Article
from The Honolulu
Advertiser
Oprah makes an Island connection
What:
‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’
When: 4 p.m. tomorrow, Fox
By
Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
When D learned
that Oprah Winfrey was producing a movie based on Mitch Albom’s
best-selling book “Tuesdays With Morrie,” the former Big Island
resident was moved to write Winfrey a long thank-you note. The book,
she explained, had been “a treasure, inspiration and comfort to
me.”
Winfrey was
moved in turn by her letter — so much so that she sent a film crew
to D’s home, to tape part of a “Remember Your
Spirit” segment scheduled to air tomorrow.
“Tuesdays With
Morrie” (airs 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC) is the true story about
Albom’s reuniting with his old Brandeis University professor, Morrie
Schwartz, who at the time was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. The
book chronicles their meetings and how Albom’s former mentor
continued to teach him valuable lessons — this time about death, and
life.
D,
who grew up in Pahoa and Hilo, recounted to Winfrey the story
about the death of her father, which parallels Albom’s tale, but
with a few twists. D says Morrie Schwartz and her father — who died
from lingering complications after being hit by a drunken driver —
were kindred spirits, though from totally different backgrounds.
“Morrie
Schwartz was a learned man, a professor; my father, Andy, dropped out
of the ninth grade to labor in the Hawaiian cane fields.”
“Morrie:
‘Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do.’
“Andy:
‘Auwe! No can do dat anymo’. But try look, I still can do this.’
“Morrie:
‘Accept the past as past without denying it or discarding it.’
“Andy: ‘Pau
da pas’ (the past is done.) Da pas’ is pas’. No can change ’em.’
”
In the last
years of her father’s life, she, along with her husband T, decided
to begin making regular visits to Hawaii to spend as much time as
possible with her dad. That decision turned out to be one that would
alter her life in ways she would not have imagined.
“Before, we
were all on our career tracks,” said D, an optometrist who left
Hawaii for the Mainland in 1979. “I was very much in the groove of
working. This made me step back and take notice of my life. I realized
life is short. I no longer work as much as I did.
“Going back to
Hawaii and spending time with my dad before he died made me see how
much I identified with the Hawaiian value system. The main thing for
me was getting back to my roots in Hawaii.”
This change
caught her by surprise. While visiting here, D studied Hawaiian and
has become devoted to teaching the basics of the language to others.
Her life has changed from one of “achievement” to one of
“serving.” Surprisingly, her work has improved because she says
she now goes about her days with greater compassion, humility and
gratitude.
But D was
initially reluctant to do the Winfrey show.
“I work as a
doctor,” she told the producer when she was first contacted.
“I’m not sure I want my patients seeing me so vulnerable. The last
time I spoke openly about my dad, I was sobbing.”
She concluded
that the experience would be too emotional. But when the producer
called again and asked D to do it for her dad, she relented. D’s
segment was taped Nov. 20.
“Those last
words clinched it,” she said. “For my dad, I would do it.”