I came across this old clipping yesterday while looking for something else. I guess that’s often the way it works.

The story appeared in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on January 7, 1947, and credits my mother, referred to in the style of the the time as “Mrs. John Lind of 934 Kealaolu Ave,” with providing a description that led to the arrest of a 15-year old boy for a series of burglaries in our neighborhood, including the house right next door, one around the corner on Farmers Road, and another way up at the far end of Kealaolu Ave.

Just click on the clipping to read a larger version.

But the newspaper article fails to tell the rest of the story.

It correctly notes that the young burglar was coming into the house through a door from the shower that opened to the yard on the side of the house, which was common in those days so that you could come home from the beach and go right into the shower.

But the reason my mother was able to give a good description is that when he ran, she ran after him, chasing him up the street to Farmers Road, about 1/4 mile, which took long enough for her to remember the details of his appearance.

She was 33 at the time, mother of a three-year old, and I was “coming soon” later that year.

The story of her daring dash was told and retold numerous times at parties or family gatherings, much to her pleasure.

Except for being identified only as the wife of John Lind, a practice which she frequently criticized, she was quietly pleased about the notice.