Jack’s Diving Locker is one of the oldest dive shops in the world and is the oldest here in Kona, proudly serving our community for 39 years! Through those decades, we’ve experienced numerous economic, natural disaster and pandemic crisis, but COVID-19 was the first time in JDL history that we had to close our doors for prolonged time. It is definitely the most unique situation we’ve experienced as a business.

Yes. It is true when they say we are all made of stardust. Elements in the human body, from hydrogen, to carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and more, come from remnants of supernovae - stars that exploded and ejected material out into space. In astronomy, one of the profound life lessons we learn from the cosmos is just how deeply we are all interconnected with the universe, the world, and each other.

This important connection has in many ways been magnified by COVID-19.

The Marine Mammal Center is committed to the conservation and care of endangered Hawaiian monk seals during the pandemic as an essential business.

Like everyone else, COVID has affected our lives in a multitude of ways. Luckily, neither of us was affected employment wise, and so weʻve been all to live a relatively normal life, albeit mostly at home. That has provided me with an opportunity to concentrate on trying to fulfill a goal that Iʻve aspired to meet ever since we moved to Captain Cook, and that is to grow at least five percent of the food we eat.

We will ALWAYS remember what we are here for: to provide the best in patient care no matter what.

I will always remember this honu finding refuge along the desolate shore of Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

I remember this one day at school, while I was sanitizing my hands and cleaning my desk, a girl called me “over dramatic.”

I feel that COVID-19 has started to make everybody lazy.

What I will remember is that several hundred students were scheduled to visit our sites when the shutdown happened.

What I will remember are the total vulnerability and uncertainty locally, globally, and even in our own home.

We’ve been operational through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In such a weird dark time, here is a ray of sunshine: Hulalimaikalā, the sun that sparkles and shines.

A couple of weeks ago, we signed refi docs at a notary’s house in north Kona with wild chickens running around, bottles of bug spray and hand sanitizer resting on the table.

Dear Amory and Alasdair,
Have you heard of something called the pandemic? Sometimes Nana and Papa call it Coronovirus or Covid 19.

In the midst of the pandemic, we moved our family and our household goods from the mainland to retire in Hawaii. There were periods of uncertainty and fear.

I will remember the onions. Up until very recently, I was the person who went to the store for an onion. This specific item was often needed, yet never purchased in multiples.

As a professional photographer, I'm always finding beauty in what surrounds me. But now in quarantine, I'm rediscovering the wonders and activities around my house.

My daughter Kawaipōmaikaʻi was carried and born during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, when Kona’s clear blue skies were enveloped in thick, muggy, gray vog.

Since moving to Kona, I have spent time pondering what my Great Great Grandma Lena might think of my life and how she might respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was born and raised in Kealakekua and left in 1918 at age 18 as a stowaway on a ship bound for San Francisco.

The memories that will likely stick with me will no doubt be the sensory experiences of fear and uncertainty that naturally bubbled to the surface during quarantine.