Spreading the Aloha Spirit

I love to travel. And when ever I do, I always bring along with me several boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. My favorite brand is the Hawaiian Host "tiki" box. (The MacNut Crunch is also really good). I'm usually traveling to see friends so they usually get a few boxes. And I'll leave some for the housekeeper at the hotel or give them to people who helped me.

A few years ago, I had gone to Chicago on business and had taken my family. It was a very cold May. (When you're used to high 70's to low 80's, the high 60's are pretty cold!). We packed a lot into the four days that we were there. So at the end of the four days, we were all very tired and ready to go home.

We went to Avis to return our car before heading to the airport. I walked into the office because I wasn't sure if I had gotten the right rate on the car. The gal at the counter barely looked at me and seemed to be having a bad day. I was happy to know that in 10 hours I was going to be home so I wasn't particularly bothered by her attitude. I thanked her for her help and picked up my carry on to leave. That's when I remembered that I had an extra box of chocolate covered mac nuts in my bag.

I reached in my bag, pulled out the box and handed it over to her. She looked up and that was the first time that I actually saw her eyes! I still remember the smile that lit up her face. She thanked me for the box and I told her "Aloha" and left.

As I was getting settled on the shuttle with my family to go to the airport, she came running up to the bus, still smiling. She gave me a certificate for a free rental day and thanked me again. My kids and husband were trying to figure out what was going on. So I smiled at them and told them I was spreading "the Aloha Spirit"!