Darkness
After doing a part-time job for some months, he again had to leave his part-time job as his health deteriorated more. Now he had no source of income left. He started using his savings to pay for his medicines and other bills. Soon it too started to exhaust. What would he do now?
A Beggar
When he had no penny left in his pocket, he was evicted from the flat by the owner. Now he had no place to go and no food to eat. Myers had no choice but to become a beggar if he wanted to live. He started playing the guitar on the street to collect some money. And with that money, he used to buy himself food. Even after some years of playing guitar on the street, he was still begging. Would there ever be a change?
Changing Seasons
Seasons changed from summer to winter but Mick’s conditions remained pathetic as before. It wasn’t just him who was suffering in the chilly winter. According to a survey, there were about 25% of homeless people living on the streets. Myer was one of those 554,000 people who were living on the street and begging to fill their stomachs.
Sudden Change
Life often takes a U-turn but it had become so frequent in the life of Myer that it didn’t shock him anymore. And this time the change that came in his life was positive, he didn’t have any idea that after so many years finally something good was going to happen in his life. What was going to happen?
One Fine Day
It was one of the chilly mornings in December and the year was 2017. As usual, Myers was roaming on the street when he met a local police officer on a freeway in Hayward, California. The police officer used to patrol that area and he had run into him multiple times. Then what was different that day?
Sheriff Jacob Swalwell
Deputy Sheriff Swalwell was a very sincere police officer, he had never been rude to anyone unless they didn’t follow the instructions. The police officer used to see him playing guitar and often whisk him away by telling him not to beg on such a busy lane. Besides this, they had never had a one to one talk with each other.
Conversation
It had been years since Myers had been on the street, begging for a living. He had grown old and frail playing the guitar on the side of the road. This was the only information the police had about the old man. Why was the policeman taking an interest in the old man? Did he do something wrong?
Feelings
One day, out of the blue the police officer approached him. For once, Mick got scared but when the young policeman started talking, his fear faded away. The policeman started to ask him about the backstory of his life. After so many years it had happened that someone had asked about him and he really felt good about it. But when the officer asked him about his ID, the whole story took a turn. Because he didn’t have any.
Advise
The policeman pitied Myers and wanted to help him out. Swalwell was an educated man so he knew the rules, regulations, and benefits given by the government. He wanted the old man to take the benefits that were given to every senior citizen in the country but for that, the man must have some identity and here Myers had been living on the street for a long time so he didn’t have any proofs. What would the policeman do now?
Helping Him Out
After knowing that Myers didn’t have any documents, the task seemed to be quite difficult. He was dumbfounded at this revelation that a man has spent the majority of his life without an identity. He told Myers, “You’ve got someone to help you now. I will help you get an ID, so you can get social security and get off the streets.”How would he help him?
Connection
He was somewhat feeling connected to the old man and this might be because he had never seen him misusing the money that he used to get from begging. He had made up his mind that he would help him no matter what. So without wasting any time, he went to DMV the following day to retrieve his records. But, unfortunately, they too didn’t have the records as Myers used to work there a long time back. But the policeman wasn’t going to give up that easily.
Starting From Scratch
So when he couldn’t find any record, he asked his colleagues of Alameda County Sheriff’s Department for help. They helped the old man by signing a letter of residency for Myers. Deputy Swalwell tried to find out about the hospital where the old man was born so that he could get his hands on the old man’s birth certificate.
Efforts
After the deputy had acquired his birth certificates and other important documents he went straight to the DMV. After a tedious process, the policeman had finally succeeded in getting the old man an ID in the year 2007 December. Along with his birth certificate, the policeman discovered a strange revelation about the old man.
Astonishing Facts
The policeman was in shock about a strange revelation that unraveled in front of him while he acquired the birth certificate from the hospital. It revealed that Mick was not the real name of the old man but it was his middle name. His real name was “Gordon Michael Oakley.” The policeman also came to know about his adoption.
Media
In the midst of all the revelations, the bond between the old man and the officer caught the eyes of the media. KPIX-5 reporter started calling in the police station to cover the amazing bond for their newspaper. The reporters wanted to cover the inspirational story between the policeman and the old man. But there was another person who saw more than a picture in the photos and the birth certificate. The man was a private investigator named Mark Askins. What might have he seen in the photo?
Investigation
Askins who had been a private investigator for a long time was intrigued by Myers’ story. He wasn’t just an investigator but he also worked for the charity “Miracle Message” too. The agenda of the group was to “end relational poverty on our streets.”It used to help the homeless people to reunite with their long lost relatives and family members.
Reaching Out
The investigator reached out to Myers and Swalwell and proposed a plan to track down Myers’ family. But Mick Myers was apprehensive whether his family members would be alive and even if they were why would they recognize him after leaving him in the hospital to another couple. Still both the men started their investigation with a motive to find something that could make Mick’s life a little better.
Truth
The investigator started his investigation with a limited amount of evidence that he could find. At first, it seemed really difficult but both the men were determined to find out the truth. They just knew where Mick was born, who was his birth mother. With this much information, they took a train to his birthplace in order to find out more. Would they be able to find something?
Finding Clues
While searching through the old documents they came across another revelation. It was about Mick’s birth mother, they found out that her name was Marie Pauline Oakley. The lady was married to Wiley Albert Oakley at a tender age. Soon they were expecting their first child when they moved to the Alameda area where the story took a turn.
Decisions
The couple’s marriage didn’t last that long. After a lot of disputes and arguments, the couple parted their ways. The investigator and the policeman started finding more about Mick’s father. After investigating a lot they came to know that he had passed away years back. Now their only task was to find about his mother. Both of them started praying for the lady’s well being.
Calling Her
The next task was to find out her address and for that, they had to find the old lady’s contact number. Her name was so common in America that it had become difficult to find out Mick’s mother. Finally, they dialed a number. Who would pick up the call?
Good News
They had crossed their fingers when the line connected and an old lady answered the call. And luckily it was Mick’s Mom and they breathed a sigh of relief. The old woman was living 250 miles away in Eureka, California. Now they couldn’t wait to meet her and tell her about her son.
Emotional
They also asked about her long-lost son to confirm if they were talking to the right lady and it was then she broke down in tears. She asked the two men in a shaky voice if her son was alive. They told her in brief, both the men were inquisitive to know why did the woman leave the kid in the first place? Would she tell them the truth?
Reasons
Oakley told them that her son used to stay ill and when they consulted a doctor they came to know that the kid has a hole in his stomach. Unfortunately, at that time, she didn’t have that much money to sustain her life. So she had to take the decision to give him to a family that could take care of him better than her.
Reunion
After listening to her part of the story, they didn’t waste any time and connected her to Mick on the phone. For a minute, they couldn’t speak a word and both of them broke down in tears. Finally, in 2018 the son and mother met for the first time in person.
Warm Hugs
The minute she saw her kid she hugged him tightly. Mick was finally feeling complete. The feelings he had buried down for years finally came up when he hugged his mother too. For the first time in so many years, Mick had a feeling that he had come back home.
Photographs
His mother showed him all the old photos she had clicked when Mick was young. Mick’s heart was heavy as he flipped the pages of the album. He was just thinking about how she had managed to live all these years without him. They both shared the stories of the hardships of their life. The moment was so emotional that besides the mother and son the policeman and the investigator too couldn’t control their tears.
Family
Finally, after so many years, he had found a home and love that he yearned for. Now he didn’t have to beg on the street and rely upon the guitar to fill his stomach. After decades of being ignored and loathed by people, he finally got the love he deserved. The policeman was happy and content that he could help a family to reunite with their son. The investigator was also spellbound because he had never seen such a reunion before.
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