A true friend for life🙏.

The Miracle of Friendship by Mayo Angelo.

A Miracle called friendship Dwells within the heart

You don't know how it happens Or when it gets it's start

But the happiness it brings you, Always gives a special lift

Then you realize that friendship Is one of God's most precious gifts!

It was my special blessing and precious gift from God to have had Ann Marie Hinds as a friend, for as I often tell everyone, she virtually saved my life.

So while her death from her point of view was a great relief, for me, her friends and family, it's a great loss. 

 For if there was ever an irreplaceable human being, it was my late Guyanese sister Ann-Marie Hinds nee Defreitas.

I first met Ann Marie around thirty five years ago when she and her young children accompanied her then husband Bill, who was transferred from Guyana to Jamaica, to head a division of the corporate office of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. (CIBC).

Ann Marie with one of her twin boys, Gino and I in November 2024.

 They had three very young children (including twin boys) but when the British High Commission in Jamaica needed someone who spoke English and Portuguese urgently to fulfill a temporary assignment,  they prevailed on her to assist them as she had lived for years in Brazil.

 However what should have been a temporary role there soon evolved into permanent employment and she spent quite a few years working there and living very nearby.

With Shadrach (partly hidden) on same occasion.

The Miracle of her importance to our lives was played out in July 1995 when Thor, my only son, who had just fathered his son Shadrach, was murdered.

If you have never trod that path, the effect of such an occurrence can never be understood.

For during that agonizing period of tragedy and shock, neither Michelle (Shadrach mom) nor I were capable of doing anything.

 And I mean anything, much less tending to the needs of a six week old baby.

But it was during period that God's special gift to us stepped in. For every afternoon after work, Ann Marie would drive past her own home without stopping, to head straight to our home, to bathe, feed and tend to our new born.

 I don't recall how many days or weeks she continued that absolutely essential act of mercy and goodness, but the blessings of having such a friend when we most needed it, can never be forgotten or repaid.

We were so happy to see her on Thanksgiving Day 2024.

As the years went by and some memories of that tragedy faded, our friendship grew stronger and when she returned to Guyana, I went and spent three wonderful weeks there with her.

But I have never been able to come even close to repaying her for the critical, life-saving role she played in our lives when we needed it most.

It was therefore especially devastating when around eighteen months ago, she visited Florida and during her time here, got ill and and was diagnosed with cancer. 

Guyana has a very advanced cancer treatment center, so she returned home and had to have two operations and undergo painful and debilitating bouts of chemotherapy.

 I was however overjoyed when she called in November 2024 to say she was feeling a little better, so was coming to Florida to again see her family and spend a few weeks with me.

It was during that visit that she started to feel unbearable pain and when we went to the ER, they discovered that the evil disease had gone into her liver. 

But the woman of courage that Ann Marie was, decided to accept her pending death, for as far as she was concerned, the treatment was worse than the disease.

(L) granddaughter Rayane, (R) daughter Anjeta.

If you have ever felt you owed someone your life but are unable to do anything to help them in their time of suffering, you may begin to understand how inadequate and useless I have felt during the months of her intensive pain and suffering.

For the agonizing pain she bravely confronted for months on end, was excruciating and heart-wrenching.

Yes, now her pain is finally gone but the impact she had on our lives will forever live on in our hearts.

Till we meet again, walk good mi fren.😥.

Much better!

 The 4th July Independence celebration was well organized as usual.

 In other words, things are back to normal in Tamarac, after the confusion that reigned 6 days before with the Caribbean Heritage celebrations at the same venue. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/06/such-confusion.html).

Bravo Tamarac City👏.

So, as usual, we enjoyed the music provided by VAM Band, food from the trucks and camaraderie.

I was ready for the rain😊

And the little rain that came was welcomed by those who came prepared, as it cooled down the place. 

The Mayor got soaked but didn't miss a beat😁

Carol, Mayor Gomez, Joan 

Donna, our Trini friend dropped in too😊

VAM band worked up the crowd

Then it was time for fireworks.

Last year, they had a drone show and it was good, but the child in me prefers good, old-fashioned fireworks!

Thank you Tamarac, we love and appreciate these regular music sessions at the Sports Complex, when the organization is seamless.

Such confusion!

I have been attending music festivals organized by the city of Tamarac for almost a decade now, (thankfully., we have a personable, music-loving Mayor here!). However, I have never seen one that was delivered with such confusion as Yard on the Grass on June 28, 2025, featuring Morgan Heritage.

Normally, these are free events and you simply park at the Recreation Center or City Hall, catch a shuttle bus and enjoy an entertaining evening. 

Not this one. This was born in total confusion.

For to begin, although it was a free event, tickets had to be obtained from Eventbrite, which kept insisting weeks before the event that the tickets were "sold out."

However, simultaneously with that false claim, Tamarac City was disturbing posters all over the city inviting the public to attend the supposedly sold out event?

 Then to add insult to injury, days before the event, ads appeared on Facebook  offering VIP tickets for a whopping $250!

Despite the mixed messages, a reasonable crowd turned out, but I am convinced far more people would have attended and had an enjoyable afternoon, had it not been the total confusion outlined above. (I know lots of people who did not attend as they told me it was sold out long ago😡.)

Anyway, the Grammy winning group Morgan Heritage saved the day.

And there was a short surprise input by long time reggae singer Noddy Virtue of Rebel in me fame.

Noddy Virtue

Overall it was a good evening of entertainment, good food and camaraderie, only spoiled by the MC Miss Kitty, who would not stop interrupting DJ Mighty Mike with her constant, meaningless chatter, during the musical entertainment preceding the main event!

Morgan Heritage takes the stage

After introducing the appreciative crowd to the latest recruits to the super-talented family Morgan Heritage group, his son and the son of the late member Peter Morgan, Gramps Morgan brought the event to a wonderful close with his monster hit People Like You:

  https://youtu.be/F727iU7jPOE?si=mfUPrruzyK8mD51Z.

Evening time

 It's almost the eve of the Tallawah Mento Band and the Jamaican Folk Review's  historic trip to Ghana to compete in Panafest 2025. 

The taste they gave attendees at the Lauderdale Performing Arts Center was more like a bellyful.

A bellyful of music, laughs, dance,  kumina and happinesses!

Panafest (the Pan African Festival of Arts and Culture), is a biennial event established in Ghana in 1992 to unite Africans in the diaspora and on the continent and celebrate their resilience and African identity. 

Colin Smith, founder of Tallawah Mento Band and a cultural icon in his own right, explains the concept.

Kumina time

The talented cast

Panafest was the brainchild of the late, great Pan Africanist play right/author,  Efua Sutherland.

It has become a landmark festival in Ghana that gives Africans an opportunity to learn from each other wherever they are .

 This years theme is "Ensuring the African Kinship: Our Essence, Our Well-being, Our Prosperity."

Significantly, this is the first time a folkloric Jamaican entry will be involved in this auspicious,  two weeks event. 

 It took the Louise Bennett Coverly Heritage Council to make it happen.

If the taste we in Florida got is anything to go by, our entry will make a huge impact on the minds of Africans at home and abroad. It traces our progress through music and dance, from emancipation to victory.

 The performance also highlighted the contribution of world renowned artists such as Peter Tosh. Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and the foot stomping energy of kumina music and dance, in uplifting the souls of the once downtrodden people. 

We look forward to our particants  returning home with many medals for this creative, entertaining and educational performance.

Although the crowd of attendees was enthusiastic and participated in song and dance, in my book the numbers fell short of expectation for this important fund-raising event, especially in Florida where so many Jamaicans reside.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Every year we have an event at a Tamarac park to mark the day and 2025 wasn't any different.

This year the celebration took place on the 14th June at the Tamarac sports complex.

 There was a big difference this year though. 

It was in terms of the attendees.

I have never seen so few at this event and can only assume that this is as a result of how much ICE is harassing non-white people.😡

For their modus operandi is to harass, arrest and even assault anyone that is not white under the guise that they are " criminal undocumented immigrants". 

That's totally disgusting.

Despite the clear dangers, those of us who ignored the possibility of an ICE raid and the ensuing inconvenience, turned out and had a good time.

Music, poetry, dance and a nice variety of food trucks.

Sri Lanka versus Jamaica

Thanks to Prof. Damith Wickramanayake (Computer Science UTECH) and his wife, Sharlene, I just spent a delightful, entertaining, and educational three weeks in Sri Lanka.

Like Jamaica, Sri Lanka is an island nation and a former British colony (formerly known as Ceylon). It looks a lot like Jamaica, too, only much larger, lusher, more populated, and cleaner.

After travelling over much of the island on well-maintained, mostly pothole-free roads, using their cheap, reliable public transportation system the question that kept popping in my head was how come we in Jamaica can't get these basic things right?

Why is it so hard for us to even keep our tiny island clean?

It has to do with a lack of respect by our politicians for the people.  Keeping the environment clean for its citizens is a basic necessity!

Sri Lanka has twenty-two million people and is about five times the size of Jamaica, yet I only saw one place as dirty as most places in Jamaica. That was at the bus terminus in Anbalagoda, near Galle, where both local and city-to-city buses pick up and drop off their passengers.

You know how they keep their island clean? Simple. They pick up the refuse constantly, day and night, for on almost every road you travel, you run into vehicles working, be they small garbage trucks, tractor-drawn carts, and even three-wheel-drawn carts, all picking up and hauling away garbage.

So, if a third world country with seven times our population and about five times as much rainfall as we get can do that, what's stopping us?

And talking about rainfall, their water does not settle on the roads and create potholes, so why does ours? 

Sheer political corruption, for if the contractors we employed were professional instead of being mainly political hacks, they would be putting in proper drainage and building solid roads so we wouldn't be throwing away the billions we do and getting nothing but potholes in return.

The other basic thing I mentioned was how they move their twenty-two million people effectively, cheaply, and quickly. The transportation sector is highly subsidized to make sure their low-paid masses can get around easily and on time.

They use a combination of rail, private bus, cars, three-wheelers, bikes, public bus, taxis, ride-share and you don't wait for hours to move from any point to where you are going. 

They even have their own airline too and the service is excellent!

I have used them all, and the prices on the ground are ridiculously low.

Sri Lanka is not a wealthy country with mineral resources like bauxite. Their economy earns from manufacturing, remittances, exports (mainly tea and rubber), agriculture, and tourism. Their tourism arrivals are not even as high as ours, as in 2024, they had just over two million arrivals, whereas we had over three million.

 So, where is all our money going? Why can’t we see it in basics like good roads, proper transport, and a clean environment?

I have news for you, though. It wasn't always like this, for in 2022, being pushed to the brink because of mismanagement and political corruption, the people rose up and took action.

At that time, the GDP was revised down to a -7.3% growth rate, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. And inflation had climbed to 70% in what was described as a debt-ridden nation.

The people naturally blamed their political leader, President Gotabaya, and his cabinet for their economical malaise, took to the streets, and literally chased him out of town.

An interim government was formed, and in 2024, President Dissanayake, who campaigned on an anti-corruption, pro-poor platform, became president.

In 2024, Sri Lanka's GDP grew by 5.0%, marking a strong recovery from the 2022 crisis, according to Wikipedia.

 Sure, there are problems there as salaries are extremely low and poverty is pervasive. But things are extremely cheap.

I had been alerted by my generous host, Professor Damith, that things were extremely reasonable there, but had no idea how cheap they were until I got here! 

For example, I paid about J$ 50 for local bus fare on a government bus. Less than Ja$500 on a four-hour train trip. Ja $375 for a solid phone charge cord, 30 cents for a cup of coffee, and on and on.

It's surreal.

Cultural differences

Of course, things are not all hunky dory for despite Sri Lanka having had the first female prime minister in the world, (Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the international airport is named in her honour), I find women in my age group and even younger, reticent about being treated equally in the domestic environment. 

Shrinking violets, to put it mildly!

 However, I understand the younger generation is having none of that, so it’s changing rapidly and the escalating increase in the divorce rate seems to be bearing that out! (From 5% to 50% in the last few years, according to Professor Damith.)

Another big difference is that Sri Lankans are big organ donors. According to a senior surgeon with whom I was speaking, this is because Buddhists have a giving culture. So not only are they quick to donate some organs when they are alive, but a vast number have living wills authorizing their organs to be harvested when they die. He informed me that each year they reap so many eyes, that it’s Pakistanis who benefit most, as there is no need for so many in Sri Lanka!

I am still a bit puzzled about a characteristic I observed there, though, for in general, they appear to be quiet and peaceful people in their interactions with one another. In other words, when I travelled on crowded buses or trains, all was quiet. No boisterous shouting/cursing or loud music like at home.

 Yet they do not seem to have a problem with violent upheavals!

So, between 1983 and 2009, they had a long, brutal civil war, which I am told left over 130,000 people dead in its wake. And during the political upheaval in 2022, when the president was literally thrown out of office, many people were killed and wounded.

Could this be a perfect example of still waters running deep?

 RE food, See:

 https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/05/omg-im-allergic.html

 

 

 

 

 

Galle/ Dutch Fort.

I thought my last weekend in Sri Lanka would be a total washout, as it started to raining non-stop from Thursday.

 We planned to go to Galle,  in southwest Sri Lanka, about 71 miles from Colombo.

We left Colombo in the pouring rain early Friday morning and it rained all the way to our destination.

Then ta-da, as we arrived, it stopped raining and has been great ever since.😊.

My hosts Damith/Sharlene and I all stayed in nice little hotel in town called Blue Heaven. Later we had a grand time hanging out at Galle Fort with their friend Latsane.

Latsane, Joan, Sharlene, Damith 

This Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1588, is on the Indian Ocean.

In 1649 it was fortified by the Dutch and is today an important architectural heritage site controlled by UNESCO.

The entire town and surroundings are growing rapidly, partly due to the influx of tourists.

However 21 years ago, much of the town was flattened by the tsunami which devasted much of south east Asia.

Thousands of people were swept away and killed, 500 just in the transport center in town alone! 

Naturally the ruins were also damaged but you
wouldn't believe it looking at the surroundings today.

A replica of the original small town.

Most of the archeological site remains in pretty good condition, despite having been badly damaged in 2004.

Miniature, showing the original design of the city.

A huge Mosque near the ruins. As it was Friday, many Muslims were busy in the area.

The very angry Indian Ocean.

Like much of Sri Lanka, this city is home to religious adherents from all the major religions, but the dominance of Buddhism which is so obvious in other areas, was not visible.

A Buddhist temple on the hill quite a distance away. I could also see a huge, old Christian church in town, from the fort.

The roof of the solid ammunition storage building.

A Muslim on her way to the Mosque ahead.

A coconut tree grows out of the large granite rock heap offshore.

These ladies in beautiful saris are teachers at the International School. The saris are their uniform.

A small cafe has been set up in the midst of the ruins.

Tourism is now Sri Lanka's second most important industry, so both local people and visitors flock this area. 

This is a recognized UNESCO world heritage site and every time I visit a place like this, I wonder why we are joking around with our sunken city, Port Royal?

 Such a damn shame.😡

Pic of the very angry Indian Ocean below!

This lovely house on the Ocean was badly damaged by the tsunami, but they fixed it up nicely.
That's where we stayed overnight before heading back to Colombo.

Young people challenging the rough surf on their boards.

There is a statue of Buddha on the hill overlooking the town of Galle.

The Indian Ocean is so rough and sounds so fierce, it's kinda scary.

The sand looks nice though.

Among Damith's friends that we had drinks with on Friday night was Dr Ruwan who served as coroner in Jamaica for 3 years.

Then to my surprise, on returning to Colombo I discovered that my wonderful hosts Sharlene and Damith, had organized a goodbye dinner for me with some of their young friends.

L-r. Charaka, his wife Tara, Dr. Damith, and Ganga.

It's been an overwhelming three weeks as there is so much to see and do in that very big island. And the Sri Lankan people are so warm and generous.

It's really true that time flies when you having fun.

And boy, did I ever have fun😊.

_________________________________________

Update. The rains that started on Thursday night turned into quite a storm with high winds later in the night. It damaged the roof of 
Latsans parents home in Galle. 

He is a contractor though so had already repaired it by midday Saturday when we saw him again. 👏

That same storm however killed a family of seven in another area close by. Their home  collapsed on them.🥺

It's the beginning of the monsoon season in Sri Lanka and the weather seems to be intensifying now.