The Troubled Youth of Isaac Belez
by Anthony Kaauamo
Isaac Belez tending to his kuleana at Hulopo‘e Beach.
Isaac Belez is often described as much like his father, Henry, who was known as one of the happiest and nicest people on Lāna‘i. Often sharing a smile and a big wave walking up Lāna‘i Ave., Isaac would kneel to speak to my son at eye level, saying, “Hi buddy, you hanging out with your dad today? You listen to dad, okay?” He does the same for other kids in town, embodying the spirit of aloha he believes in. “I always try to talk and be friends with anybody or help people out. That’s my thing now. I want to show people that no matter what, there’s always good people out there,” he said. Despite his shorter stature, he has a bold and confident presence, marked by his relaxed and smiling expression, dark-framed glasses, and long white hair that falls past his shoulders.
He can often be found down at Hulopo‘e Beach, where he walks along the shore and around the picnic tables using a homemade device — a metal rod with an oil strainer connected to the end — to collect various discarded and washed-up trash into a translucent bag. “I always pick up bottle caps and cigarette butts around the tables. Unfortunately, that’s the two most things that I pick up. I hate it. But somehow, I made it my kuleana to do this.”
Though Isaac never thought he would live on Lāna‘i again, he moved back with his wife, Diane, in 2005 after having left the island in 1964 following a very troubled youth. Since returning, he has wanted to share his early years on Lāna‘i with the students at Lāna‘i High & Elementary School (LHES) to teach them about the dangers of peer pressure and how one’s actions not only affect oneself but also loved ones. The young Isaac was a far cry from the man we know today.
The Path to Delinquency
Growing up on Lāna‘i during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Isaac was influenced by a local “gang” known as the Nighthawks. He began smoking cigarettes and stealing when he was just eight years old. “The sad part was it seemed like everybody was doing it. At least the kids I hung around with, so it seemed okay because we were all doing it,” said Isaac. The gang was composed of older high school kids who would goad him into committing acts of theft and often gathered at a house owned by an older gang member, where they smoked cigarettes and hung out.
His first encounter with the law happened when he was caught stealing from a cigarette vending machine at Oshiro’s Service Station. He was small enough to reach into the dispenser door and grab packs from the lower rows. “Back then, they had cigarette machines. I think it was like 35 cents for one. I was small enough that I could stick my elbow in, push down, and take two or three rows of cigarettes,” he said. His arrest led to him being put on probation at the age of eight. He was told by the judge that he had to stay out of trouble for four years.
Despite this, Isaac continued to participate in thefts. He was regularly involved in stealing candy from Lui’s, a store located in the building now occupied by Ganotisi’s. The building was partitioned into two halves at the time: Wong’s Shop on the left side and Lui’s on the right side. He described how he and his friends would distract the storekeeper: “We used to go in there, someone would distract the lady, and the rest of us would pocket candy.” The candy was laid out openly on shelves, making it easy for them to grab what they wanted. In addition to candy, Isaac and his friends would steal cigarettes from behind the counter and above the cash register. “Back then, they didn’t lock up the cigarettes. You just had to be quick about it,” he said.
He also took money meant for a laundry lady. “Because my dad was single, my Aunty, Mrs. Dumlao, used to wash clothes for my dad. Back then, in the old-fashioned style, they had to heat up the big palanggana and put the jeans in there because they were so dirty, all the pineapple clothes. And she’d wash everything, fold it, and then my dad would pick it up,” he explained.
“One day, my dad gave me $20 to go give to her, which is about the same as $200 today,” Isaac said, “And I thought, ‘She’s not going to miss it.’ So, I went to Richard’s and bought me a little wallet, and I put the rest of the money in the wallet.”
A day later, his father noticed the new wallet. His dad asked, “Oh, you get a new wallet?” Isaac replied, “Yeah, my friend gave it to me.” His dad inspected the wallet and said, “Oh, and you still got some money in there.” Isaac said, “Oh, yeah.” His dad asked, “Well, he gave you the money, too?” Isaac responded, “Yeah, yeah.”
Now reflecting on this incident, Isaac feels ashamed for taking money from someone. “I actually took somebody else’s hard-earned money. Back then, like I said, mid ‘60s, 20 bucks was a lot of money.”
He didn’t feel anything wrong about what he was doing at the time. He was even an altar boy and was very diligent in the Catholic Church. “I was one of the best ones, too, for a while. The priest gave a little watch to the top guy who served the most Masses by Christmas Eve. I got a Timex watch one year.” Despite his good behavior in church, Isaac never confessed all his wrongdoings, because he didn’t want the priest’s perception of him to change.
Getting Caught Again
Eventually, the law caught up with young Isaac. At eleven, he attempted to steal from a neighbor. He climbed over a fence, and Isaac cut the window screen to access the latch and gain entry. “He had a jar with pencils and pens with a bunch of pennies on the bottom,” Isaac said. The jar was on the windowsill. “I unlatched the screen, but the jar fell and broke. I grabbed all the pennies and left.” He stole $1.63 in pennies, worth about $16.85 today. The police came to Isaac’s house and tricked him into confessing. He was sent back to court, where the judge saw him as a habitual criminal and initially sentenced him to a reform school on the continent.
Before being sent away, Isaac was placed in the care of his mother, who had divorced his father when he was a few years old. He was put on a plane to Tennessee, where his stepfather was stationed with the Air Force. In Tennessee, Isaac faced racism and discrimination, making his adjustment even more difficult. “In 1964, there were only whites and blacks out there. I was probably the first Asian anyone there had seen. I couldn’t understand why I was being called the N-word. I didn’t even know what it meant.”
Reflecting on the Past
Isaac realizes now that he did these things to fit in, to be of worth to the Nighthawks, and possibly because he didn’t get enough attention from his dad at home. Outside of work, Isaac shared that his dad was more focused on chicken fighting than anything else, often leaving him and his older sisters alone to do their own thing. Isaac has only a couple of fond memories of being with his dad, including when he worked as a custodian at the Dole Administration Building. “We used to ask him, ‘Dad, when you polish the floor, can we go slide for a while?’ That long hallway in there? Oh, man. It was so much fun.”
Lessons Learned
If he had the chance to speak to students at LHES, Isaac would want them to understand the consequences their actions have not just for themselves but for their families. He would ask them to consider how their parents would feel if their actions led to being arrested and having to leave home. Isaac recalls seeing his dad’s sadness and feeling the shame he brought upon his family. “I thought that what I did shamed him because all of a sudden, his son had to leave. I don’t know if he cried. I thought he did,” Isaac said, “I want kids to know what that cost me … I was court-ordered off the island for stealing $1.63 in pennies.”
He believes that even if kids don’t see immediate consequences, their actions can have a lasting impact on their loved ones. “I know it put shame on my family, but at that time, I just didn’t think about it,” he said.
Isaac now spends almost every other day at the beach, often from morning until late in the day, cleaning up whatever he can. He has been doing this for at least 16 years since returning to Lāna‘i. “One time I was walking along the bay, and I noticed everybody’s looking at me. They say, ‘You find any treasures?’ I said, ‘No, I’m here picking up the trash.’ There was this one guy, the second time I went by him, he goes, ‘You know, I’ve vacationed here 12 years ago, and you were doing the exact same thing.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. It’s my responsibility to do this.’ This is it. My kuleana.”
He shares, “Everything in life happens for a reason. Now, I’m glad that I made it through all my hard times. Especially once I became older, got married, and became a parent… but mostly because of the support of my wonderful wife, I’ve become the person I am today.”