A Lifeguard Saves The Day
Wednesday - November 16, 2011
| Share
Del.icio.usDear Pamela,
About a month ago, I lost my engagement ring at Kailua Beach. After a few desperate attempts to search for it blindly, I walked to the nearest lifeguard stand to ask for help. Alika listened patiently to me as I explained my situation and said I could borrow his mask and snorkel.
Two hours later, my fiancé and I, sunburned head-to-toe, gave up our search. Walking back to the lifeguard stand, defeated, Alika met me and asked “Any luck?” The look on my face answered his question. “Well, I know it’s a long shot, but I have a buddy named Doc who likes to look for valuables people lost on the beach. I’ll ask him if he could take a look and we’ll call you if we find it.” Sure, sure. Great.
Over the following few days I went through the various stages of loss. Cut to one week later exactly. I was at dinner when I got a call from a man named Vince. He said that his friend Alika, a lifeguard at Kailua Beach, had asked him to look for a ring that someone had lost and that he had found one that matched the description. If I would call him and describe it further, he would be happy to reunite me with it.
I couldn’t believe it. Someone had been looking for my ring? Someone had found it? Turns out Vince was a physician in Kailua who enjoys searching for things on the beach as a hobby. After two tries he found my ring! Much APPLAUSE to Vince and Alika for doing the impossible!
Lauren Durston
Kailua
Dear Lauren,
Alika Cavaco has been a lifeguard for just five months, but his community spirit is obvious wherever he is assigned. “Beach lifeguards are ambassadors of aloha,” says lifeguard operations chief Jim Howe. “Every imaginable situation is addressed by the lifeguards, who are asked for directions, restaurant suggestions, equipment rental advice, you name it. They are there to help the community.”
Dear Pamela,
Over a week ago I realized that my wedding ring was missing from my finger. I knew it was loose because I had lost some 50 pounds the preceding year. But I had not been careful while doing some extensive yard work, and felt that it must have come off while discarding some green waste. That was not the case.
Someone, unbeknownst to me, discovered the ring, apparently along Wana’ao Road in Kailua (a block from my home). It then found its way to the Evidence Room at HPD. At this point, with only the minimum evidence of a “Rita,” a probable “Bob,” and the date June 20, 1953, as the inscription, HPD employee Ruby tracked me down and called to ask if I had lost something. I responded “yes.”
Please thank Ruby, and any others involved, for their honesty and professional performance.
Rita & Robert Merriam
Kailua
Dear Rita and Robert,
Maj. Thomas Nitta of HPD’s Records and Identification Division identifies your angel as Karolyne “Ruby” Peters.
“The employees of the Honolulu Police Department daily perform their duties to the best of their abilities,” he says. “It is always greatly appreciated when their efforts are recognized and acknowledged by members of the community in which they serve. A letter of appreciation has been placed in Karolyne Peters’ personnel file in recognition of a job well done.”
(If you know someone who deserves some Applause, send your letters to Pamela Young, MidWeek Applause, KITV, 801 S. King St., Honolulu, HI, 96813 or e-mail pyoung@kitv.com. Include your name, phone number and, if possible, the phone number of your “applaudee” so we can contact him or her.)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
