Dave Pearson discovered his true calling while gazing upon the once-flowing Los Banos Reservoir just south of San Jose this summer.

“I used to fish [in the reservoir] as a kid and now it’s almost completely dry,” Pearson says. The sunlight creates a translucent outline of Pearson as he proceeds to describe the beginning of his year-old, waterless car detailing business, Detail Dave.

The front room of his home is modestly kempt with a sparse arrangement of humble, second-hand furniture. A display of multi-colored faux tulips sits alone upon a small end table next to an unused fireplace.

“I didn’t realize the impact of what I was doing really until I was [at Los Banos Reservoir] and saw that there were barely any fish,” Pearson says. “And now you have to travel a quarter of a mile just to get to any water.”

Pearson rolls a glitter-red Magna Great Divide 15-speed mountain bike onto his driveway. He totes his supplies in a tattered blue and white carry-on bag. “Riding [my bike] instead of driving is another way I’ve been helping the environment,” he adds.

The 41-year-old Seaside native came a long way to have his opportunity to build his new business: He battled through a long period of homelessness that followed a divorce and a long bout with methamphetamine addiction.

Pearson’s thin brown hair remains forever secluded beneath a plain white ball cap and a pair of sunglasses resting upon its black brim. His moustache is perfectly symmetrical.

“I am five years clean,” Pearson says after some initial hesitance. “I did it with the help of a good support system and I strive to live my life one day at a time, staying in the here and the now.”

Pearson has had to work twice as hard to convince those who have known him that he has turned his life around.

“The people who knew me when I was a homeless drug addict weren’t too keen about hiring me at first,” he says. “But they’ve seen what I can do.”

The Defense Language Institute was one of Pearson’s first clients; the city of Monterey remains one of his most regular customers.

Before the advent of Detail Dave, Pearson made his living working at the Shell Service Station on Canyon Del Rey while living at the Sandcastle Motel off Fremont Boulevard. He says he had “barely enough money to last a week and a half.”

After a lunch meeting with a local pastor and friend, who started him off with a free supply of car detailing products, he began trekking his bike all over town, giving 30-second demos to anybody who displayed any kind of interest.

One year later, anyone living within a five-mile radius of Pearson who owns a car knows Detail Dave and his passion for detailing work. He knows each and every neighbor’s car intimately and loves them as his own. The gold 1995 Nissan Altima, a vintage white stretch limo and a red beat-up pick-up truck – all these vehicles have been given the Detail Dave special waterless treatment.

A tour down his Seaside street continues as if he were a Grand Canyon tour guide. His smile extends beyond the simple customer service plastic grin – his excitement is truly sincere.

Pearson demonstrates his detailing services on a pick-up truck in front of his house. He drips some of the silky white DRI WASH Waterless Car Wash substance onto a white cloth then rubs the cloth onto the truck’s old red body.

He continues methodically as if he was the Karate Kid. The dirty, water-stained red transforms into a vibrant apple shine. Using the same cloth and substance, he demonstrates on the truck’s tires, windshield and chrome and gets the same luminous result.

“When I first get the car it’s just a car. But then, I put love into it and it looks like it just came off the showroom. But the best part is I’m saving water while I’m doing this.

“I love this so much,” Pearson says. “There’s nothing else I want to do in my life; it’s so fun. At night, my cars are still shining.”

Though Pearson has turned his life around and continues to move forward with his business he doesn’t forget his hardened past, the downward spiral that was eventually halted through the support of his church. It has inspired Pearson to work with those who are going through the same struggles he has faced – he even hopes to become a deacon in the near future.

“I’m not trying to save them all, just those ones who want help,” he says. “People who want to get off the street face a constant battle.”

TO REACH DETAIL DAVE, CALL 383-1646 OR E-MAIL DTAIL_DAVE@YAHOO.COM.