Irony intersects with bachi on Lehua Street most Tuesdays and Thursdays. That’s when Norman Jiro Minehira picks up lunches from the Pearl City Nursing Home kitchen for his Meals on Wheels deliveries.
It takes an hour, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on how talkative his "customers" are that day. Minehira will stay as long as they want, long beyond the doorbell ring, the knock on the door, the exchange of the black plastic trays and cups of fruit cocktail and juice.
Last week the visits included Christmas goodie bags with cookies and other treats Minehira knew would be enjoyed by those who are more than addresses on his list. He knows them; he knew that one would not need her meal because she was going out to a movie last week.
He left a Christmas bag inside her screen door anyway.
Why?
"The more you give, the more you get back," Minehira said. "If every person would just help one other person, it all comes around.
"Giving of yourself is so powerful, and it costs nothing."
The 62-year-old Minehira, however, feels he is still paying the price of his misspent youth. He admits to not being the greatest of students at Kalani High back in the 1960s, but he recognized the value of education and of educators. He always wanted to be a teacher.
"Educators are there to serve," he said. "We serve our students. That’s what you do as an educator. You help people. You help people get better."
And the bachi? The belief in what goes around comes around?
Minehira went on to teach students who reminded him of himself. He rose through the DOE ranks, eventually retiring after several decades as the Leilehua High principal.
"You know the Japanese, the bachi?" the 62-year-old asked. "What goes around comes around?
"I remember being at teacher workshops and seeing my former teachers there. They were like, ‘You?’ And other things you cannot print."
He eventually landed in a serendipitous place where the school’s initials mirrored his philosophy. According to Minehira, LHS stands for Leilehua High School but also Leadership, Humility, Service.
"He is a servant-leader," said Garett Yukumoto, Hawaii Pacific baseball coach and Wahiawa Middle vice principal, who met Minehira while a student at Aiea High and Minehira was vice principal. "He is a visionary, someone who has gone beyond the call of duty.
"Even though he has retired, a group of us that he has mentored still go out to lunch with him. The team aspect is still there."
One of those mentored by Minehira is Malaea Wetzel, a senior at Leilehua the first year Minehira was principal. Wetzel nominated Minehira for the Star-Advertiser’s recognition.
"He lives by a simple creed: Do the right thing for the right reason," said Wetzel, principal at Haleiwa Elementary. "He has mentored so many of us. Aloha Coleman (Leilehua principal), Bob Davis (Kaala Elementary principal), Garett Yukumoto (Wahiawa Middle vice principal).
"We are only the tip of the iceberg. His influence goes very, very far."
Wetzel knew it would be difficult for Minehira to accept the recognition. During this interview, Minehara continually asked that others be recognized.
"He is so humble," Wetzel said. "My story with Mr. Minehira is of growth. He always used his abilities and talents, and his patience, to mentor and assist everyone.
"I am a much better person for having him in my life. He enriches people’s lives whenever he comes into contact with (them)."
Although he is officially retired, Minehira continues his work in the community in many ways. He volunteers with Hospice Hawai‘i in gratitude for the care of his father, Ichiro, who died in 2001.
Minehira also is known for his random — and anonymous — acts of kindness. He has paid for prescriptions of seniors deciding which of their drugs they could afford for the week; he once pushed the electric wheelchair of a stranger for a mile to his home when the battery went dead.
"His disdain for recognition is legendary among those who know him well," Wetzel said. "If each one of us did even one of the things that Mr. Minehira does, the world would be a very different place."
Minehira tries to make it a better place. When his Meals on Wheels route was split by the organization, he asked that he be able to keep the same clients on the route because of the relationships developed.
The days are not always good. One day a husband and wife will get meals; a week later only the wife is there at the door.
"I think my work with hospice helps when that happens," Minehira said. "I don’t see death as sadness, although it is sad for those left behind. I see it as us moving forward.
"Our time here is our work. We are here to serve others. That’s what educators do."
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Heroes Next Door recognizes those who serve the community in quiet ways, without thought of reward, whose examples could inspire others this holiday season.
