
“You are learning, grasshopper.”
Yesterday, Rochi got home from the store without the beer he’d gone to fetch. Instead, he’d brought home a perplexed expression.
“I can’t find my debit card,” he said.
“Groan,” said me. “Where did you have it last?” I’m a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes method.
“I used it at Ace Hardware and still had it in my hand when I bought ham at the market but I paid cash there and then I had the card and the receipt and the ham in my hand and then I just had the ham and the receipt.”
We got into the car to drive back to the store, where we checked the parking lot first, not expecting much, and that’s what we found. So we went inside, to customer service. The lady in the booth was on the phone and gestured that she was already helping the gentleman waiting on the electric scooter. So we waited. Soon another lady came along, also wearing a perplexed expression.
“I left my iPhone in my shopping basket but now the basket is gone but tracking says the phone is still in the store. Are you waiting for customer service?”
I nodded toward the gentleman on the electric scooter. iPhone lady settled in to wait.
Not long after, another lady wearing the same perplexed expression came along and asked where the line began. Again I nodded toward the gentleman on the electric scooter and asked, “Did you leave something behind?”
“Yes,” she said. “A six pack of beer.”
This led to a spirited conversation about the relative values of the things we’d left behind and the difficulty of replacing them. The lady in the booth was still on the phone.
In time, a nice lady in a store uniform came along and asked what we were all waiting for.
“Well,” says I, pointing to each of us in turn. “A debit card, an iPhone and a six pack of beer. Guinness, no less.”
The nice lady opened the door to the customer service booth and handed over the beer, simultaneously digging around in a drawer. Her hand emerged, clasping a Bank of Hawaii debit card. Just then, one of the cashiers waved an iPhone in the air. We all looked at each other, simultaneously thinking, “What are the chances?” as we reclaimed our loot and headed out.
I don’t want to jinx it by giving it a name, but it feels like there’s some kind of magic afoot here in Puna. Just the other day, we were wondering: When you live in Hawaii, where do you go for a vacation?

I really enjoyed reading your post and am happy to hear that everything was found! My partner and I just moved to this side of the Big Island and went grocery shopping at that same market yesterday. I am looking forward to exploring more!
❤ Alana
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Welcome and aloha! Thanks for liking the post and for enjoying the story. I hope you’ll be as happy here as we have been. There’s still something new almost every day Happy exploring!
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Aloha! Thank you for the warm welcome! I was so excited to come across your blog. I love your stories and writing style and am looking forward to reading more!
❤ Alana
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Wow, that was good juju. Japan is the only place I would hope a debit card was turned in.
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Oh, baby, I am feeling the love from you tonight! Thanks for all the likes and the comments. It would be really great to see you again if Hawaii works out.
Are you OK with the move? I just know you’re going to miss Italy but I guess you have to go where they send you.
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We are good with the move, we have a grandchild now so being closer to her is good plus we are missing some Americanism things like happy hour 🙂 . Will miss Europe but if not going back to Japan, San Diego is a nice alternative.
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