LIHU‘E — Next to the ladies who wait alongside the walls of the baggage- claim areas at Lihu‘e Airport to lei arriving visitors, she’s the tiniest. And, compared to the voices that call out names of incoming passengers, hers is
LIHU‘E — Next to the ladies who wait alongside the walls of the baggage- claim areas at Lihu‘e Airport to lei arriving visitors, she’s the tiniest.
And, compared to the voices that call out names of incoming passengers, hers is yet to develop.
But, her heart has a lesson for all to learn, as Marilyn Lilia Oili tagged along with grandma Marilyn Faima to greet passengers at Lihu‘e Airport.
“She had to go to the doctor,” Faima explained. “Her asthma was acting up, and since I had to take her to the doctor, she came to work with me.” Oili, 6, is a first grader at St.
Catherine School in Kapa‘a and, despite an occasional raspy cough, did not let anything stop her youthful energy and innocence as she beamed her smile that was louder than any of the din going on in the baggageclaim area.
“The only way they can carry on is by doing,” Faima explained.
Oili’s mom, another Marilyn, Marilyn Fuipua, is the owner of Nani Ha‘aheo, a lei-greeting operation that has the distinction of being the only lei-greeting service that is based on Kaua‘i.
“Just about today,” Oili mused when asked how long she had been doing the greetings. Faima was quick to add that she’s been at the airport at least five times.
“We give the lei to other persons,” Oili said. “We need to hold the sign, and smile for them.
“And, we say, ‘Aloha! Welcome to Kaua‘i!”
