People don't realize how lucky they are until they lose those basic amenities that they are provided right from the time they take birth. They often take their near and dear ones for granted. But there are certain people who understand the real meaning of having a family because they don't have one. These homeless people may seem to be filthy but their backstory is enough to shake you from within. Mick Myers was one of the unfortunate homeless people and there was no end to his tragedies. But then, a strange turn of fate changed his life forever.
Some people are lucky enough that when they are born they have a roof over their heads, food to eat and a nice, cozy bed to sleep. Nowadays the new parents seem to be quite excited when their child comes into the world. They want to capture every moment of their kid, from his/her first cry to his/her first step. But Mick Myers wasn't one of those fortunate kids when he came into this world.
A kid was born on a chilly night in 1950. He had never thought that his life would take such a turn and he will find himself in chaos when he would grow up. When Mick was just a baby, his mother left him. But then he was lucky enough to be adopted by a seemingly kind family in San Leandro, California. The kid wasn't aware that he was adopted until another unfateful event happened in his life.
He never felt connected to his adoptive family right from the beginning. Something was missing in his life. His adoptive parents tried everything to make him comfortable, especially his mother. His mother, as he recalls later, was the most affectionate and kind-hearted woman in his whole adoptive family. However, there were many who disliked him.
His mother tried to be beside him every time, so he didn't feel neglected but his siblings never used to leave any chance to bully him. And maybe that was the reason that he never got connected with his adoptive family, though at that time he wasn't aware of this fact. He also tried to adjust but after some years he too left the things to fate. And because of this, he remained a lone wolf while growing up.
When he grew up he described his situation as “living a life as alone as a person could possibly be.” Soon after he finished school, he lost all contacts with his friends too. But he hit the rock bottom when he lost a person whom he felt really close to. He was shattered when his mother left the world abandoning him in this cruel world. What would he do now?
He was just 16 years old when he came to know that he was adopted. And this seemed to be the perfect explanation as to why he never felt connected to his siblings or family. Though this revelation didn't help him in any way. When his adoptive parents passed away, all his siblings turned their backs on him.
His siblings didn't give any share of the wealth that his parents had left him. He now had to find a job to sustain himself. Soon he even got a job as a truck driver. Many people might consider this job monotonous but Mick was happy with it. Mick had always been a loner so the job seemed perfect to him.
Finally, after so many years he was kind of enjoying his life. He didn't have to depend on others to pay his bills or if he had to buy something. He was happy and content but it seemed like fate was always testing his patience. This time it was even worse. What might have happened?
Obstacles are a part of life. These hurdles make us strong and shape us into the person we always wanted to become. But that doesn't happen always. And in the case of Mick, these hurdles were just breaking him from within. He had suffered a lot since his childhood. And if that wasn't enough, another incident happened that not only shocked him but also forced him to come on the road.
One fine day, he was driving his truck on a busy lane when he met with a serious accident. For days he lay unconscious on a hospital bed, he didn't have any idea about where he was or how did he come there. And when he gained his consciousness, his doctors told him a heartbreaking truth. What might have they say?
The accident was severe and doctors were considering him really lucky that he had come out of it alive. But then they told him a heart-wrenching truth and he didn't have any idea what he would do after this revelation. The doctors told him that due to the accident he had lost his ability to drive. What would he do now?
Driving the trucks used to help him pay his bills and now this accident made him lose his only source of income. He was completely shattered. He sat on the hospital bed, numb without being able to say anything. Nurses would come and give him medicine but he wouldn't move. He wanted to cry out loud and he wasn't able to. That night, while the fan rotated slowly above his head, he lay there motionless on the bed. What would he do now?
It was a foggy day in January when he was discharged from the hospital. Nurses and doctors were happy that finally, he was able to walk on his own but on the other hand, Mick was just thinking where would he go now. He picked up his belongings and when he was doing so a photo of his adoptive parents fell on the ground, he picked it up. His eyes were full of tears, he hurriedly moved out of the hospital and sat under the shadow of the tree. That day he finally cried his eyes out.
He was devastated when he came back home. Before that day, he had never felt that lonely. The house that always seemed to comfort him, that day even the house was ready to eat him out. He felt really hopeless and didn't eat anything. He sat in a corner, looking up in the sky and fell asleep against the windowpane.
For a few days, he lived on his savings. With each passing day, his health was improving and so was his hope. One evening, he finally made up his mind that he would try again and find a new job. And the next few days, he tirelessly gave interviews. Would his hard work pay off?
He felt like fate smiled at him again when he got a new job. He was really happy but then he didn't know that his happiness was short-lived. Soon after he joined his job, he realized that he wasn't able to stand for a long time as his back didn't allow him to stand for hours. After a few days, he had to leave that job too. He was heartbroken again but he knew he couldn't just sit at home. So he started looking out for another job.
The next morning, he woke up at the usual time and prepared himself some breakfast. He was determined to find himself another job because he knew his funds won't last long. Myers had limited options in his hands because of his health issues. So he started looking for a job in manufacturing and foodservice. Would he be able to find a job?
His strenuous efforts finally paid off when he got a part-time job for DMV. No matter how much he tried he couldn't succeed in getting a proper job which could decently pay him off. But now he had to do this job at any cost.
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?
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.