Letters | 4-23-14

People of Kona are truly amazing

People of Kona are truly amazing

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Big Island. I was very touched by the warmth and friendliness I experienced from the people during my time there.

During my visit, I made a trip to the open market in Kona near the library. I stopped at one of the booths to purchase a beautiful hand-carved wood item. After making my trip back to my hotel in Waikoloa, I discovered that my wallet was missing. The contents included cash, my driver’s license and multiple credit cards. I immediately headed back to the market with a rapid heartbeat.

The market was scheduled to close in one hour, and it seemed like the cars were crawling like snails. I contacted a good friend who lives five minutes from the market, and asked that she drive to the market in case I did not make it in time. She assured me that I would find my wallet, and shared with me that the people on this island are very honest.

When I arrived back at the market, my friend and I discovered that the booth was closed down. Several of the market vendors noticed the stressed look on my face. They told me to talk to the man at the booth next to where I left my wallet. The man was very kind, and immediately called Isaiah the wood carver. Isaiah had my wallet. I met up with Isaiah to retrieve my wallet. His son had found it, and they looked through the entire market for me. His biggest fear was that I may have been a passenger on the cruise ship, and would not come to realize that I lost my wallet until I was out to sea. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated Isaiah and his son’s honesty and act of kindness.

I wanted to share this story with the people of Kona prior to departing from your beautiful home. What could have turned out to impact my vacation in a very negative way turned into a rainbow with a silver lining. My trip to the Big Island was a dream come true, and I will cherish the memories from this trip forever.

Patty Perez

Sugar Hill, Ga.