay the price for a bottle of wine. Fine. I told myself. It was back to Auckland central and not the airport. All the while, my heart was still in Wellington.

My bus departed around 8PM from Wellington. It was hard to sleep on the bus, but I managed a few hours here and there on the 12 hour ride.

But when the airport stop came, I looked out the window and saw a guy take my luggage and my styrofoam box, which had abalone inside. My mom asked me to bring her her abalone, and I dove for them to be a hero in her heart. I raced down and put my luggage and box back in the bus. What'd he do that for? That's not even his stuff?!

After the driver dropped me off at central city, it was around 8AM. I walked with all my heavy luggage and box and walked my way to my judo sensei's restaurant. I asked the employee to let me in.

My judo sensei looked at me upset with a scowl.

She said in Korean - "Why are you back?"

I wanted to tell her - Good morning to you too. But instead I said - "I brought you abalone."

"We're working, Paul! I have a restaurant to run."

But I opened my styrofoam box and took out another container. I removed the lid. My sensei's mother, who works at the restaurant, looked at the abalone with fascination and said "Oh!!! They're so big!" She treated my catch like it was black gold. Everything was still frozen, which was good. The styrofoam box held the food frozen at least 12 hours, which would work for the flight.

I told my sensei - "Let's separate them out. You can have a few. I need to give the groom some too. It's his wedding gift."

We went to the sink. I rinsed them. The ice melted. We separated out abalone for the groom and the for my sensei. She said, - "Paul - that's a good wedding gift you're giving him. A very good gift. They'll appreciate it."

Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy VII at her
bar The Seventh Heaven

I took out other boxes of abalone and put them in the freezer. My flight was leaving in a few hours.

My judo teacher then reminded me of Tifa Lockheart in the video game Final Fantasy VII. Tifa's a fighter that's a supporting character for Cloud. Tifa's a bare knuckle martial artists, and she owns a happening bar called The Seventh Heaven. Same like Tifa, my sensei is also rough martial artist and has a bar / restaurant in central Auckland that's rather famous and popular. (She already knows half of Auckland maybe one day can run for Mayor.) One of the most important lessons she taught me in judo, which I brought into litigation was this: "Make it hurt for the enemy, Paul. Make it hurt. And make it hurt a lot for the enemy."

Cloud, main character in Final Fantasy VII

Leaving black gold behind there made it feel like it was a drop site for all types of goodies, and it's a popular place in the Central Business District. I texted the groom and wrote - "Your wedding gift is at the restaurant." He wrote back, "Thank you."

I felt better. I wasn't empty handed anymore and finally gave the married couple their gift. I had a sense of shame that was heavy in me, because I didn't bring them a gift. Now, I felt like I was redeemed. I brought them a gift that took skill, courage, heart, and work.

My judo sensei then said, "Go sit down for awhile. I'm almost done working. We'll go out for coffee, after."

We drove to a place to have coffee. She started swearing at a driver who cut her off, and I said - "Hey, remember what I said about being lady-like?"

She just stared at me and said, "Shut your mouth."

"You always were the drill sergeant."

We went to a cafe. I ordered a cappuccino. She ordered one too. The coffee was terrible. She agreed.

I told her what happened in Wellington. She told me her daughter caught a fever and had fallen. She also said she was really busy at work.

A guy was listening in our conversation, but he didn't know Korean. When I ordered in English - he looked surprised that I had an American English accent. My sensei's mother also said I spoke Korean like an American - with rough "Rs".

After, we went back to her restaurant. I walked to the liquor store that had Mudbrick wine. It was closed, even though it wasn't supposed to be. I took a picture of the closed sign and texted it back to my friend in Los Angeles to prove that I tried to get him his wine.

I walked to the supermarket and spent the last of my Kiwi cash on a bottle of wine for my professor back in Los Angeles. Remember; I broke open my Kiwi piggy bank and had $64 NZD in change.

I was super tired. I didn't sleep well on the bus. I made my way back to The Seventh Heaven. I took my luggage and abalone and boarded the bus to the airport.

When I arrived at the airport, the supervisor denied me my boarding. He asked what was in the box. I said abalone. Then he said that my box needed to wrapped in cling film (plastic wrap). I tried to persuade him, and when that didn't work, I said I'd write a complaint. But while we were arguing - he said your check in time is now less than an hour. You can't board.

Is this really happening to me?! Again?! I hinted at being able to make this guy's life difficult. After, he was a lot more pleasant, and said he'd book me on a free standby. The problem was I still had to get back into the city and also book a place.

Remember, when I first came into New Zealand. They detained and interrogated me as a security threat. Now that I was trying to leave, they wouldn't let me leave. Can't win with these Kiwis!

I didn't want to pay another $17 back on the sky bus. So, I hitchhiked back.

A Kiwi senior citizen lady picked me up. She was pleasant and never left NZ - except for Australia. She seemed to have a lot of international friends. She had her grandson in the back. Her name was Wendy. She came from Gisborne and also lived in the Hutt and now lived in outer AKL. She was a librarian for an elementary school in the Hutt but was made redundant.

She was in the army and told me should could shoot a gun and drive a tank. She dropped me off about 8 kms from the City.

Then, another guy picked me up. He was a builder named Jordon, who recently got married. He was visiting Los Angeles soon, because he had a wedding in Phoenix, Arizona.

The hostel I stayed at last week was booked, but I got rebooked nearby. I was so exhausted; it took everything to not fall asleep when I sat down on a chair. I could feel my eyes feeling heavy. But I had to check in. And I had to put the abalone in the hostel freezer. I was hoping none of the guests knew what it was, as it does have value.

After, I bought a light dinner. I popped into see my judo sensei. I was scared of seeing her, because I thought she was going to tell me off. But she wasn't as upset as I thought she'd be for missing my flight. She frowned at me and said, "I told you, 'You're just one big troublemaker.'"

I explained everything to her. She appreciated the information in the event she had to take seafood to Korea. I told her I had another night in Auckland now.

For tomorrow, she told me to come pop in during lunch time and not in the morning - when she's busy preparing lunch. She asked if I wanted some dinner. She cooked the abalone into a porridge for herself and all her employees.

Korean abalone porridge

Her recipe was so traditional, unlike my mom's, who's figured out how to maximize the flavor in a soup. Although my sensei's porridge tasted good, it made me think that this food was for some hospital patient instead of having culinary flare. Often chemo and radiation patients in Korea are given abalone porridge to recover.

After eating it, although I wanted to socialize and meet people, my body was weak. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I passed out. I must've fell a sleep in less than two minutes. I felt like a new person when I woke up.

In the morning, I bought a triple shot cappuccino at a little kiosk by the restaurant. The lady was a midwife, who recovered from colon cancer. She was only 45. She was telling me about how much she loved America, and that was she was heading back for Burning Man.

I walked to see if the liquor store was open this time. It was. I bought two bottles of Mudbrick. I asked for a discount. The manager gave me one. Finally, my friend in Los Angeles would have his wine. Maybe, I was meant to stay one more night.

I went into town and found and bought some cling wrap. Then, I headed straight back to my hostel to work on my cases. I was drafting motions. The work was flooding in. My vacation was over. Hopefully, I'd be going home soon.

More Kiwi Hospitality

Umbrella for Two

The next day, in the evening I visited my old judo club. I was so happy that it grew with so many more people. One of my Senseis, a white guy named Cameron, spent the whole time catching up with me. He taught me the most in ground fighting and strangling people out back in the days. I saw some old faces. One guy named Matthew called out to me - "I remember you!" They call him "Sparkles" now. He was just a kid, about 15, when I left and a green belt (which is about half way to black). Now, he was a black belt. (I won't tell you which belt I am, but I graduated a degree after I left NZ). I have to say an amazing feeling came over me to see that the club had grown. I appreciated seeing all the new faces. A Russian teenager wanted to talk to me, so I spoke to him in Russian. He was like where did you learn?! Although my part was small in growing the club, I felt like I contributed too in the growing success of it. Most of the leadership fell on Cameron, and he did and was doing an astounding job.

I enjoyed one comment that Cameron made about Matthew. He said although Matthew wasn't the best technically, he had the courage to go up against much heavier players than himself and a lot of times he won. Not all the time, but when the odds were against him he wasn't afraid of going to mat with his opponent. If that was all I heard at my time at the judo club - my trip there would've been worth it. But it got better.

Seeing everybody made me really miss the club, and I told everyone I would come back soon. After training, Cameron took me to eat at a place that was a 3-minute walk from my old house. It was Indian. Cameron was generous to pay for my meal. Nothing beats Kiwi-Indian food. I don't know why it tastes so much better there. I had butter chicken and garlic naan. The creamy butter chicken sauce was out of this world. I wonder if it was because of the high quality dairy product. I've had Indian food in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London. It's still best in New Zealand for some reason.

The waiter was talking to me. His family owned the restaurant. He said he was doing his Masters in Strategic Studies in Victoria University. Cameron had a fantastic memory and said, "Did you know Paul graduated with that years ago?"

The waiter said, "Really?!"

I told him about the program a bit and all my old teachers. I don't know how much it's done for my life to be honest. Probably most people with Masters would say the same thing. Most of my knowledge of strategy has come from experience and mentorship.

* * *

I had a Kiwi piggy bank I forgot to break. Before I left to New Zealand, I broke it open, and I had a heavy amount of Kiwi change. My mom was watching me separate out all my money and was finding it all interesting. I had some Aussie coins in there too that I was separating out and not bringing with me.

Before lunch with Matthew, I deposited my money in my Kiwi account. My bank card didn't work! The lady looked at it and said, "I haven't seen a card like that in ten years!"

"Well, I guess it's been that long since I've come back to use my bank account." The bank tellers issued me a new card.

They counted up all my money. I had $64 NZD! Sweet. (That's about $38 USD.) I used most of it to buy coffee during my stay there. My final purchase was a pinot noir for my professor back in the States. I bought him a beautiful wine called Pick and Shovel from Central Otago.

* * *

Earlier in the day - my friend Matthew bought me lunch by the beach. We sat outside. I had a sandwich and glass of wine. I asked him if it was ok if I took off my shirt. Can you imagine a person shirtless at a restaurant? But it was by a beach on a summer's day and nobody seemed to mind. I wanted to tan; so, everyone would know I came back from a holiday.

Lunch was short. We caught up. I wish we had more time. But that was all the time in the world we were going to have, at least for now.

* * *

Later in the day, I met with an old friend Paul - who is probably one of the richest people in Wellington. He's an entrepreneur, who invests in the poor overseas, mainly Bangladesh and India. We walked to the park together. He put on a hat. I didn't.

I did most of the talking, and him; the listening. Paul wanted to know what I was doing back in the States. I told him about my cases and my sabbatical. Most of the time was taken up with my stories.

But here's one thing he told me that really hit home. He said to me, "The principle in spending money and living life is that you should live your life in a way that maximizes the good you can do for others and the world." That was important for me to hear.

That was all the time I was going to have with him.

* * *

On another day, I had lunch at one of the best cafes in Wellington called Neo. The owner is a friend of mine. I had the best chicken salad in my life there. He told me that he uses thigh meat, which doesn't go dry. He brines it. Then he dips it in buttermilk before coating it in breadcrumbs. Because I don't eat much bread, I had him put the chicken in a salad, and I drizzled extra dressing on it.

The friend I met was Neil. He's a scientist. We caught up some. I'm grateful he made the drive out from a little further away and bought me lunch. Neil was telling me that he was working on a project about a farmer woman who has visions of Heaven. Very interesting.

* * *

In between meetings, I caught up with former boss, Brett. He bought me a cappuccino, which tasted wonderful. His daughters had grown up. He moved up as a director. I told him about my time in law school and as a lawyer. That was all the time we were going to have on this visit.

* * *

Finally, I spent the rest of the time with Catherine's family. We had dinner together. Spiros was there too. I could feel the time slipping away from me. It was like watching the sands of an hourglass fall the bottom. Two of their adult children sat with us at the table. We held hands, as a family would, and I prayed for the family. And they prayed for me.

Because the airplane ticket was way overpriced to Auckland, I had to buy a bus ticket. They took me to the bus stop. I brought the abalone with me, the most important gift I had. There, waiting for me, was Kirill. It was a really pleasant surprise. He figured out my bus stop and came to surprise me with a good bye. Really humbled by it all.

I gave everybody a hug, and I was on the night bus back to Auckland. It'd be a 12 or 14 hour ride. A flight is only 45 minutes. But the road is windy and through mountains.

* * *

That was it. That was my time in Wellington.

I was really humbled and impressed by everyone's hospitality and generosity. It was hard to accept, because on such short notice, I didn't even bring these people any gifts. In any event, special thanks to all those who welcomed me back!

I'll do my best to be back soon.

Kiwi Hospitality

 By: Ghislaine Howard

My friends Catherine and Spiros opened up their home for me to stay in Wellington. The first thing I did, after Andre dropped me off there, was put my containers of abalone in their freezer. My hosts were kind to feed and house me, and I talked with her son, who had just come back from his OE (Overseas Experience). Americans don't do OEs, but it's expected of a Kiwi - because NZ is a small isolated Western country. Young Kiwis are expected to go abroad and spend a few years there to learn. So Anthony told me about his experience in Southeast Asia, India, and then Europe. He had grown up. I remember when he was just a kid and all their other kids. But after a few hours staying with Catherine, my friend Kirill and Winnie came and picked me up. Kirill brought a styrofoam container for my abalone. I measured it. All the abalone would fit in it.

Kirill and Winnie and their new daughter and I got lunch at the botanical gardens. It was crowded. We just caught up, and since I left - it appears they had a lot of tragedy since I left. Cancer claimed the lives of both their fathers - which was sad. (It was then a force of ideas flooded my mind. Why is cancer an epidemic in New Zealand?) 

I ordered a small kid's soup and glass of red wine. But when they brought out the food, I knew the bill was wrong. They overcharged us. I told the waiter about it - who was upset I pointed out the mistake. I just felt that things weren't right. Kirill got a refund. But then they messed up on our order again.

The waiter started getting aggressive with me; so, I took it to his manager and all was made right. I got the family a nice little credit too. You can take the lawyer out of litigation, but you can't take litigation out of the lawyer.

It was a bright and warm sunny summer's day. So, I took off my shirt and walked through the garden to tan. I wanted to be dark, so everyone could know I came back from a nice holiday. (Actually, it was in New Zealand - I met a German who told me he wanted a nice tan so all his friends could know he went on a nice holiday. I liked the idea - and it's stuck with me since.) 

It was nice walking through the gardens. I tried to grab a duckling by the pond, and the mother duck flew at me and quacked at me. She didn't like that.

At one point, a young Kiwi guy came up to me and asked what else he should see in Wellington. He was from somewhere North - the East or West Cape. I can't recall. I told him to see Red Rocks by Island Bay - where they filmed a lot of King Kong. On a Sunday afternoon, my friends and I would have a picnic out there I told him. Then he had to go, and I did too.

Their daughter was a handful. She defied the parents at every wish. I wonder how so many kids are born so rebellious while others are not. She could be a bad little girl. When her father would take her away from the playground she would scream: "Help me! Help me!" I wonder where she learned that from. It made seem like her father was kidnapping her.

Later, we went to Kirill and Winne's place and had Chinese takeaway. 

Kirill and I met nearly ten years ago. We had a little Russian group we were all part of. We were all young and single and we'd go out and have fun almost every night. It was a fun little community to have. One of the best times we had was when we went skiing and snowboarding together and rented out a little cabin.

We talked about how one of our friends - a son of a kleptocrat - bought two fancy cars. Crashed one, then got deported back for tying up his girlfriend in some sexual play. He took pictures of her in bondage. She went to the police with it and said he kidnapped her. He was deported immediately. His rich Russian parents tried to bribe the police - but they wouldn't have any of it. Such, such were those days.

After dinner and drinking a shot of whiskey, while smoking some of a cigar with Kirill, I was able to pray for the family before I left. Kirill took me to Catherine's place on a scenic drive through the bays, and I got to pray for him too after he dropped me off. 

At Catherine's place, Spiros was sitting on the couch watching television. I sat with him and talked to him about my day and what happened since last time we saw each other. Catherine offered me a glass of red wine. She drank some. I drank some. We talked and the time quickly ran out on us. We all had to go to sleep.

The Final Catch

Andre and me

The next day, Andre and I went free diving again for abalone, only this time with his young daughter. There were heaps of Asians around trying to dive for abalone, but a lot of them were really poaching undersized one, which are easier to get. A Cantonese real estate agent that barely knew Andre tagged along with us, even though I didn't want him to. He was a novice diver, unfit, and pudgy and wanted to know a good dive spot. But Andre, didn't want to get into conflict with him. Real estate agents - they always pretend to be your friend - while they take you for a ride. (No offense to my friends who are; it's just the nature of the business.) The want for abalone amongst these people really showed me how greedy and desperate people could be and how they could fake niceness to get what they wanted.

Anyways, I thought it was awesome that Andre brought his daughter with us. She really bonded with us just walking to our dive spot, and at such a young age, she was already learning to free dive. Because she was still little, we had to walk slowly with her.

While walking a mile into our track, I realized, again, I forgot my weight belt. This time in the car. As a result, I had to put rocks in my wetsuit, but they still weren't enough to keep me buoyant. Nonetheless, the rocks still helped and I managed to be heavier and sink some. As a result, I was able to catch 5 pauas (Maori for abalone).

But on trying to pry a big abalone from the rock, my blade snapped. The rust and corrosion had damaged the integrity of the knife at the center, and it just broke. I had a handle and a broken knife now.

It reminded me of how engaging in bad conduct and addictions rot aways at the integrity of one's life, from the inside first. It renders one disabled in virtue and function. It's a terrible place for person to be in. Just as a knife can lose its virtue by being brittle and dull, a person can lose his or her virtue by not functioning in character.

Finding the blade yesterday made me feel like I was on some ancient quest - as when the young Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone. But now my weapon cracked. But the quest still did not end. I had to go on. (The same with Arthur too. He loses his sword to the Lady of Lake as well, who still has it apparently.) Now the sea had my broken blade for eternity.

Back on shore, Andre finished his catch. The real estate agent gave us two abalone for showing him our spot.

We measured them, and they were undersized. We gently put them back in the water. As I said - he was a no-good poacher. Remember what I said about real estate agents?

Andre gave me his plastic scraper and his catch bag, which I tied to my waste. I added more rocks in. From there, I spotted and took 10 more abalone from the sea.

I puked once, because once again, I caught up in the swell. I felt really sea sick after I left the water, but I was successful. And my feet were numb from all the icy water that filled my wetsuit. I was getting the chills. I have a saying about the New Zealand seas - "That water doesn't love you."

Three of us were in the water. That allowed us 30 abalone. This time I matched Andre or caught one more - depending on how one counts. We both caught our maximum amount of abalone for the day.

I was happy that my skills as an abalone diver returned. Men are respected for their skill to provide.

While walking back, I remembered my mother and her request and thought she would be happy with everything I did to make her happy. If she only knew how much work and suffering went into bringing what she asked for. Her precious abalone.

On the trail, we talked about dinner. Andre's daughter wanted fast food. She asked which fast food restaurant I wanted. I picked KFC.

While Andre drove back into town, I asked him questions about what he would do if he could do life again. He mentioned a few things.

I didn't really have much to say. I wondered a lot about how different my life would've been if I stayed in New Zealand. But I said - I don't have a crystal ball to see how life really would've been different had I stayed. Maybe it would've been worse.

Towards the end of my last job, I did tell him that I felt like I was dying every day, because I wasn't being challenged. I was comfortable and secure during my last days in New Zealand. But my mind was atrophying. Nobody likes pain and challenge, but it's what makes men and women strong and skilled and tough. And law school provided that for me.

I often wonder if it was worth the extraordinary financial cost. Seeing where I am today, I have to say Yes. I'm certain the rigors of law school and the amazing intellectual environment took my thinking to a place I wouldn't be at, if I didn't go.

For dinner - Andre bought us KFC. We made it five minutes before they closed. Drawing on my skills of lawyering persuasion, I convinced her we wouldn't be there much longer and wouldn't interrupt their closing down. So, the staff let us stay and eat.

His daughter was talking to me a lot. I remember when the family visited me in Los Angeles, and she was shy and hardly talked. Also, on my last visit, she was shy and timid and didn't say much. Now she was talking heaps and asking a lot about me and what I remembered about her. I told her what I could recall.

After, we both went to Andre's place - shucked the abalone - and cleaned them. After, I took a hot shower. Andre took one too.

The next day, Andre and his daughter took me to my next destination.

My time with Andre left me really humbled. And how many times have you heard me say that?

When he visited me in Los Angeles, we spent a lunch and dinner together. What's that? Half a day.

But here he was, spending over two full days with me, housing me, feeding me, picking me up at the airport, and taking the trouble to organize my trip. In some ways - the difference is that Kiwis have more time than a busy Angelino. I get that. But I think that Kiwis do hospitality better than I do, and they also understand the preciousness of mate-ship. Our time together here is short. And I'm glad Andre taught me how to take my hospitality to the next level.

Like I said - I was left really humbled, and it would happen again with my other Kiwi friends.