An old-timer told me this story:

He lives in Pearl City in a two-story house on a busy thoroughfare. His upstairs railing is a prime spot for campaign banners. On election years Mark Takai would come over to his house with a campaign banner tucked under one arm and a 25-pound bag of rice in his hands. Takai would sit in the garage with the retiree and talk politics for hours — hear the man out, exchange ideas and observations, talk about the way things used to be and how the future could be better. At the very end, when every story had been told and every point made and the homeowner had emptied his heart of worries and dreams, only then would Takai ask permission to put up his sign on the man’s house. The homeowner always said yes.

And this is why:

Because rather than sending a campaign volunteer or shooting off an email, Takai always came to ask permission in person.

Because Takai was patient and took the time to listen to this one constituent no matter how long it took.

Because Takai remembered the old style of community building, when a bag of rice was the perfect offering, the appropriate mahalo — not so big as to be considered a payment or bribe, but useful enough not to be trivial like a bumper sticker or chip clip.

Hawaii has lost a number of prominent figures in recent months, but Mark Takai’s death carries the sorrow of a life not yet fully lived. He was so young. Though he had been in public service for years, in many ways he was just getting started.

At the same time, Takai had cultivated the classic style of Hawaii politicians of an earlier era who knew face-to-face interactions carried more weight than the slickest television commercial, and who understood that when you take the time to listen, really listen, to an old man’s stories, that guy will tell all his friends and relations to vote for you. And they will.

The last time I saw Takai was at the dedication for the Kailua pool that was renamed in honor of his former swim coach, Al Minn. I saw Takai coming toward me, realized that we were heading into an election year and braced for the “message” he might try to foist onto a story that wasn’t about him. After all, Takai was a champion swimmer in high school and college. There was room for him to brag.

He didn’t. He only talked about Al Minn, what a wonderful coach he was, how many kids he inspired. Ask any journalist — that doesn’t happen often with politicians. It’s always about them.

Takai dedicated much of his life to serving his community. In a world of climbers who seek leadership roles just to pad their resumes, Takai was committed to the actual hard work of listening to people and trying to serve. He is gone much too soon.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.