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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Sunday, May 1, 2005

Kindness: A renewable resource for all time

By Ka'ohua Lucas

As she peered through the sliding glass doors fronting the ocean, a brilliant fiery-red sun burst forth on the horizon.

Cotton-ball-puffed clouds with streaks of purple floated above the ocean, signaling a new day. My mom crept down the cement stairs and headed toward the beach.

It was going to be another beautiful day, she muttered to no one in particular.

She began her morning ritual, a two-mile walk along the sandy beach shore of Ka'a'awa.

She had been taking her morning walks for the past 44 years.

Nothing had changed.

But as she made her way down a stretch of highway unobstructed by unsightly homes, the perfect weather almost immediately turned ugly.

The languid clouds quickly changed into a deep, dark purple. Rain blasted out of the sky like bullets pelting its victim.

Caught in the torrential downpour, my mom sought cover. Up ahead — a vacant carport! As she ran for cover, a black truck exited its driveway, blocking her path.

The passenger window whined as it descended into its casing. A bronzed, meaty arm lunged out of the window, clutching a blue umbrella.

"Hea," a faceless voice echoed from the interior of the cab. "Take dis' you gonna need 'um."

"Oh thank you," my mom said, fiddling with the umbrella latch. "I'll return this to you."

"No, keep 'um," the deep voice boomed. "There's gonna be more rain."

As if on cue, the truck disappeared like a stallion galloping away enveloped by a shroud of mist.

My mom never forgot this young man's act of aloha.

In ancient Hawai'i, it was common to mahalo those who deliberately displayed an act of kindness. There is a Hawaiian proverb that attests to this.

'Aia no i'o wahi o Pahia.

Translated it means, "Yet to come," says Pahia.

A kind, honest man named Pahia lived in Hilo.

When he was given something, he would respond:

" 'Yet to come,' says Pahia," meaning that he would respond in kind.

The Hilo people would notice that when he was given pork, he would reciprocate with pork. When fish was offered to him, he would return the favor with fish.

The people of Hilo adopted the phrase, " 'Yet to come,' says Pahia," when they intended to return a kind favor.

The next morning my mom made a small makana (gift) for the stranger. She placed several papaya in a basket bought from Kaya's, her favorite mom-and-pop store in Punalu'u.

It was a dazzling morning. The sky was cloudless, painted with hues of orange and red.

My mom clipped along the beach with her bundle nestled under her arm. She entered the stranger's vacant carport and placed the makana on the lanai.

As she laid the umbrella down, the stranger walked out onto the porch.

"I came to return your umbrella," my mom said.

"Just keep 'um," he said, looking skyward. "It's gonna rain."

Pahia's act of kindness lives on in many of us today.

Reach Ka'ohua Lucas at Family Matters, 'Ohana section, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or at ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com.