Photographed by IPS Co
About a month ago I decided to vacation on a sparsely populated Bahamian Cay. It was impossible to go outside because of the buzzing mosquitoes at most hours of the day. The reason for the mosquitoes is that the environmental officer went on vacation and was not there to spray the Cay. The vacation property where we stayed had no modern day communication system (telephone, cable, internet). I did not mind because I had planed to maroon myself on the island with books and spend my free time with visits to the untouched waters (beaches). However after about a day there I was curious to know what was going on in the world; so at six o’clock in the afternoon everyday I would religiously perch myself at the dining table listening to my AM/FM radio with short wave frequency. This was reminiscent of the days when I use to watch my grandparents listening to news via radio. My friend Stephanie at this point would say ‘poor soul!’ because it was rare for me to listen to national news. On the Cay I could only pick up one English speaking channel and that was ZNS 1540 Bahamas. My ‘smatterings’ of comprehension of the Spanish language did not permit to me to engage the several Spanish language radio stations that were available. In spite of being hemmed in by the mosquitoes, and the use of the endless supply of OFF (insect repellent) there was an amazing quiet peace. One author once said “the peace that comes from being out of the confusion of getting ahead isn’t a dead peace but very alive” When I first read this quote I saw the beauty of being at peace but this week challenged that thought.
In the Bahamas headline news this week it was highlighted that copper was stolen from a transmitter site and as a result ZNS 1540 is down and may take about a month to be back on the air. Well, at this point I know that you are gasping. My heart is with the residents of that Cay. I can just imagine the residents visiting the few homes that have satellite services just to ‘keep up.’
In life we are blessed with so much and take for granted the simple things. Today I hope you can take time out and be happy for what you have and be thankful for what you about to receive.
Photographed by Zak Kendal
Recently I visited Rum Cay, Bahamas; a place that was extraordinarily comfortable and happy. Its people and culture transported me to my home Montserrat. It is remarkable that small communities like Rum Cay, Bahamas and Montserrat, West Indies have so much in common. Rum Cay had about nine settlements now only one settlement, Port Nelson, remains settled with a population of eighty people most of the original inhabitants have moved to Nassau. Montserrat’s population was displaced because of an active volcano that made two thirds of the island uninhabitable. A Montserratian population once over twelve thousand now has approximately of four thousand with most of the original inhabitants now living in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Also like Montserrat, Rum Cay is very dark and quiet at night; there is a definite stillness outside the populated settlement, only the faint noise of the ocean and a few birds and insects can be heard.
While I was there I learned that Rum Cay has a pond that is called Mermaid Pond. Their legend has it that if a person gets the comb of the mermaid when she surface to plait her hair one will obtain instant wealth. I was taken a back because Montserrat my island shares a similar legend:
There is a white mermaid who appears at the top of Chances Pond every Easter at midnight. Hundreds of Islanders would climb Chances Mountain which is 3002ft using torches. They said that one must arrive before dawn take the mermaids comb from her and ran to the sea before they could be caught they would be rich for life.
The Montserratian legend varies a bit from the one told in Rum Cay but the premise is the same. Who can tell how far this legend is spread or where it really first originated?
There are so many old stories, legends, folk tales that I have come across in my reading and travels. Could it be that the legends were started to explain the night-time or silence of dusk? Could it also be that there was a similar legend in Africa and slaves took these stories with them where they settled? Or is it that these legends coincidentally evolved simply to entertain children and give hope and provide humor. If we compared Rum Cay and Montserrat to places like Nassau and United Kingdom both centers of migration we will see that many old legends and folk tales are being and have been lost? Will the next two generations know about our old stories that shaped our culture and made us who we are as these legends?
Do you know of similar stories that your ancestors told? I urge you to share your stories with the world, so that we may learn more about each other and so that those narratives are not forgotten forever.
Photographed by Susan Koster
With blazing clarity
His eyes, they take you somewhere
Wide awake dreaminess
Compelled to watch him
He created many roles
Reminiscent of Tharp Classics
He choreographed my part
In unorthodox venues
We dance
The composure
In Seasons
Our movement a language
-
Poem by Brenda L. McCartney
“I celebrate your becoming. I look forward to the rest of our lives with hope and marvel at the possibilities.” Happy Birthday Enrique!
Photographed by John Pearce
I can see her now, an old friend who is deceased; her blue green eyes which seemed to take the color of what she was wearing along with her spider like body leaned forward toward me trying to grab my attention as she starred into my eyes as she was telling me about her travel experiences. She said “If you have not been on a cruise you have not lived a life.” It has been a week and I can not shake this conversation out of my memory.
Last week the Oasis of the Seas made its inaugural voyage to Port Nassau. It was raining heavily, to me the heavens poured down in celebration as the people harmoniously gathered by the thousands. The attendance was abundant as they crowded the western coast of Nassau to get a glimpse of this wonder; The Oasis of the Seas is considered the largest cruise ship in the world. My daughter and I also gathered at the nearest vantage point as it left Nassau after spending seven and half hours in port with its 6500 passengers. The ship literally made a 180 degree turn in what seemed like 200 yards in front of me. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered my homeland of Montserrat.
Montserrat 1989, Hurricane Hugo had severely damage Port Plymouth Wharf. A Dutch company by the name of Interbeton was contracted to construct a new Pier/Wharf/Jetty. As Sir Howard Fergus puts it “The British responded generously, in the islands rehabilitation. Shortly after it was completed in; 1992 Montserrat was booming.” I can vividly remember that hundreds of Montserrat flocked to the shore line and hundreds were stationed at the Taxi Stand to get a glimpse of two Cruise Liners (Renaissance 11 and Freewind Cruises) We all felt good and it seems as if we were served a heavy portion of the economic pie relative to our fellow OECS brothers and sisters.
It has been 15 years since the discussion about not living if I have not been on a cruise. It has also been 15 years since Port Plymouth has hummed her lonely chorus as the harbor is now buried in ash. The Jetty that Interbeton built is still there. It smiles as fishermen sail swiftly by, meanwhile my friend’s words reverberate today and memories of Plymouth lives on. I have since looked up information on cruise ships (Ocean Liner Exclusive Luxury Resort, The Queen Mary 2, Cunard Lines, Monarch of The Seas etc. ) and upon reflection, perhaps she was right maybe I do need to go on a cruise and see the world from the sea.
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