David Cook boldly states that he is “the luckiest person in the world.” He means it, too, as evidenced by his wide, infectious smile. The Seal Beach resident attributes his luck to living in Seal Beach (“the best place”) and having a job he loves.
Cook, 61, is a dishwasher. He has washed dishes five days a week for 20 years at the nearby Claim Jumper. Before that he washed dishes at the Chart House and the Red Lobster before that. Cook is what you would call a ‘career dishwasher.’
“I call myself a sanitary technician,” Cook said, but that means, basically, washing dishes. He enjoys his job so much that he has never missed a day of work in 20 years. For his loyalty and determination, the Claim Jumper awarded him with a heavy wood engraved plaque honoring his service just last week.
There was a time, when Cook was a child, that his family envisioned a limitless future for their son. Testing had identified him as “gifted” and there were plans to place him in a school for gifted children. That all changed when David was 6 years old. Holding his mother’s hand while getting ready to cross the street, David saw his grandmother and darted out to run to her. He was hit by a car traveling 50 mph, and was thrown more than 70 feet.
Cook’s father (also named David) is a physician, and he kept his young son alive until an ambulance arrived. He was taken to the hospital and his parents were informed that their small son had less than a 5 percent chance of survival.
The boy was in a coma for six weeks, and when he woke up he couldn’t speak or walk. But the Cooks didn’t give up. When David was unable to walk they got him a wheeled platform to propel himself with his hands. He learned all the basic life skills again, over time, with physical therapy and family help.
Although Cook can qualify for government assistance, he has never taken a penny, preferring to work to pay his own way. And not only has he never been sick, he is also never late. David’s habit is to arrive at the Claim Jumper a half hour before his shift starts.
“I try to be the best dishwasher there,” Cook said. “I have a good job, I can walk to work and be with nice friends every day.”
The man who now happily washes dishes for a living could have had a very different life were it not for the accident that changed everything. When he was 6, he mastered the names of all the classic operas and could identify them by hearing only snippets of the arias.
But today, he identifies himself as “the luckiest man in the world.” Perhaps Cook could teach us all a thing or two.
