Tapping the spirit of Treasure Island

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

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Benefit lu'au tonight Tonight's benefit lu'au, at 6 at the Sheraton Princess Kai'ulani Hotel in Waikiki, celebrates Robert Louis Stevenson's 152nd birthday. It includes a silent auction to raise money for Friends of Fly and the Storybook Theatre of Hawai'i. Call event organizers at 372-3136 to reserve a seat. Or call the hotel (922-5811), where tickets are available at the front desk. Tickets and silent-auction donations are tax-deductible. 'Treasure Planet' on the big screen More than a century after his death, Robert Louis Stevenson's stories live on. Walt Disney Pictures' new animated adventure, "Treasure Planet," opens in theaters Nov. 27. The film is a futuristic take on Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island." The sci-fi "Treasure Planet" is set on a spaceship and includes encounters with supernovas and black holes. It stars the voices of Martin Short, David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson, Brian Murray and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And it features a song by John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls fame.

Like Stevenson, who was an invalid as a child, Fly (whose given name is Mataglese Talaeai) grew up with health problems but developed an adventurous imagination. Fly depended on his siblings to carry his crutches down their steep hill in Kalihi Valley to the van Jeffers volunteered to drive for Fly and other disabled children.

Jeffers and the boy became friends but lost touch. In the years between, Fly's adventures were anything but romantic. Because of his disability, some people assumed he was retarded. At one stage, he became a street person.

He had high points, such as when he enrolled in Leeward Community College and became a campus radio disc jockey with the nickname Fly. But he had low points, such as being robbed and having trouble finding housing to accommodate the wheelchair he uses because of his cerebral palsy.

Now, at age 44, Fly's friends have rescued him from homelessness and reunited him with Jeffers.

Tonight, on the 152nd anniversary of Stevenson's birthday, a party befitting the legendary storyteller with ties to Hawaiian royalty also will honor Fly, the boyish adventurer who loves to fly kites and dance to hip-hop. ("If the floor is real smooth, I can do the splits," he said.)

Tonight's Happy Birthday Mr. Stevenson lu'au will raise money to modify the Kapahulu apartment where Fly lives to make it acceptable for a Section 8 housing subsidy and keep Fly from going back to a homeless shelter.

"Everybody is pulling for one guy," said Fly, who is humbled by being the center of attention but thankful for talented friends who are helping him out.

Jeffers will portray Stevenson, who in 1894 died at the age of 44 in Samoa after struggling with tuberculosis. He is remembered in Hawai'i for such things as his friendship with Princess Victoria Kai'ulani Cleghorn, and his affection for Kaimana Beach in Waikiki, which Stevenson dubbed Sans Souci (Without a Care).

Jeffers draws parallels between Stevenson, beloved by the Samoan people, and Fly, a man of Samoan ancestry beloved by a growing circle of friends in Hawai'i.

"He's a really great guy, and he's been dealt a really difficult hand in life," said sculptor Kim Duffett, one of Fly's mentors, who will be tonight's master of ceremonies.

Fly's housemate, Wade Cambern, a musician from the Hawaiian Style Band, will appear in the evening of entertainment that will range from a sunset piano recital by Adela Chu to performances by Cambern and Kanoe Cazimero.

"This is our first time out doing something like this," Cambern said, "because it appears the system is not working for Fly."

Fly says he's grateful for being selected as "the poster child" for what he hopes will become an annual event with a different beneficiary each year.

"I'm sure there are other people in my condition who need help," he said. "For me, I think I got lucky."

Reach Tanya Bricking at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.