Good Will Rings True In Manoa

Dear Pamela,

I am a bell ringer for the Salvation Army at Safeway Manoa. While ringing, I had my car towed! At first I thought it was stolen, but Safeway personnel informed me of the towing policy and directed me to Karen Fleming, property manager of Manoa Marketplace. She went to bat for me immediately! She called to verify that my car had actually been towed, asked Julio of Tow Jams if he would consider a lessening of charges, printed off some stickers to place in my car so it would no longer be towed this Christmas season, and even went to MapQuest and printed me directions to Tow Jams. Julio agreed to a reduction of $50. And finally, my daughter picked me up from Safeway, drove me to Tow Jams in the horrible Christmas traffic, and paid the fee as I was short of cash. Can you beat that? Thank you, Karen Fleming. Thank you, Julio. And thank you, daughter Sharyn!

Karyn Abe
Manoa

Dear Karyn,

“We have instructions from Manoa Marketplace regarding its towing policy, but of course, we always take into consideration peoples’ circumstances,” says Tow Jams owner Julio Ashraf. “We didn’t know she was there for Salvation Army bell-ringing, but once explained, I had no problem adjusting fees to just cover our expenses.”

Aloha Pamela,

I want to say a huge “WOW” for a child in Waianae! We were having a coffee drink outside McDonald’s in Waianae and I left my purse hanging on the back of the chair under my sweater. When we left, I took my sweater and left my purse. We then took a leisurely drive past Makaha Beach before returning to our home in Makaha, where I discovered my missing purse. Of course, we drove straight back to McDonald’s and could see right away that my purse was gone. I went inside and asked if anyone had seen a purse outside. Right away one employee asked, “Was it purple?” Sure enough, it was my purse. What relief I felt! She said a little child had brought it in, but didn’t get his/her name. I was so disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to express my heartfelt thanks. So I’m thanking this child in this way by saying “Mahalo Nui Loa” to both the child and the parents who are teaching honesty, and also the employees of McDonald’s. I love Waianae!

Mary Padgett
Makaha

Dear Mary,

And the staff at Waianae McDonald’s apparently love their customers. “I have a great crew,” says manager Rudy Turqueza. “There are 91 people working here and they are all good people. Customers are always the top priority.”

Aloha Pamela,

My wife suffered an injury to her knee and requires a crutch to get around, so it became my job to carry her purse. We went to the Shore Bird for pupus and a mai tai. I put my wife’s purse on the hook under the bar, then we left for dinner. The minute we were seated I realized we had forgotten the purse. I panicked big time. All our money, credit cards and gift cards were in the purse. This 59-year-old man hasn’t run so fast in years. I got to the Shore Bird and asked Elaine behind the bar about it. She just smiled at me and handed me the purse. I reached in my pocket to compensate her and she would not accept. I asked her what I could do for her, and she said, “Just come back” and handed me a buy-one-get-one-half-off coupon. What a great Aloha Spirit. We are going there tomorrow and probably a few more times after that.

The next day we were at Moose McGillacuddy’s and I did the same thing again. Frances the greeter caught us at the corner and handed me my wife’s purse. Frances would not take anything either. Needless to say, I lost the job of carrying the purse. My wife and I have met so many nice people here. Hawaii is definitely paradise with beautiful people.

Mike and Carol Van
Oosten Waikiki

Dear Mike,

Elaine McGrath has been tending bar at Shore Bird for 17 years. She remembers you clearly. “They were a great couple. We have the best customers and we try our best to keep them happy. This was just regular customer service at the Shore Bird.”

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 email pyoung@kitv.com. Include your name, phone number and, if possible, the phone number of your “applaudee” so we can contact him or her.