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87 MorE INFo j You can catch “Surprise” on Sundays at 10:35 a.m. on MBC, or check out Nevada Rhodes’ YouTube channel for a steady supply of laughs. Website: www.youtube.com/user/TheNevadaRhodes These days, everything comes back to the garden. Rhodes spends a lot of time there and it shows; along with the plants there are stands, containers and furniture (much of it made or repurposed by Rhodes) everywhere. Like the garden, Rhodes’ house is a treasure chest of homemade determination. Walking inside, the first sight is a statue or mannequin clothed only in potted plants and a pair of panties. “I didn’t want her to be naked,” Rhodes laughs. There are chests that he has refinished, things he has built from scratch and furniture he has salvaged. His ottoman and a few other pieces once belonged to former President Kim Young-sam, meaning Rhodes might be the only person who is growing veggies from a former president’s filing cabinet. In a side room is a bed with a computer monitor rigged so that a person lying on their back can see it clearly — a relic from a darker time. “In 2004 I was hit by an ambulance,” Rhodes says in a disarmingly calm voice. “I was dead for a while.” Doctors managed to save him, but his brief journey into the unknown left a mark on him. “I could see, hear and feel all eternity,” he says with a childlike smile. “Because of this, I don’t fear death. It was a wonderful experience.” “Death, I mean,” he says, “not seeing my leg when I woke up.” Rhodes was wrecked. A man who was once pulling 3- to 6-hour workouts six days a week could hardly stand for 30 seconds without help. “I made a video about it all to really pull at the heartstrings.” He laughs. “It hasn’t even hit a thousand views.” Rhodes talks a lot about YouTube which he says has been his outlet as well as his teacher. He uses his down time, sometimes while lounging in his pool, to think of and film short videos for his new channel. The videos are a collection of random, often hilarious, glimpses into his mind. At their heart, they are just plain fun. “He tries to put a smile on anyone’s face, even strangers,” says Jiménez. “Jokes come to his mind at any place and in any situation but always are (delivered) with all due respect. I think the reason why he has to make videos is because when he is alone he feels the necessity to share his jokes with (the world).” While Korea literally nearly killed him, he credits the coun- try with helping him become the force of nature he is today. “I discovered my creative side here,” he says. “The way things were going at home wasn’t heading that way.” Rhodes tosses bits of tomatoes to his winged compan- ions. “I’m hoping they’ll give me grandkids!” he says. Di Nucci says whenever Rhodes does something, it’s 100 percent. “He shows everyone you can build what you want. He built his own paradise. He is a good reminder of what you can do when you don’t live lazily.” Alive and kicking