Jennifer and Queen's Park on Christmas Morning

First, let me say that God is so good!  It continues to amaze me at how God works in my life.  The people that he has weaved so beautifully into my life are so very special to me.  I want to tell you about one such person here in Barbados, whose name is Jennifer.  I am just now writing this blog entry even though it happened two months ago at Christmas, because I was waiting for a time that I could devote to writing the blog up right.  Because this event merits my full blog effort and not something that is hurriedly posted.  I hope you enjoy this.

I had started going to a workout center called Garfield Sobers Complex with my next door neighbors, David and Tonya.  That is another blog story to tell on how I met David and Tonya.  But for now, suffice it to say that David and Tonya were very gracious to me and offered to pick me up each day and take me with them to work out.  I immediately was drawn to a 9 o'clock class that lasted for one hour.  David and Tonya preferred to work out with the machines and weights and they also loved to walk outside around the complex.  So, sometimes my class would end before David and Tonya were through with their walk and I would wait for them on the front steps of the gym.

So, one day I was waiting on David and Tonya and I heard this lady behind me talking with her coworker about her son who had just been diagnosed with ADHD.  She was so distraught and was talking and wringing her hands about how this could be and what was she to do.  I just listened, I doubt they were even aware that I was sitting there.  My heart went out to this woman - I hurt with her - because I knew what she was going through.  You see, my son James, also has ADHD.  And we discovered this when James started 1st grade.  It was a very hard road for James and for his parents.  Lots of struggles that we went through over the years - but, I am happy to say that James finished with a Global Supply Chain Management degree from Texas A&M with an emphasis in Finance.  James has done well and he learned how to manage his life and to make the most of it.  During those first years with James, I did a lot of research on ADHD.

So, when I saw David and Tonya leaving the gym - I got up from the steps that I was sitting on and for some reason, felt very compelled to give this lady some words of encouragement.  So, I did.  I turned around and told her that I too was a mother with a son that had been diagnosed with ADHD and that I wanted her to know I understood what she was going through.  And if there was one thing I could tell her, it would be to give him a lot of attention and love.  This lady thanked me and I turned around and left.

About a week later, I was again waiting on David and Tonya and this time - I waited out in the parking lot away from the front steps of the gym.  I was sitting on a curb by the parking lot with my back to the gym.  I heard this voice behind me - asking how I was doing - and I turned around - and it was this mother.  Her name is Jennifer.  We talked for a while about everything.  She started telling me what she was considering doing with her son and I started telling her what I had done.  And that was that - instant friendship was made.

One day, I don't remember the exact conversation - but, she said something about church or something and I looked at her and asked "Are you a Christian?"  She said yes and then I realized how come we were both so instantly connected to each other.  I realized that God had put us together.  Isn't it amazing how he works in our lives, when we are the least expecting it?

Around Christmas time last year - 2010, Jennifer asked me one day if I was interested in going to a very special event that happened in Barbados on Christmas morning.  I was ecstatic.  Yes, of course, I was interested.  To do something that was a true custom in Barbados and wasn't connected to the tourism industry.  I love to experience the life, people, places and food of all the places that I have lived in the last 3 years.  I have learned so much through these experiences.

Jennifer, started building this event up to me every time I would see her at the gym.  She told me that I needed to have a hat!  Oh boy, for all of you that know me, I like to blend into a group and not stick out and be noticed.  I have never, ever worn a hat (except maybe when I was a child at Easter).  She told me I needed to wear a nice dress and to be prepared for something totally awesome.  She kept telling me this event was at the park.  I had no idea at the time, where she was talking about.  It was what they call Queens Park.  Jennifer told me that I would need to get up early - like at 5 am early on Christmas morning!  Yikes!  I knew that we were picking James and Ali up at the airport on Christmas Eve night at midnight and I knew by the time we got their bags and got home and got settled, we would not be in bed before at least 2 am.  But, I wanted to go so badly, that I was determined to do it.  I asked James, Gary, Ali and Alisha who would like to go with me - and Alisha said she would.

I had a dilemma though - I didn't have a hat!  I was mentioning this to one of my lady friends with my church small group time and she said she would loan Alisha and I two of her hats.  And that was that!  She loaned me a red one and Alisha a black one.  Jennifer said she would meet us at the front entrance to the Queens Park at some time - I actually can't remember when it was now - let's say 6:00.

I successfully found Queens Park and parked the car and was on time with Alisha and our hats!

Jennifer was right.  It was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before.  It was enchanting.  It was magical.  It was fun.  It was uplifting.  There was excitement and electricity in the air.  The Barbados Police Band was playing in the carousel.  The water fountain was beautiful and the grounds were well manicured.  And there were people coming into the park very nicely dressed - with their hats!  It reminded me of the olden days in the South where the ladies would come out with their hats on and the gentleman were walking by their sides.  (Gone With The Wind?) It was wonderful.  The police band played lots of Christmas music.

A mother strolled in with her daughters by her side, all smiles.  Adorable little girls with frilly dresses on and then the ribbons in their hair to match and the tiny little bracelets on their arms to match.  And their fathers carrying them so proudly.  Beautiful, stately women walking with gorgeous satin dresses.  Men, dressed in tuxedos - all different colors - and so very proud.  Whole families dressed in the same colors.  Everyone was happy.

I had asked Jennifer if I could bring a camera and take pictures.  She said "yes, of course."  I asked did she think people would mind if I took pictures of them and she said, "They WANT you to take pictures of them!"  So, I did.  I'm not a very good photographer.  Most of the pictures that I took - for some reason - were of peoples backs.  But, I hope you can get a feel for what the morning was like.

Jennifer invited Alisha and I to her home after we had strolled around in the park.  She served us several different kinds of delicious cakes and our first ever taste of a sorrel drink (which now is one of my favorites).  This is a custom in Barbados to have lots of cakes and sorrel made for people to come and go out of each other's homes.  Just fun and visiting all day long.  A week later, Jennifer invited Alisha and I to see a singing Christmas tree - no cameras were allowed - but, it was also just an awesome experience.  The church was packed with standing room only.  When I arrived at the church, I asked a gentleman outside if he could tell me where to enter the church.  He said, "I'll do better than that, I'll take you to a very special seating area."  He took us to the very front of the church!  The program had not only the singing Christmas tree but also dancing and drama.   Very well orchestrated.

I will forever have it in my memories of how God brought two friends together, if only for a season, to share in life and all of its ups and downs.  And how very fortunate I am to have been given this opportunity to sample Christmas morning traditions in another country far, far from my own.

THE HATS!
    

THE CHILDREN!

THE HAIR!

THE PEOPLES!

Sam

Saturday morning, Gary and I head back out to our favorite beach - Bottom Bay.  Forecast for the day was scattered showers, clearing as the day wore on.  A lot of times it will rain everywhere on the island, except on the east coast - where Bottom Bay is located.  So,we were hoping for a miracle of sunshine, but we didn't get it.  It stayed cloudy all day, but we still had a great time and ended up getting to experience something new.  It was quite different from the normal, and I have discovered that I enjoy differetness (new word I just made up).  I don't enjoy doing the same thing over and over.  We enjoyed just sitting in the chairs with the wind blowing on us from the ocean, eating our picnic lunch, talking about what we thought the future might look like for us, helping tourist take pictures of themselves on the beach, walking in the sand, etc.  When we were packing up to leave, Sam came up and asked us if we wanted to see a new beach that we had probably never seen before.  Sam is one of the local guys that hangs around the Bottom Bay area making money off the tourists.  He can climb a coconut tree in no time.  He sells jewelry, and as we were about to discover is also a tour guide on occasion.  We have talked with him many times in the past and so we felt comfortable letting him ride with us to this new beach.  Here is a picture of Sam walking on the beach at Bottom Bay and I was taking the picture from the cliff above.

So, Sam rode with us and showed us the way to another beach, and he was right - we had never been to this beach.  Truthfully, I'm surprised - because I thought Gary and I had found them all.  I don't think there would be any way that we would have found this beach on our own.  We had to go through pastures and go between houses, cows, and sheep.  But, there was a nice set of steps leading down to the beach - and folks, it was awesome!  It was low tide and there were shells everywhere.  I can not wait to go back and collect a bunch of them.  I want to make some shell Valentines, art work, and picture frames with these shells.  This is the first look at the beach after we walked down the stairs. Sam said that he comes down to this beach fairly often to bathe in the mornings.

Here is a picture of Sam and Gary:

We walked up on this pile of shells.  Sam said it is from people breaking open the conch shells to get the meat out of the shell and then the people leave the shells behind.

Up close picture of some coral and small sea shells lying all around

Here is an upclose view of a shallow pool where we could get into the water without fearing a wave crashing down upon us from the very harsh waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is some kind of critter that Sam said was really good to eat.  I can not remember the name he called it. But, yes, I would try it after it had been cooked if ever offered to me.

Age is just a number!

Here are some black bellied sheep that I passed on my way to the gym this morning.  Thought it could give you a little more flavor for this island that I currently live on.

There were actually 3 babies behind this mother

I titled this blog entry "Age is just a number" because my gym instructor said it in class today and it just sounded good to me.  He was actually trying to motivate the older ladies in the class that they could be just as fit as the younger ones and not to give up.  I really liked the expression.  I want to remember that one.  Another one he said a few weeks back was, "You have to keep working, ladies, you do not want any unwanted guests."  Everyone started laughing - unwanted guests meant extra fat in unwanted places.  :-0!

There is an agrafest this weekend being held at the Queen's Park - where the local animals will be on display as well as a lot of good vegetables/fruits from around the island.  I would like to scope out the vegi's and fruits - but, I don't really understand the need to go see more sheep and cows.  Do you?  

One last thing I will mention today is from a conversation at my Tuesday morning ladies bible study.  There were two ladies referring to their childhood days.  One of the ladies grew up in Barbados and the other one grew up in St. Lucia.  They were laughing about the fact that towards the end of the summer, before they could go back to school, they had to take senna in order to clean out their bowels really good.  And the one from Barbados had to also drink some type of chip that was put into water - said it tasted awful - but was to get rid of any worms.  They were laughing about it - but could never really understand why they had to clean out their bowels really good before they could go to school.  Interesting isnt' it?  

Low Tide

Low tide is a good thing.  I have finally found a website that accurately posts what times the tide will be low each day.   We went back to Harris Smith Bay/Beach on Saturday when it was low tide.  This was such a good thing, because I was able to find many, many colorful sea shells!  I want to collect these shells in order to make gifts such as valentines or picture frames.  I have just gotten this bright idea - and we may be leaving in May, so I need to start collecting them!  The problem is - that there are only certain beaches where you can find the shells. I think it has to do with the reefs that are off the coastline.  But, Harris Smith has some great sea shells.  The picture above was taken at low tide - you can see all the brown coral in the foreground - that coral is not visible at high tide.

Most all of the shells that I was finding were small shells, but as I was returning from the beach - walking with my feet right at the edge of the cool splashing water - out of no where this shell just landed right in front of me - it was my gift from the sea.  It is the biggest one I have ever seen and it is perfect - no chips or broken parts.  It is my treasure and I just wanted to share it with you:

This is a small shell that Alisha and I find when we go to Port St. Charles on the west coast.  I am hoping to find enough of them to make her a bracelet (shh, don't tell her :-)).









Back to Harris Beach, anyway to my surprise, we also had some company at the beach this last Saturday.  This was the first time that Gary and I had visited this beach during a low tide, but there were four other Bajans there.  A husband and wife were collecting sea eggs and sand roaches.  Both of which are used as fishing bait.  They were very proud of what they had caught that morning and were very happy to show me their finds.  Two other older ladies were walking towards me with buckets as well - I thought maybe they had more sea eggs, but no - they had mussels and clams - one of them described to me what she was going to do with those mussels.  She was so happy with her catch - you could just see her eyes dancing - she was also toothless!  She was so pretty to me and she explained to me how she was going to boil them and then she made some special pickled relish to go with them.  Yes, I bet that was a fine meal indeed - no tourist will ever get that sampling of food on this island - can not be found in the hotels or markets.  I really enjoy anytime that I can get into the country side and talk with the real people of the island - they are very lovely, special people.

This is a rare shell that I have only found 3 of so far - but, it is purple!













This is the typical shells that I am finding at Harris Beach, but they should work very well on picture frames and some valentines.








Well, the tide started rising and the rain came down - so, we left Harris Beach and went next door to Bottom Bay to spend the rest of the afternoon.  Turned out to be a great day.

I will make a side note about one particular local Bajan that is always at Bottom Bay - Gary and I have nicknamed him Grouch.  He seems to always be in a bad mood.  But, he also seems to be the owner of the beach chairs that are down at the bottom of this bay.  He offers the use of these beach chairs for 20.00 BBD (10.00 USD) which we always gladly pay him.  It is his way of earning an income.  But, funny enough on Saturday, Grouch was at the top of the cliff overlooking Bottom Bay, and he was giving the what for to someone standing at the bottom.  And the tirade went on and on and on, I didn't think he was ever going to stop yelling.  Something really bothered him that was for sure.

Gary and I had a good laugh as well - watching some newbies to the island - trying to get into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  There is a specific way that a person can make it past the wake and into the ocean waters, but just walking in and bracing for the onslaught of waves - is not that way!  There were 6 of them - they looked like Southern Americans (you'll have to ask me offline - why I think that) and they marched down into the water.  Two of them crashed immediately and after being rolled over and over with the waves that are harsh and the sand going everywhere - they crept back up to the beach and didn't return.  The other four braved it a while longer, and I'm sorry to say that we laughed at them - but, it was quite funny - because we knew exactly what was going to happen to them before hand.

One last note for today.  I went this morning to my morning workout class and was hugged by one of the ladies - Sidi.  I can not tell you the feeling of gratitude that came over me for getting that hug.  So, if anyone is out there that is single and feels like you need affection from a spouse - let me tell you, having gull friends is quite nice as well!  Have a good day, my friends!  Love, Vickie

Porter's House

The Barbados National Trust had an open house today of the Porter's Great Home.  I met Susan and her mother Trudy - and we went to visit this great home.  I really was not impressed with the house itself.   I was impressed with the gardens around the house, though.  It had a chapel and a swimming pool area which were both beautiful.  It also had a gazebo that was built high on a hill with many steps to walk up to get to it.  In the picture below are Trudy and I - you might can see the gazebo in the distance.  It was roped off for no one to climb up to it - but, I can only imagine what the view looked like from that gazebo, since it was so high up!

The traffic was terrible today around the island.  It makes me want to give up driving and just stay at home.  Very frustrating to just sit and sit in traffic that is not moving.  I heard two different people state that they believe the traffic problems were because of the early morning rain.  I, personally feel that the government should quickly intervene and fix this problem - otherwise, the island is going to find itself in a traffic gridlock.  

One final note on the Porter's House - it reminded me so much of the home that Gary and I remodeled on 23rd avenue in Meridian, MS - old home, first glance is awesome, but wouldn't want to live there!  :-)

PS -  A lot of these older homes (plantations) have the big, magnificent palm trees lining the driveways up to their dwelling place.  Absolutely beautiful/stunning in appearance.  

Garfield Sobers Complex

Gary and I are finding it difficult to travel by car these days to get him to work!  This island has a huge problem with traffic control and flow.  Nor do they have a bus system that is effective.  I wanted to get to Garfield Sobers Sports Complex by 9 am for a workout class - and Gary needed to be at work.  We got stuck in traffic and were near the Sports Complex at 8:50 - but hadn't even gotten half way to the way to his work, much less getting me back over to the Sports Complex in time.  Gary suggested that he drop me off at the complex and that I could take a taxi back home.  I thought that was a great idea!

After the workout, I asked a lady that worked there if there was a way to catch a bus back to Maxwell Beach.  She said, "Yes, just walk a few on the ABC highway and when you get to Top Rock, I could catch a bus the rest of the way."  So, that is what I did.  It really didn't hurt to walk and the sun felt good, but it ended up taking me a good 30 minutes to walk at 10:00 am - so the sun was getting hot, I didn't have on sun screen or lip screen.   But, I did make it to Top Rock and I think I will start doing this each time instead of me keeping the car.  It makes sense.  But, next time I will pack an umbrella, sun screen and lip screen for the trip.  I did get to stop and buy a quart of fresh coconut water - as I passed by the coconuters.  (That's what I call them.)

The Blue Busses of Death

This is what Gary and I have affectionately started calling the buses that drive around the island.  They are huge buses and they are blue - and they don't seem to mind taking up more than their fair share of the road.

We have avoided using these buses for the past year that we have lived here.  I don't know why, actually!  If you look back at Gary's and my backgrounds - where we were raised in rural Mississippi - I in Tupelo and Gary in Meridian.  We didn't ever use a bus back then.  In fact, there were no bus routes (and still aren't) in our country settings.  If we wanted to go - "to town" - we drove our car to town.

In 2008, when we moved to an apartment in Stockholm, Sweden - we were suddenly placed in a metroplex with no car.  We were fortunate enough to live right by a train/bus/subway terminal - and we literally could walk a few hundred feet and catch any of the three.  We marveled at how accurate the Swedes were.  If the bus schedule stated it would be there at 1:00 pm - it would be!  Very punctual and organized.  But, of course - the people wouldn't look at you in Sweden.  Everyone was either listening to their MP3 players or reading something - but, never - no never - would they look you in the eyes!

Now, advance forward to the year 2010 and we are now living in Barbados.  Barbados does have bus transport - but there really isn't a set schedule and the people are very, very friendly.

Now, saying all that - I have found myself this week in a predictament.  We have only one rental car here on the island, which most of the time is OK, since I no longer work outside the home.  But, this week - I was to be in a golf clinic every day in the afternoons - and Gary wanted to drive to the golf club after he got off work to hit some balls at the driving range - and then he and I could ride home together.  So, I needed to get a ride to the golf club everyday.  If I took a taxi, it would have cost me at least 15.00 US dollars a day, so I decided to try out these blue buses of death.

The first time that I went to the bus stop - and a blue bus came up with a sign that stated Fairy Valley - so, I asked the bus driver if this would take me to the Barbados Golf Club - he said yes - I got on the bus - and arrived within 10 minutes at the golf club.  No problem.

The next day, I went to the bus stop - and a yellow bus came up with a sign that stated Sam Lords Castle - so, I asked the bus driver if this would take me to the Barbados Golf Club - he said yes - I got on the bus - and arrived within 5 minutes at the golf club.  No problem, this is a piece of cake!

So, on the next day - now totally confident that I knew how to ride these buses, I went to the bus stop - and a blue bus comes up with Fairy Valley on it.  Well, I acted really cool - and stepped on board and paid my fair and sat down like I did this all the time.  Notice that I didn't ask the bus driver if it was going to the golf club!  Life suddenly took a turn for the worst, when at Oistens, the driver should have turned left at the Y, but instead he went right!!!  Oh no!!!  I asked some people sitting around me and turns out that this bus would EVENTUALLY get to the golf club - in about an hour!!!  It was going the opposite direction on Fairy Valley.

OK, in a situation like this - you can either get all bent out of shape or just sit back and relax and laugh about it.  I chose to laugh about it.  It really turned out to be a great adventure.  It was fun to watch all the people get on and off the bus.  The bus driver stopped at one house so that Mary Sue could run in and tell her auntie so and so.  And then at another place, he stopped to let Geraldine stop and give a cake to Matty Lou.  Getting the picture?  :-)

I was an hour late getting to the golf lesson - they went on without me - but, I wouldn't trade that adventure in for the right bus if I had to do it over again.

Redland Farms

Yesterday I went to a place on the island called Redland Farms.  Someone had told me that you could get fresh vegetables and fruits there and that they were a lot cheaper than the supermarkets.  So, I looked up the number in the phone book - called them - asked for directions.  OK, here are the directions I received,"up ABC highway to the Clyde Walker Roundabout, take a right turn there and then take the next right turn, and then go straight a ways, then go through the next roundabout, then go straight some more and when you get to the W - go straight through and then the Farm is about 1500 meters on down - can't miss it!"

Well, folks - I got there!  I am actually proud of myself for doing this.  I actually didn't get lost until the W and that was because they failed to tell me at one fork in the road that I was to stay right towards Bathsheba.  I am beginning to get the hang of directions around here.  When they say follow through - it means go straight, or to go right when there is a decision to make.  :-)

Anyway, I got to this Redland Farms - it was absolutely beautiful there.  It is in St. John parish.  It is in the countryside - with big palm trees and other large trees that have been there for a long time.  I would love to be able to tour that facility sometime.  There was a shop that said "Redland Shop Store" - so, I figured that was where I needed to go into to get the vegetables.

It turns out this place only sells what is grown by their farm or on the island.  I learned

tomatoes don't grow in the rainy season

Hackleton's cliff

Just another Monday

There is some type of tropical depression that is hovering over Barbados right now.  We had rain ALL last week and this weekend - and it is still raining today!  Actually, Gary called this morning, after he had arrived at work - stating that the schools are closed today because of this rain.  That might sound unusual to someone who lives in the United States, but it makes perfect sense to me.  This island has a big serious problem right now with drainage systems.  So, there are lots of places where people's cars get stalled out.

Annette

I have made a new friend here on the island, her name is Annette.  She was born in Guyana, but grew up in England.  She met her husband - Devron - in England.  Devron has now retired and moved back to his homeland of Barbados.  So, therefore, Annette is now living in Barbados as well.  I met Annette while visiting with Sharon Bharti.  Sharon is an expat from Canada who is living here in Barbados for the next five years.  Sharon is here with her mate - Tom - who works for the Royal Bank of Canada.  I met Sharon while taking a golf lesson. Hopefully, that is clearer than mud.  Anyway, the point is - that here we are - three friends from different parts of the world and different backgrounds - but, we have formed this friendship that is good.  We meet at each other's homes usually once a week and just sit and talk.  Might sound boring to some, but it is quite fun, actually.

Annette offered to take me around the island today to show me places good for buying food.  We went to Cheapside, Dora's, fish market, and Hotel Supply.

Neighborness!

Where do I start with trying to describe what it was like to go through a hurricane on a small island?  This a long story, so if you tire of reading, please go to the end and read about neighborness and there is a short video in the middle.

Well, it all started last Friday, October 29th, 2010.  Even though I no longer work outside the home, I rarely watch TV or listen to any type of news.  Therefore, I was not aware of any hurricane warnings.  (I found out later that there were no warnings here on the island until much later in the evening.  Hotel managers that keep up with the weather knew about it, but most of the islanders just thought they were in for a bad rain storm.) But, one of the ladies that works here at my apartment came by and was talking with me and told me that the owners had asked her to move in all the outside patio furniture and to also place towels under all the apartment glass doors.  She said that they said there was a storm a coming.  Then, Gary (who was in Jamaica on a job assignment) called me and said that there was a tropical storm Tomas (not Thomas) which looked to be headed straight at Barbados and would arrive that evening.  Gary said that he was going ahead and flying home that night - but that he would call me when he reached Miami for flight updates.  I really felt like his flight from Miami to Barbados would be cancelled and he would end up staying in Miami for the weekend. I asked him to just stay in Jamaica instead of flying into the storm - but, he didn't listen to me.

So, I brought in all my stuff from off the veranda and dug in the closet for my hurricane preparedness items - lantern, candles, matches, battery operated radio, water, and nonperishable food.  Gary's flight was to arrive around 10:00 pm.  I had a thought that I should go pick up some ice and put it in my cooler, but I decided against doing this.  The TV was posting an emergency warning at the bottom of the screen stating, "Ship boat operators need to secure their vessels or seek safe harbor."  "Weather bulletin:  Barbados is now under a tropical storm warning." "Chief Fisheries Officer Stephen Willoughby advises all ship boat operators to secure their vessels."

Gary called me when he got to Miami and unbelievably, the flight was boarding and they were coming on to Barbados.  I didn't think to check online for any flight delays, I just drove to the airport around 10 pm.  I was actually a little worried about getting there because it had already started raining - but, I knew Gary wanted to see me pick him up - so, I braved it and went on.  Much to my dismay, when I arrived there at the airport, the flight had been delayed by 30 minutes.

The air was very cool.  It was the first time since I had been on the island that I was actually chilled.  That should have been a clue.  Right about the time that the plane was to land, the wind really picked up and started blowing sideways - to the point that everyone was getting up and moving towards the side walls to stand.  (The Grantley Adams Airport is open air seating for flight arrivals.  Which is usually very nice to sit and take in the island breezes.)  I was a little worried at that point for Gary's safety.

But, there he was - smiling at me - as he walked through those glass doors.  He had made it safe and sound.  He later told me that the stewardess had told him that about half way through the flight, the ground control had given the pilot a choice on whether to continue on to Barbados or to turn back to Miami.  I find this a very interesting fact - that American Airlines would put this decision solely on the pilot?  Really?  Gary noted that when they landed, it was a different approach than normal landings, that the pilot did an outstanding job - he gunned the engines, did a nose dive , and then broke hard when the first wheels touched the runway.  The stewardess also told Gary that the crew was supposed to stay the weekend in Barbados, but they had been told to fly back out immediately!  Now I understand why there were no planes at the airport when the storm moved through.

That night or rather very early morning, I woke up around 2:00 am and there was a very loud wind noise that was coming from the front of our apartments.  I got up to check it out.  Everything looked in place, but decided it wasn't a really good idea for me to be standing right in front of those windows.  I was awakened again with a loud thump against our apartment walls - it made me jump straight up in the bed.  At that point, it was about 5:30 am and I decided to get on up - I knew it would be useless for me to try to sleep.  The wind had shifted now - and was now coming in through the veranda sliding glass doors.  That is when I realized because of the shift in wind direction, that the eye had now passed over us - we were on the backside of the storm.  Water started coming in under the glass doors - both in the den and our master bedroom.  I took every beach towel that we owned and put around these doors to keep the water from coming on into the apartment.

We couldn't dare walk outside on the veranda - the wind was ferocious.  My swinging hammock chair was swinging so hard, it was touching the ceiling.  The gutters on the side of our veranda tore off and fell to the pool below.  We could see the ocean as the dawn was breaking, it was very angry.  The waves were not really high, but there were tons of them!  It looked like a sea of waves - white foam everywhere.  Gary went and looked out the front window - and said that the roof of a house across the street was lifting up and down.  There was a downed coconut tree across the street.  Around 6:30am Saturday morning, we lost power.  It was as Murphy's Law goes - unfortunate, because Gary had just gotten some bacon out of the freezer and was just about to warm it up in the microwave!  He ended up having cold cereal instead.  A few months back, there had been a lot of rain on the island and that had caused several water mains to break and a lot of people had been without water for days.  So, when the power went off, Gary and I rushed to fill the mop sink up with water, in case the water was about to go out as well.  It was hot and stuffy in the apartment - no air conditioning, no windows/doors could be opened.  The sound/roar was very loud - a lot like a freight train that kept on passing by - and kept on - and kept on.  Wind was the major factor in this storm, there was no thunder or lightning.  

I think the worst of the wind had  subsided around 11:00am, although it continued to rain all the rest of the day and night.  If you looked out at the ocean, what would normally have been pretty blue skies and fluffy white clouds, was nothing but grey - all grey.  Very dismal.  So, lunch time arrives and we are hungry - we have vienna sausage and crackers.  I had text James and asked him to Google how long food will keep in a refrigerator/freezer - he text back 4 and 24 hours.  So, even though Gary and I would have liked a little pepper sauce on that sausage, we didn't dare open our refrigerator door.  Which brings me to the next dilemma - Gary wanted ice for his drinks - and we couldn't open the freezer door.  Now I know why I had the thought of getting crushed ice the night before.  When will I ever start listening to those thoughts in my head!

Now, to the good part of this story:  neighborness!  I turned on the battery operated radio - and it was so wonderful to hear voices from the island.  We learned that the island was in a complete shutdown - NO emergency vehicles/crew were to be operating!  (Found out later, that a poor lady in St. Lucy parish was having a baby and no ambulance would come to pick her up.)  But, over the next 12 hours, I listened to all the news - from authorities, TV announcers, radio operators and ordinary people - and I will have to say - I wouldn't take anything for this listening time.  I wrote down a lot of things that were said and will share some of it with you now:

"Tomas is now 20 miles south of the island.  You are on your own for a little while, no emergency services at this time."
"Hurricane Warning!  12.9N 59.5W less than 20 miles south of island moving 15 miles per hour."
"Center is passing.  70 miles per hour."
"Tomas is 140 miles spread from the eye."
"Tides are 1 to 3 ft. above normal tide level."
"Stay inside.  Repeat stay inside."
"Mango tree down, neighbors roof peeled back like a tin can."
"Don't use any water unless necessary."
"People are getting on the streets to sight see and it is still dangerous."
"Family of 5 lost their home.  They need food."
"Power lines are on the roads everywhere!"
"Large pear tree down."
"Large breadfruit tree down." (Breadfruit trees seemed to fare the worst in this storm.)
"12 children/4 adults in one house - roof came off"
"St. Lucy - eerily feeling."
"Very dark."
"Medical interventions first."
"Last system like this was in 1955 - Hurricane Janet."
"Tomas is the 19th storm of 2010."
"75/85% of island power is out."
"The most vulnerable people are the ones that get hurt the most."
"St. Phillip is broken in half."
"American Airlines all flights in and out have been cancelled until tomorrow morning."
"14 Cheffettes closed."  (These are the fast food restaurants on the island."
"Power pole is broken and there are sparks coming out and it's catching on fire."
"All Clear given to buses at 3:00pm"
"Anything that you can do to help your neighbor, please do."
"My sister, someone please help her - she is living alone and I can not get to her, she has problem with her feet and her house is getting water.  Please help."
"St. Phillip still high winds."
"St. Andrew has no electricity, no water, no phones."
"Someone help - house is slowly crumbling in on Deighton Rd, St. Michael."
"Try to keep the people calm whose houses have fallen."
"Keith Goddard - Grantly Airport - transmission tower has been damaged/down"
"No one should be coming to the airport."
"Psalm 46 was quoted on the air:  God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Be still and know that I am God."  (I can not describe the feeling of peace that came over me while this gentle spoken pastor said these words on the air.)
"Courtney Soloman - people are confused with the all clear message."
"Hardest hit areas appear to be St. George, St. Philip, St. Michael, and St. Lucy."
"Just passed Golden Ridge and 3 men are out there in the pouring rain, hammering down the roof."
"Power company - about 1/4 of our men are out working."
"QEH Hospital is fully functional, but have shut down the CT Scan and have a shortage of staff."
"People that have to use insulin, please place the medicine in cool tap water."


I listened to this radio all afternoon and evening - listened to people calling in and stating where they or their neighbor lived and what type help was needed - and the neat thing was that everyone on the island was listening to this same thing - and when someone would call for help on Deighton Road - I knew that the listeners in that area would immediately run out and find this person/persons in need and give them the help they needed.  It was ingenious!  It was so much better than emergency crews trying to get to everyone.  It was brilliant.  Neighborness - everywhere!  Men were working in the pouring rain helping their neighbors with their homes.  Men were out in the streets - with their chain saws - helping get the big trees out of the way so that the emergency personnel could get through.  Food was shared, shoulders were offered to cry on, hugs were given, scripture was quoted, and lives were saved.

In the end, the real drama to behold on this island was the neighborness.  Man, am I ever going to miss this place!

 

Moss Doesn't Grow on a Rolling Stone

I have been trying to capture a full moon rising over the ocean now for over 6 months.  I can just imagine the beauty and glory of seeing this huge orange/red moon as it starts peeking over the edge of the ocean's water.  I can remember growing up in Tupelo, MS - the times when there would be that harvest moon - as it would be huge and red and making it's appearance in the night skies.  Well, this last Friday - Gary was flying through Miami to get back home and I was here in Barbados - when the full moon rose.  Friday, October 22nd, 2010.  I made a special effort to get clearance from the people at The Crane resort, so that I could walk to the edge of their cliff.  I waited in anticipation for this full moon - there were not many clouds in the sky, so I just knew this was the night!  But, at 5:14 when the moon was supposed to rise, I didn't see any great red harvest moon - I didn't see anything!  Some people came up and were curious as to what I was doing with the camera, when I told them, they and I both thought I had gotten the time wrong.  But, then - I turned back around to the eastern sky - and there it was - just this little bitty ole white full moon!  What a disappointment.   Then, to top everything off - Gary saw the moon I wanted to see - inside his plane in Miami!  He said it was huge and red and everyone was gasping and talking about it.  Hummmmmm.

I was relaying this story this morning to a high school friend of mine and how I was running out of time to capture this event and she commented, "Moss Won't Grow on a Rolling Stone"  I had never heard this expression before.  I googled it and found this document which lists all these different connotations.  I realized many of these connotations fit my life right now - some I want to claim and others I'd rather not.  But, you know how you hear sometimes an expression and you like it - this one I like. It fits me and my life right now.  We are constantly moving, but I am making friends wherever I go - hopefully life long friends - friends that I will never forget - and hope they will not forget me.  I might miss the harvest moon in Barbados, but I will have friends for a lifetime.

Home doorway

The apartment building finally approved our hanging a wall plaque outside our front door.  It may sound stupid to some, but it helps me to accept that this apartment is my home for now.  I have started back to a fitness gym where there is a class that meets 3 times a week - and is made up of all age group women from really young (early 20's) on up to probably in their 70's.  I really, really enjoy this class and this great group of women.  They work us hard for that one hour - but, all of us laugh at ourselves and each other.  It is so much fun!  It is great therapy for me.  I have met some really good friends there - that I know I will carry with me for a lifetime - no matter where I live in this world of ours.  They try to help me learn some of the island dance moves - that go along with their soca music.  I'm glad no one has video taped this event!  :-)   Life is good, life is short - enjoy it my friends!  Happy Monday!

Hey, that's our home down there!

I know I need to write more in this blog - but, I'm feeling the writer's block.  But, in case you are interested in what our home looks like from a jet - here it is.  It is the 5 story building with the red roof - right on the beach.  I copied this picture from my friend - Ann Holmes' facebook album.  (She said that I could, honestly!)  She and Ian came to visit Barbados about 3 weeks ago and we really enjoyed getting to be with our friends - lots of good times eating, snorkeling and playing canasta.  I don't know how she was able to get this great shot of the apartment, but thankful that she did.  It is a sunny day here today - thank heavens, it has been raining most of the time for the past two weeks.

Daring water rescue.flv

There is some type of tropical depression that is hovering over Barbados right now.  We had rain ALL last week and this weekend - and it is still raining today!  Actually, Gary called this morning, after he had arrived at work - stating that the schools are closed today because of this rain.  That might sound unusual to someone who lives in the United States, but it makes perfect sense to me.  This island has a big, serious problem right now with their drainage systems.  So, there are lots of places where people's cars get stalled out.

I am very conscious of other people that are either walking or standing by the side of the roads now - especially right after a rain or while it is raining.  What I mean by that is that there are many, many people that walk on the streets here and many, many people have to wait at bus stands for the next bus.  Lots of these bus stands are right by the road and of course the sidewalks are.  So, if you drive by there and do not move to the center of the road - they will get splashed or worse yet - soaked.  Of course, with everyone trying to dodge all the water puddles in the roads, the traffic slows down considerably - sometimes to a halt!

I wish I knew more people on the island - because I would gladly stop and offer a ride to the people, if I knew them.

March to the Sea - Hawksbill Sea Turtles

I was able to mark something off my bucket list tonight - watching little sea turtles march to the sea!   It was such an awesome sight.  Gary called me this afternoon and asked would I like to see them release the turtles to the sea - and of course I said yes!  They were going to release them at 6:30 pm on the west coast - after the sunset.  They like to release them at night to lessen the chance of the turtles being eaten by crabs and birds.  Only 1 in 1000 hatchings make it to adulthood!  

The reason we were able to see this was because these little turtles hatched from their nest today and thinking that the lights at a nearby hotel were the sun/moon - they headed towards the lights.  The hotel staff diligently picked up around 100 turtles during the day and put them in this box for release later on at night.  

The hawksbill sea turtle gets its name because it's head is shaped like the bill of a bird.  It takes 25 years for these little turtles to reach adulthood.  They mostly feed on sponges around the reefs off of tropical islands where they can go ashore and lay their eggs.  The nest usually takes around 60 days to hatch.  The nest is under the ground, covered in sand.  When the turtles hatch, they use their flippers to move the sand out of the way, the sand starts shifting downward and they gradually move themselves to the top.  This is a picture of our guide for this event - his name is Tom.  He flew into Barbados about 2 weeks ago for this very purpose.  He said that most of the hatchings occur between May and September.  

What an awesome experience.  It was so neat seeing these little creatures head for the sea.  Because they follow a light - Tom used his torch (better known as a flashlight to us Americans) - and he stood right at the edge of the water - so that the turtles would follow his light into the sea. He asked us to be very still and not move our feet and if we did need to move, to shuffle our feet to move in the sand.