In passing

Sunday morning, Julie and I made a new acquaintance, first by email,
then by telephone, on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. Janice had read about
our travels in Julie's post on Craigslist, looking for affordable
short-term housing options during our stay, and then purused the blog
to get to know us better. And, as with our fast new friends Linda and
Everett in Anchorage, Erika in Portland, and Tim and Joan in Point
Arena, CA, she decided to invite us, total strangers, into her home.
She even offered to meet us at the airport when our flight landed, with a sign with our names on it.

Monday afternoon, we arrived on the Big Island and scanned the people
milling about the airport for Janice. Sadly, we were not to
find her. After lingering for fifteen minutes or so, we were
approached by airport security, who asked if we were waiting for
somebody. Yes, I said, we were.

One security guard called over to another security guard, who
conferred with each other and a piece of paper that held fragments of
the story: Janice had been hospitalized and would not be able to meet
us, and we were instructed to talk to several friendly visitor
information staff, Beatrice with the Airport Vistor Information
Service and Linda with VASH, an agency to assist visitors to Hawai‘i.
We spent 30 minutes with them gathering information about our options.
Linda also provided the name and phone number of a social worker,
Becky, at the hospital who could advise us about Janice's condition.

Fast forward to the next morning: I called Becky and learned that
Janice died, about the same time we landed. Shockingly, her sudden
illness was unexpected and without prior warning. Also amazingly, in
the midst of her last hours, Janice's husband Bill -- who knew we were
coming but had no contact information for us, or even our names --
made a point of enlisting Becky, and then airport security, to find us
to make sure we, too, were okay.

I cannot imagine the shock and sadness that Bill and
their friends and family must be feeling. I am overwhelmed by the
thoughtfulness and hospitality shown to us at every turn in this
situation, when so little would be expected. I am so touched that such
kindness, generosity and hospitality were clearly a part of Janice's
life, right up until the end. We never really got to know Janice as
we'd hoped, but I know this much for certain: we lost a good one on
Monday. Rest in peace, Janice, and thank you for being such an example
of kindness and hospitality.