'LOST & FOUND' IN HILO

Imagine you are on holiday and you drop your money clip on the pavement and are unaware of the loss.  Imagine the horror of discovering the loss and racing back to the last place the lolly was snug in your trouser pocket.  Imagine the gutted feeling of having your holiday go pear shaped due to lack of.

A few days back, two lovely guests of the hostel went through such an experience.  The sum lost was large enough that it would have made a huge difference in how they holiday would unfold, and happened early enough that it would have been the lasting impression of the visit to Hilo.

Imagine how gobsmacked the lovely couple were to find on the pavement the note featured in the snap above.

A very lovely and honest young employee of a shop visited, found the money clip on the pavement outside the shop.  Thinking that the folks who lost might come looking for, she placed the note on the pavement.  The thinking being that the owners of the money clip would be looking down on the pavement and would see the note.

They did indeed...

The guests of the hostel were re-united with their 'lolly' and also got a lesson in ALOHA - Hilo Style.  One I rather think will stay with for a long time.  The amount lost was large enough and without name, giving the finder ever reason to place in own pocket.  The lovely young lady did not see it that way and made a good effort to return.  Talk about grand...

Sadly, not all losses have a happy ending.  Oft, a traveller booking into the hostel will tell the tale of loss suffered while on the road.  To some, the loss is enough to ruin the rest of the holiday, forcing an early return to home, as was the case with a chap from France.

Truth be told, there be travellers who tell tales of loss and that is not the case, but that is a different story.

This old geezer has come to know first hand how lovely folks in Hilo be.  The lovely lady in the shop is not unique, there was also the example of the taxi driver who upon discovering a rather expensive camera left, drove round to all of his stops until he found the person who had left in the taxi.  On his own time and at his expense.  The guest at hostel was 'over the moon' at the return of camera.

There be loads of reasons to come to Hilo but surely it mostly has to do with discovering ALOHA.  A word heard oft in Hawaii and round the world, one that means so very much more than 'hello'.

I rather think that the guests who had 'lolly' returned were much filled with ALOHA all of holiday and have taken it back with when departed.