Interesting Islanders

Meet Guy Brocklebank

Sometimes you meet people at the end of the road. Perhaps a job has run its course. A person's health has failed. Someone has graduated.
That's how I met 47-year-old Kona resident Guy Brocklebank. He was at the end of a very long road. A dead end road.
There he sat, wheelchair bound, at the edge of hardened lava that covers the end of Chain of Crater's Road at Hawaii Volcano National Park.
It was impossible for Guy, a victim of Multiple Sclerosis, to make the final steps of the journey to see the lava pouring into the ocean. Yet, there he sat, waiting for a friend. He was happy and content, watching hundreds of people walking back and forth over the sea of blackened mounds of pahoehoe.
I introduced myself before pulling up a portable chair to sit with him. We chatted about life, waiting for the waning sun to sleep. As the sky grew darker, the bright fuchsia steam, where water and fresh lava met at the shoreline, grew intense. Soon red dots from the flow began to appear on the steep pali, and another softer pink glow appeared from the mouth of the vent high above.
Then Guy said something profound. Something I will never forget.
"When I think about the lava," Guy mused, "I think about what is underneath. There's always more than you can see."
As the stars began to pop open in the night sky, revealing the lovely Southern Cross, I learned Guy, a native upstate New Yorker, moved to Hawaii seven years ago to get away from the harsh winters. Physically he had reached a dead end. He needed a moderate climate to ease the pain of his debilitating disease.
While in New York he was a factory worker, dutifully making the film that helps line bags of chips and other food items.
Then the MS struck nine years ago and Guy needed to find a way to survive. He needed to find a new road to continue his journey. That led him to the land of aloha.
And, he's been smiling ever since.
"It's been great living in Hawaii," Guy said. "I laugh at all the people back home when they call and say it is 20 degrees below zero. It's cold, cold, cold."
Guy said he tries to stay active. He loves to travel around and enjoy the natural beauty of the island.
"My passion in life is not getting any worse than I am and being happy," he explained.
The last I saw of Guy, he was wheeling himself back down the long, pitch black road leading to the parking lot. He had no light to guide his way. I became sad, reminiscing about one moment of our conversation when Guy admitted he hasn't made many friends on the island. Perhaps it's the wheelchair. Perhaps it's the MS. Perhaps it's not knowing what's around the next curve in his life.
One thing is for certain, however. There's a lot going on underneath. More than the eyes can see. This guy, named Guy, is worth getting to know. Time will only tell if we meet on the long road of life again. Me ke aloha pumehana on your journey, friend.