LETTER: Maui Mom-and-Pop Store Extends Act of Aloha Amid Visitor Uncertainty

Background image courtesy Haʻikū Hardware and Garden Facebook.

The letter below was submitted by Peer and Rhonda Johnson of Cambria, California.

Aloha to all my Maui brothers and sisters,

We were recently vacationing on Maui for a month, as we have done every year for a decade.  We love the spirt of Aloha and the spirit of this proud island.  We decided to leave as soon as possible the second the situation became serious.

I went to a local mom-and-pop hardware store, Haʻikū Hardware and Garden, looking for a mask prior to our departure.  My wife and I had one between us that we brought over from the US, but we were looking for another.

The gentlemen running the store said “We have none, sold out. Sorry.”  I told him I was saddened as I was flying out the next day.  He said, “Hold on.”  He went to his car and said he had one he bought for himself last week and I could have it.  I tried to pay him, he wouldn’t accept.

This man’s action, generosity and aloha made our month.  He didn’t know me. He knew I was a visitor.  But gave it to us regardless.

I wish all my brothers and sisters the best.  We will be back.

Aloha and Mahalo,

Peer and Rhonda Johnson

Cambria, CA

*****Views expressed in LETTERS are those of the author’s alone and do not reflect or represent the opinions, policies or positions of Maui Now.*****