I finished high school and enrolled in Rutgers. However, college interfered with living, and I soon dropped out. Why did I need college anyway? My father hadn't even finished grade school. He had made it.  At the time it seemed silly for me to spend my time learning a profession or planning for the future. After all, my father was able to supply all the money that I would ever need. I did not feel the slightest desire to become responsible. During my early twenties I lived the life of a jet-setter who had nothing more to do than spend every waking hour partying, boozing and trying to seduce every woman who ventured into our circle of friends.

"My parents would caution me about my wild living, but they contributed to and condoned my life-style by supplying an unending conduit of money. By the age of twenty-four I had been around the world and gorged on every luxury available to man. I had contributed nothing to society or to my own upkeep."

"Up to this time I had never had a lasting relationship with a woman. I thought the opposite sex was a vessel to be used and then discarded. But a dramatic thing happened at this period of my life that left a scar and an emptiness that I had not known before."

"I was invited to a wedding in Nashville, Tennessee.  This was in 1955. After the wedding, with a few drinks under my belt, I decided to rent a car and see the mountains."

"It was late in the evening when I began to drive, with the aid of a fifth of scotch.  I lost my sense of direction as I drove further into the hills.  It was January, and patches of snow and ice were visible in the mountains.  As darkness began to fall, I turned off on a dirt road that was wet and slick.  It began to rain and sleet; the car was slipping and sliding all over the road.  And to add to the difficulty, the ground began to freeze."

"I reached the top of a steep hill and began to descend a very steep grade.  The car began to slide completely out of control.  I realized that I was in trouble, but the liquor had dulled my mind to the immediate and grave danger that lay ahead.  The vehicle must have reached a speed of sixty miles an hour as it weaved and slid to the bottom of the hill.  I gunned the engine, attempting to straighten it in the road.  The car reached the bottom of the hill, slid into a ditch on the left-hand side and stopped with a jolt as the front slammed into a wall of red clay."

"That was the last thing I remembered, but as I learned later, my head had hit the steel roof support and this blow sent me into a coma that was to last more than two days.  The next thing I recalled was opening my eyes in a small room illuminated by a kerosene lamp.  My head was bursting with pain.  I could see the image of three people around the bed. 'Where am I?' I asked.

"A soft female voice answered that I was in the home of Daniel and Sara Webster.  'I am their daughter, Leilani.'

"My vision was blurred, but I can recall to this day the warmth and caring attitude that prevailed in that room."

"I asked how I had arrived in their home.  Leilani explained that some of the men had spotted my car early on the morning of the accident.  Finding me in an unconscious state, they had carried me to the nearest home.  These people had cared enough for a total stranger to bring me into their home and take turns sitting by my bed, waiting for me to awaken."

"They had tried to reach a doctor, but since there was no telephone in that area of Tennessee and the roads were too rough to travel, they could only sit and wait."

"I felt the top of my head to find that a large spot had been shaved.  Leilani told me that this had to be done to close a two-inch gash.  She had sewn it up with a sewing needle and thread."

"As my vision began to clear, I could see the faces of these strangers who had taken me in.  Daniel Webster was a tall thin man in his fifties.  He was balding, and his face was narrow and furrowed.  His skin was weathered.  He wore blue bib overalls and worn brogan shoes, faded and cracked.  I could smell the tobacco as he puffed away on a cracked old pipe."

"Sara was a small woman.  I figured her age at about forty-five, but hard work and weather had made deep furrows in her brow.  Her hair was dark with a few iron-gray strands.  It was pulled back from her face and twisted into a ball on the back of her head.  She wore a calico dress reaching all the way to the floor and buttoned at the neck."

"I felt my addled mind might be playing tricks on me, but Leilani's face seemed to be the most beautiful face I had ever seen.  I cannot describe the depth and sparkle of her emerald green eyes.  Her hair was dark and long, reaching to her waist, straight with the hair slightly curled at the ends."

"Her name was like music, and it fit this lovely mountain girl.  I learned later that the unusual Hawaiian name came from a song that Sara had heard before Leilani was born."

"The full blue print dress she was wearing could not hide the beautiful body.  Every movement revealed a supple beauty and grace.  She was about eighteen years of age."

"I tried to get up, but the pain in my chest was so great I just moaned. Leilani said that I probably had broken ribs. I was not able to get out of bed for several days, and Leilani was near me most of this time. She prepared the meals, washed my face and cared for me as I have never been cared for before."

"After several days I was up walking around. Mr. Webster had taken his mules and pulled my car from the ditch to the yard. I was surprised at the slight damage that had been done."

"The car was drivable, and I told the Websters that I had accepted too much of their hospitality and should drive back to the city. They would not hear of this and demanded that I stay until fully recovered. I was thrilled. I was falling in love. I was completely captivated by Leilani. She was also falling in love with me."

"I stayed at the Websters' long after I had healed. For more than a month I lived in that enchanted valley. I met all the relatives and most of the neighbors. Each Saturday night the neighbors would gather with fiddles, guitars and banjos for hours of sometimes soulful and sometimes spiritual mountain music."

"On Sundays we went to church. It was a new experience for me, and a little disconcerting, but the people were simple and sincere. I was willing to tolerate these services just to be near Leilani. The people talked about Jesus and the Bible as if it were really important, an idea alien to my whole life. I respected these people and their faith in spite of myself."

"Some of the people made stronger impressions on me than others. One of my favorite mountaineers was a brother of Daniel Webster. His name was Isaac. He was tall and skinny, with a large Adam's apple and no teeth. He reminded me of Andy Gump in the funny paper. Old Isaac was a real comic. He could tell a simple little joke with such emotion and facial distortion that everyone was laughing way before the punch line. I felt accepted by those people."

"Leilani and I were inseparable. On my last day in the mountains, we walked up to the cliff that overlooked the waterfall and river far below. As I sat with my arm around this simple girl, I felt that I could never be happy without her. I asked her to marry me. As we walked down the mountain, I told Leilani that I would drive back to Nashville and fly on to Chicago to make preparations for bringing her back with me. I told her to get all her things together because I would be back within a month to marry her and to take her to Chicago."

"I can still see her tear-filled eyes as she stood beside her parents waving goodbye."

Sebastian paused. The music of children playing in the park was the counter note to his sorrow. He continued.

"You cannot imagine how many nights I have lain awake thinking of that final tearful goodbye and of what I would give to have had another chance to caress my only love, to kiss those innocent lips again."

"But it was not to be. I was in Chicago the next evening, and my intentions were to drive home and break the news of my marriage to my parents. Driving from the airport, I stopped at the country club for dinner and a drink. My misfortune was to run into a group of my jet set friends. I was introduced to a beautiful young blonde."

"The image of beautiful Leilani began to blur with all the booze and fancy living. Before I even told my parents, I decided that Leilani, 'backwoods girl', would not fit into the sophisticated city life. I rationalized that it would not work for either Leilani or myself. I imagined my parents thinking that I would be out of my mind to marry a simple mountain girl. I could not bear to think of the laughter and ridicule of my friends."

"For the next year I really lived it up, or so I thought. I flew all over Europe with my friends. There was not, however, an evening that I did not think of Leilani. I would often drown my misery in another drink or another woman."

"A year passed and I could restrict my conscience no longer. I had to see Leilani. I told my parents about my romance in the mountains and how I had promised to return to Leilani within a month, how I tried to forget her for more than a year, only to have her deep green eyes haunt every dream. They thought I had lost my mind, but I flew out of Chicago that night and arrived in Nashville. I rented a car the next morning and drove toward Leilani's home."

"It was early evening as I drove down the narrow dirt road toward the Webster's home. I saw old Isaac Webster walking along the road up ahead. I stopped and smiled as he walked up to the car. The old man was not smiling. I asked him about himself and about Leilani. His mouth began to quiver and he began to cry. 'You don't know, Mr. 'Bastion?'

'Don't know what?' I asked.

'Why, Mr. 'Bastion, after you lef', Leilani would walk up and down this road thinkin' she would meet you comin' back fer her. After a month or more she lost all hope, she did. She got so she wouldn't eat, jus' grievin' herself to death. I never seen nothin' like it. You stole her heart, you did.

She would walk to the cliff most every day and sit and stare. 'Bout six months ago she walked to the cliff and didn't come back. Dan and Sara were afraid to go up and look. I walked up, and I jus' knew what I was gonna see when I looked over that cliff. Sir, the broken body of that sweet Christian girl was layin' on that big rock at the bottom of the fall. It was awful, Mr. 'Bastion. Everyone in the valley is still mournin'.

It's bes', Mr. 'Bastion, that you don't go down there. You'll probably only make things worse for poor Dan and Sara.'

"At this time the old man broke down and cried like a baby. As he walked away, he was shaking his head and saying, 'Go back, go back'."

"I was in a state of shock. What had I done? 'Sweet Leilani--God, let this be a nightmare,' I thought. I must have sat in the middle of the road for fifteen minutes before I finally turned the car around and drove recklessly back to Nashville."

"I had destroyed the only person in the world who had shown me real love. I wept for most of the next three days. I had blamed myself at the beginning, but in order to ease my torment, I began to turn my anger toward God. I began to blame him."

"This tragedy should have caused me to examine my selfish life. It, however had the opposite effect. It hardened me."

"The year that I reached my twenty-sixth birthday, my father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Mother lived only four months after his death. The entire family estate went to me. I spent little time mourning their passing. My first reaction was the recognition that with the inheritance of Dad's business I would undoubtedly be the wealthiest person in town. I was anxious to get my hands on Dad's money. I sold the entire supermarket chain."

"Overcome by the money at my disposal, a slight air of responsibility entered my life. I looked around for a way to invest a part of my fortune. I finally decided to try the stock market. With a knowledgeable broker guiding me, I soon began to reap a harvest of profits. Commodities became my specialty. Thanks to my broker, John Anderson, I became known as the man who never missed. People were seeking my advice on investments. John Anderson and I formed a brokerage consulting partnership. At the peak of our partnership we employed more than thirty brokers."

"We were succeeding beyond our greatest expectations. People from all across the nation and from every profession were gladly paying for our advice. Although John Anderson was the real brain, I began to believe that it was me who had providence on my side. Because of the rapid rise of the business, I imagined that through some strong mystic power, my personal investments and advice were close to infallible. I owned a plane, and a yacht. I married a beautiful, sophisticated, socially-prominent woman. We threw the biggest and grandest parties. The yacht had a full-time captain and crew. To the delight of our customers and friends, we set sail at least once a month for a weekend of partying as we cruised to one of the off-shore islands or far out to sea to fish and sunbathe."

"While I had everything that money could buy, I was miserable. I was constantly searching for things that would bring happiness, but the more things I bought, the more places I went, and the more things I did, the less satisfaction I received. The things I thought would make me happy always turned to ashes in my mouth. I never gave much thought to the basic rules that govern success. In a way, the challenge had been removed from my life since everything had always been provided for me."

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