Sometimes when I look outside my window, I see bubbles floating off into the sky. Glistening in the sunlight, there have been many times where those bubbles inspire me. But where do those bubbles come from? Behind the fence, there’s a man. Tall and strong, kind and gentle. He blows life into every bubble he comes across, and they fly off toward a brilliant future. That man is named T.W.

I met T.W. when I was very young. My family had just moved to Eureka, to our run-down fixer-upper on the top of Humboldt Hill. And in the small little house next door, there was T.W. He was always warm and bright, but I used to be scared of him. I was scared of all of my dad’s friends. Then, when my dad left, I didn’t see T.W. for a while. However, I do recall one day, a few weeks after everything had happened, my sister and I were out playing in the front yard when T.W. asked where my father was. We told him what had happened, and his only response was “where’s your mother?”

My mother and T.W. have had a wonderful friendship these past seven years, and I know it was because of that day. He started off helping up in smaller ways by giving my mom a day job or by sometimes making us dinner. Over the years, their friendship and his generosity have only grown. He saw the struggling single mom with the unfinished house- and he offered her work, camaraderie, and support. Although our house is still unfinished, T.W. has also worked hard with my mom to improve it, in addition to all the advice he has given her on the construction of it. From odd jobs to delicious meals, T.W. has always done what he could to support my family.

I always wondered how a spirit as giving and kind as his had been formed. When I asked T.W. where he was from, he told me that he grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, a West Indies island country in the Caribbean (Trinidad). Furthering his story, T.W. told me that he moved to New York in the United States because his mother sent for him and his siblings. When he got off the plane, “[he] looked up in the sky and [he] saw ‘white things’ coming down from the sky.” He was then taught that the “white things” were snowflakes and that it was the snow that was making him cold. He also told me that, upon his arrival to the United States, he had no jacket to fit him, so he stayed in the cold.

While at school, T.W. discovered a passion for track and field as a shotputter. His hard work and talent caused his home country to request T.W. to represent them in worldwide competitions, such as the Olympics. T.W. also shared with me that he would occasionally come home with no food to eat. A growing athlete, this was hard on T.W., but people shared food with his family. T.W. continued his training, but, “it came to a point where [he] couldn’t do it anymore,” as it was, “financially, a burden.”

In all that he had gone through in his life, from immigrating to living in poverty, T.W. learned some very important lessons that he shared with me, including that “you need to have a good education,” and that “you need to be independent and hardworking.” In all of my experiences with T.W., these mantras have been ever-present. T.W. has also overcome countless other obstacles that he privately shared with me involving racism and xenophobia (Fritscher). T.W. told me that all that he has experienced has made him want to treat others with “respect, love, laughter, and happiness,” and that you should go about life by “giving a lot.”

By moving to Humboldt County and establishing a business in real estate, T.W. has created a life of wealth and stability for his entire family. Today, he owns multiple properties in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ghana, to name only a few. Still, he still continues buying more land all across the world. He even runs a majorly successful local athletics business that he shares with his son. The business was a dream of his sons, and, as always, T.W. was determined to make it happen.

T.W.’s kindnesses stretch far beyond supporting his family, as he has also assisted my sister and me in many instances. Oftentimes, he will advise us about our lives and our futures, including information about colleges and financial advice. Many times, in my dad’s absence, T.W. has acted as a father figure of support and guidance in my life, even when he doesn’t realize it, and that has always meant a lot to me.

Learning more about T.W.’s story has taught me so much about him as a person and about life. From poverty to owning award-winning businesses, T.W. remains humble and grateful and full of optimism and dedication. His gentle soul, adorned with generosity and kindness, has persevered through trials of darkness and hate, and I look up to him a lot for that. From helping my family out to blowing bubbles of hope across the fence, T.W. wishes that he puts into the world what he believes it needs most, “love.” Speaking from personal experience, I can most certainly say that he does just that.