Write On Maui

story
by
Henry Lau

THE NEW BOAT WHICH RAN AGROUND

Ever since when I was a child, from my first boat ride at 6 years old, I wanted to own my very own fishing boat. I wanted to be a boat captain. My father used to ä my two brothers now own boats. But my long, complex and difficult life style, and my work prevented me from ,y boat dreams, until recently.

I was now retired and I promised myself that I would buy a boat before my 75th birthday, which was coming up soon. Maui, where I now live, is a fisherman's paradise, teaming with schools of hungry fish all waiting for my hooks.

The big day finally arrived and I quickly made my decision. "That one" I pointed out, "...with the 360 hp in-board engine, but I want it in beige." "Yes, in cash," I declared , " But give me 30 days to get some money." The deal was sealed so I started my search for financing. In my mind, financing would not be a problem mainly because both myself and my wife were receiving pensions, owned our home without mortgage, and had some extras as well. In any case, I was determined to buy that dream boat, even if it were beyond my means!

Unfortunately, during the past few months the economy began to get from bad to worse. The stock markets began its long slide downwards while the turmoil of the Bush administration was coming to an end. The Obama band wagon was gaining momentum and there was no doubt that Obama would somehow save the nation, and fix the failing banking system.

"Come on in Mr. Lau. Sit down. Would you like coffee?" asked the gracious lady. Mrs. Gonzales, manager of the Maui Small Business Administration(SBA) made it a point to greet everyone who entered the front door. I figured that I would try to borrow from the SBA first because they had been advertizing quick, low interest loans for small businesses, and I intended to sell some of my fish too.

After a few minutes of small talk, she pushed a buzzer to summon Ms. Brown, who then ushered me to her nearby office. After only a minute of so, she too pressed another buzzer to summon Mike Smith, whom I followed. Mike did not have an enclosed office, but left me at his desk saying that he will be right back. I waited, and waited some more, and was getting anxious and upset, because it was clearly more than 5 minutes ago when Mike left. I decided to leave and as I headed towards the entrance, I passed by a door ajar and clearly and distinctly heard Mike Smith's laughter among some giggles. Apparently, the office group were enjoying their coffee break. It was obvious that the SBA did not need nor wanted more business.

My second attempt at getting a quick loan was to visit Finance Factors, a seasoned local company. My wife had worked for this company many years ago, and perhaps this fact would count favorably towards granting my loan, I thought. "Mr. Lau" he said, smiling. "You need much more than that! There's the high insurance, maintenance cost, and what about a boat shed?" He continued and said that the new Homeland Security Act also required commercial insurance now, and premiums had doubled from last year. He added that there were other federal mandates about a new pump-out facility which would require expensive modifications to my new boat. "Why don't you tie-in your boat purchase with a home improvement loan?" he proffered. "I can get you a good deal. I'll even waive the appraisal fee!" This guy babble on and on, until I had to stop him. Slam! I banged my open palm on his table, glared at him, and gritted my teeth. "All I want," I said slowly and calmly, " was $l00,000 to buy a boat-can I get it or not?" There was a distinct pause in our interaction, there was a moment of complete silence. His mouth was open and his eyes lifted wide. Even the noise of a typewriter in the background froze to a halt. Everyone was staring at us.

"Ah, well" he stuttered, paused, then continued, "No. But if you take out $200,000 and..." Before he finished his sentence, I banged on his desk once more with my open palm, rose from my chair, and said with finality, while still staring into his eyes and said "Thanks, but no thanks!" I walked out of his office in disgust, felt anger rising from my chest. I swore that I would never come back here again!

I sighed to myself. Two strikes already! I've been turned down twice, but how can that be? I love fishing, and I must have a boat. I am a responsible person, pay al my debts, obey all the laws, and go to church. What's wrong with those people anyway?

As I was complaining to my good friend Ron, about the problems I've been having with getting a loan, and explaining my plans to him, he nonchalantly said, "I can help you with that"; What, are you sure?" I questioned him. " No problem" was his reply. "Just let me know how much you need and when, and l 'll I have the check ready at a really low rate, and I won't charge you anything". Ron and I have been friends for many years, and we I had thought about approaching Ron earlier about financing my boat purchase, but I hesitated because of an old axiom about "Don't mix friendship with money". I did not want to risk our friendship for the sake of a few bucks.

His company Pacific West does it all the time, and because of our friendship he is waiving all charges! "After all" he said, " What are friends for?" In his younger years, Ron had worked as a banker, loan officer, and mortgage broker, but today, he mostly fish and hunt. Ron and I have traveled far and wide to fish and hunt together, and we both were looking forward to "our" new boat.

After receiving copies of my income taxes and recent bank statements, Ron scheduled me for a client interview, after which we would have lunch together. The most difficult question asked during the short interview was "Where should we have lunch?" A few days later I received a check in the mail for my new boat.

On the same day, unfortunately, I received a letter from Seacrest Inc., the company from which I ordered my new boat. They said the model I wanted was all sold out, and that the company was unexpectedly going out of business. They returned my deposit with interest, and apologized profusely.

Yesterday, Ron and I went fishing again - but from a rocky shoreline, in a secluded area, with our feet planted on solid ground. The three pound papio I landed felt like it was worth at least a hundred thousand dollars!

henrylau©2009