Freedom

Photographed by Ron Chapple

Words spoke of war

… Born of fire

Increase dedication

Birth of freedom

Frontiers pushed

Cheerful strength

Soft sibilance

Banishing fear

The reassuring will

-

Poem written by Brenda L. McCartney

A Celebration of Life

Photographed by Yee Ting Kuit

My paternal grandmother always reminded me that I was a special child which means highly favored. The word special has varied meaning to me over the years; in the Bahamas when certain friends and family call me special it means silly. No I am not eccentric.

During Easter I stayed in a certain couple’s home,  there was serenity in the atmosphere of their home. Shortly afterward I felt compelled to contact the couple, I spoke to them on several occasions thereafter but never physically met them. Sadly the husband passed away and the funeral service was held on my birthday, a few days ago. Yes, on my birthday. My friends and family members were very vocal on whether or not I should attend a funeral on my birthday given their view that he was not family.

To me this was my family as he represented so many things. Father Thaddeus Pratt dedicated his life to the honor and glory of God and has been a loving father and husband. He was married for fifty one years which is a glorious example of love and devotion. I am sure that is something we wish to emulate; Mrs Florence Pratt  and I are in the same sister-hood. It was a sensible thing to do as it was a celebration of an extraordinary person’s life and co-incidentally mine.

There was a certain joy at his home going celebration. It reminded me of a feel for luxury; in terms of life’s accomplishments, achievements. It was a time to reflect, it gave me a challenge to carry on, it was a wake up call to do better and it reminded me to live life to the fullest and make the most of opportunities and time.  I am no stranger to funerals  after all, as my great grandfather died the day I was born, hence the reason why my grandmother calls me special.

This week marked another year of celebration. Are you taking note of the various accomplishments of your life? Are you truly grateful for even the minor endeavors of others?

Old Stories, Legends and Folk Tales:

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:

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.

Lord Hear Our Prayer

Photographed by Orlando Barria

It is the official start of the hurricane season and the Caribbean ramps up efforts to be prepared. Tropical storm Agatha pre-empted the start of the season and ravaged Guatemala (Central America on May 29, 2010) and killed more than one hundred people. Dozens more are still missing after landslides destroyed communities. El Salvador and Honduras also suffered death and destruction. As our thoughts and prayers flit around the Caribbean we look back on the chronology of hurricane disasters in the region. Let us remember the displaced especially the many Haitians who are in camps due to the earthquake disaster earlier this year. Also pray for those Islands that are at sea level or are barely above sea level namely the islands of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayers.

Mind Thoughts

Each week as I drive along West Bay Street in the morning I am always in time to observe the Disney Cruise Line make a one hundred and eighty degree turn in the waters to sail out of Port Nassau. This always inspires certain awe. This morning again, I witness that same turn as this time it reversed into Port Nassau. I can not explain why it evokes such a feeling.  My husband tells me that anything that large when it moves is always a sight to behold. Maybe in my subconscious it is a metaphor for when someone makes a turn or a turn around in life? A turn around can be one of the most exhilarating and enriching feelings in life. For some, that turn can be the sign of better things to come.

Ever day opens and closes like a flower – John Muir

Wealth Management

Recently I have been thinking about the accumulation of wealth (possessions, experience, and relationships). These are the things that are very precious to people. We protect them, ponder them and hold them tightly in mind and the mere thought of it may give delight and pleasure.  A few months ago I visited Cat Island for the third time but this time my experience was none like I have encountered before.  I climbed the highest Point of Cat Island with six others. There were two choices a more gradual path and there was a steeper path. I took the steeper path and each step was an experience within itself. On the way upward were Stations of the Cross. As I passed the Stations of the Cross; I noticed that they were carved out of stone, all the way up to the summit. Just being up there for a while was an emotional recovery and an experience of solitude; in a dramatic way. The atmosphere was very tranquil and calm. There were others with me but at times it seemed that I was all alone.

This takes me back to Jerome Hawes, a British man who constructed the Stations of the Cross on the side of the hill. He died about 54 years ago but those structures still stand strong. It does strike me that he came from an affluent family and gave it all up to live in such simplicity. He purchased the highest hill in Cat Island which is also the highest point in the Bahamas where he built (due to his diminutive size) a model of a miniature abbey. He was ordained as an Anglican Priest but converted to Roman Catholicism and built a few churches in the process (from Long Island to Cat Island and beyond.)

He is entombed at the hermitage; which is a living testimony to the values which altered and governed in his life. He did not seek reputation or fame but he came to be recognized as a world renown architect, a philosopher, a poet, and sculptor.  Father Jerome Hawes gave up all his treasures and came to Cat Island in The Bahamas to seek solitude and to live in poverty.

It is ironic that if it were not for his vast wealth he would be unable to buy the hill on which he built the monastery and he would not been able to build the churches that he built (using his own funds) and he more than likely would not be able to afford the education which gave him the architectural “know how.” Yet he chose to live in utter destitution while spending his money in doing “God’s work.” This tells me that having wealth is not bad in and of itself but we should be very prudent in how we choose to use what we are given.

The Washington Post  article of Fr. Jerome.