The Great Fight - A tribute to Gabriel Manning, by Erik Manning

Life is a gift. It is given to everyone here on earth. Some are given freedoms and liberties, while others are born to oppression or slavery. It can be given and taken in a moment’s time. We are given the ability to make choices. It is given to each the ability to choose how one will lead his/her life. The life I would like to tell is that of my grandfather, Gabriel Aloha Manning.
On Tuesday morning, I awoke early in Hilo, HI to run before the sun rose. The destination was unknown, but I set out to get some exercise. I ran down the street from the family home to the river bed where I crossed two bridges that were unique in structure; three to four arches from one side of the river to the other. Thoughts came to memory of the accounts that Grandpa would tell about the tsunami he witnessed when he was a young man. From the park of the river bed, I could see Hilo bay. It was here that he described the water level being sucked out to sea before a 100 foot wall of water pounded the seashore. I continued my run to the shores of this famed bay. The sand was black and the beach was full of outrigger canoes that were lying around for the early morning rowers who were now arriving to train. I recalled the many accounts of the kid crew of which Grandpa was a team member and how they beat the seniors in a race. He spoke of the great victory that was for him as a member of this team. I looked out over the water. It was flat and tranquil, barely lighted by the mornings’ dawn. The breakwall was visible at a distance of a few hundred yards from where I stood. I ran back and forth on the sandy shore remembering each story and the condition in which Grandpa was. A man who once was so fit and able to play a myriad of sports that required supreme athleticism in which to participate, was now weakened by one of life’s test, barely able to stand on his own. My mind quickly rushed to thoughts of his days of training and that he might have run in the same place where I was now running. It might easily have been the same location where my father, his father and his father may have walked or trained and the legacy each one had left behind. I recalled a quote that came from my favorite US president. Abraham Lincoln once said “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years.” Grandpa has experienced so much and is now facing a great trial. All trials have a purpose. President Henry B. Erying explains, “...and trials are necessary for us to be shaped and made fit to receive that happiness which comes as we qualify for the greatest of all the gifts from God.” This same word “fit” has been used many times to describe Grandpa along his battled path to 92 years. It was Grandpa who once said, “You fight like you train.” On my return to the home and after a fleeting moment reflecting these events, I realized that all this time he was training for his greatest fight; his next one.

Posted by Erik Manning