January 1, 2018 - 10 Years Thank you Chester from da blog lady

I can remember throughout my life people would always say follow your passion. I would agree except I would question how do you know what your passion is?  On January 1st 2008 I for the first time figured out what that meant.  I met Chester RK15 and my life changed. I knew at some point during that day, I found my passion this is it, I know what it means!  Chester an adult male Hawaiian Monk Seal and in 2008 he was about 23 years old. He was not very cute as a matter of fact he was pretty scruffy in that he was getting ready to molt.  I spent 26 straight days from early morning until 11 pm watching over him along with a new group of friends. A small group of us took it upon ourselves to provide him with 7x24 hour protection. 

I met amazing people during this 26 days, some have become lifetime friends. Auntie Sharon (whose house Chester spent most of his time in front of) actually called a couple of retired firemen and had them camping out on the beach a few nights to make sure no one bothered him.  There was no official volunteer group, and NOAA didn't have the resources nor were they required to sit on site.  I was a quick learner in 26 days. I also met "DB" who would stop by and check on Chester every couple of days. Honestly I spent the first 2 weeks thinking he was a vet, until someone explained no he's just someone who checks on the seals. Once I got to talk with him, he gave me a full background on this amazing critter.

Chester also managed to gain a lot of media attention (long before social media) he was on the news a few times and quickly became the celebrity seal.  
http://monksealmania.blogspot.com/2008/04/chester-celebrity.html

Once Chester left Kailua I felt empty, I wanted to do more, so I inquired what could "the public" do to help. It was clear there were seals, but not that many and there were people out there checking up on them and had been doing so for a few years. It seemed there should be a way to share information to somehow let each other know what was going on, help people understand the plight of the endangered Hawaiian monk seals. How fortunate we are to have these amazing critters in our back yard and that we need to give them a voice.  DB sent a daily email out with his findings, I asked him if I could use that information and create a blog. His response: " I don't know what that is, but if it helps the seals sure."

Sadly Chester died on March 26th 2008, only two months after we met. I was devastated along with my Kailua Beach buddies. I remember talking with DB and his words to me were: "Sorry you have to experience this loss so early on, but this is exactly why we need to do what we are doing." It was those words that gave me the strength to move forward and was the passion I felt for that shaggy old brown seal Chester who created a spark in me that I have continued for last 10 years.