Mark Taylor:  

Life 1974-77: Growing-up years at Moanalua H.S. Found the best friends I've ever had and ever will. 1977-81: Eye-opening college years at Princeton. Traveled up and down the East Coast. Stood atop the World Trade Center. Watched football in cold October rain. Worked in the dining hall. Listened to music, met girls, wrote bad poetry. Went to summer school at the University of Hawaii and began dating a Kalani grad. Went back to Princeton, wrote a thesis and burned out. 1981-82: Interned at the Honolulu City Council. Witnessed politics close up; was highly entertained. Lived in a Salt Lake studio with no furniture; slept on an air mattress; was insanely happy. 1982-84: Graduate school at Harvard. Hardest academic challenge ever. Played pick-up basketball in an old, cramped gym; blocked a tall guy's shot. Ate ice cream at Thomas Sweet (blend-ins!). Trudged to class in 15 degree snow. Ate saimin every day, went broke anyhow. 1984-90: First real job, in Washington D.C. at the Office of Management and Budget. Wore a blue suit and red tie and rode the Metro to the office every day. Fought bravely to protect taxpayers in the Deficit Wars. Went on field trips to coal mines, Indian reservations, national parks. Took my parents to the White House Christmas party. Married the Kalani grad at an old Virginia country mansion. Lived in a walk-up Cleveland Park apartment, bought my first car, watched the leaves turn color in the fall and the cherry blossoms bloom in the spring. Visited Gettysburg, walked the fields and listened to the ghosts. Knew it was time to go home. 1990-92: Moved back to Honolulu with the Kalani grad. Put foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder at First Hawaiian Bank. Rented a cottage atop Welhelmina Rise. Sat on the porch and watched red and purple sunsets painted by God. Listened to kids' voices echo up from Palolo Valley Rec Center. Thought about starting a family. 1992-94: Parted from the Kalani grad, after she decided she hated Hawaii and accepted a job in Seattle. Moved to a condo in Salt Lake and took to the mountains to sweat out my pain. Hiked every trail on Oahu, climbed the five highest peaks, risked life and limb treading mis...Expand for more