Reggae reigns supreme

 In my book, the 1st Palm Beach Reggae and Arts Festival at Old School Square in Delray Beach was so successful, I hope it will become an annual affair.

 This after I only attended 1 of what is a 3 day affair (Friday to Sunday). 

Saturday night featured the dynamic Inner Circle band.

Despite driving to West Palm often, I had never been to Delray Beach before although having lived in nearby Tamarac for 10 years.

Barry (right) with one of his band members.

So have to big up my cuz Barry, (Colin), leader of the popular Tallawah Mento Band for not only telling me about the festival but also transporting me.😊

You know Jamaica has birthed so many fantastic musicians of every genre over the years that I can never stop feeling super proud to be a Jamaican.

Soaking up the fun with Caroline 

One of my top favorite dance bands in the 1980's was Inner Circle with the unstoppable Jacob Miller. I still get goose bumps remembering that terrible Sunday afternoon when he crashed around 3 pm and died on Hope Road.

For weeks every radio station was playing his monster hit "Dreadlocks nuh live inna tenament yard," as we mourned.

Although I collected many Inner Circle tapes and cd's over the years, I lost track of this dynamic band decades ago, thinking they had disbanded. (Pun intended😁).

Thanks to my cuz Barry, I learned this week  that not only were they still around but also, they had built a virtual musical empire in Miami. 

Naturally most of the original members are no longer around but last night's lead singer, Trevor 'skatta' Bonnick, and the fantastic musicians had us out of our seats for over an hour last night. Skatta belted out hit after hit

and would you believe he never took a break to even drink  water!

They were fantastic.

Carolyn in the groove

Inner Circle in action last night

Before Inner Circle came on, there were three earlier bands kicking off the entertainment at 6pm.

My next favorite was a latin band called Xpermento with members drawn from Argentina, Colombia Cuba Puerto Rica.

Xpermento in action

They delivered not only great latin music but also, good reggae and pop. I suspect we will be hearing a lot more about them.

Ojay and Sahara.

Two performers Ojay and Sahara, are children of the great reggae artist Ernie Smith. They performed with 'The Resolvers'. Ojay has a wonderful voice like his father and Sahara is full of stage vibes.

The first band that got things moving was Yvan& Legal Roots. They were pretty good too.

A small crowd kicked off with them at 6 pm, but the crowd blossomed as things proceeded.

It was a great afternoon and hopefully this will really become an annual affair.

Aging wisely

 I guess it had to take the racing of my heart for me to wake up to the fact that I am aging fast 😊.(https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1)

One thing that comes with aging in this country, is the huge target on your back from scammers.

That's why I appreciated and attended the session hosted by the Broward Sheriff's Department in cooperation with the City today, to help keep us up to date with the constantly evolving world of scamming.

Apparently grandparents fraud is the fastest growing type of scamming these days in Tamarac and it's made so much easier now that it is so ably assisted by AI!

I was really surprised though that the turnout of seniors was so sparse despite it being promoted for weeks at the Senior Center.

Sparse turnout

There was also input from the Traffic Department and the Fire Rescue. 

The traffic department not only reminded us how to remain safe on the roads but highlighted the hot spots in the city.

 Interestingly, the number 1 hotspot in our city is the intersection right beside my condo, at Commercial and University!

Fire Rescue made me realize the many ancillary services they provide. (Our taxes pay for it so there is no extra charge when we use them.)

An important handout they gave us was a "file of life" magnet which they suggested we keep on our refrigerator with up to date information, so if they have to come and rescue us when no one else is around, they can get life-saving information quickly.

A great idea.

Mine is already on my fridge .

No harm is accepting that we are getting there and need to take steps to make the process less treacherous!

Afro Carib festival

 I love Steel Pulse and not having seen them for around 10 years, when I got the info that they would be the stars of the Afro Caribbean festival to close out Black History Month in Miramar, wild horses couldn't prevent me from attending.

Despite the close to an hour commute 

and the long, sometimes tedious wait for them to perform, it was worth every minute.

They must have read my mind as they performed hit after hit from the moment they hit the stage!👏👏👏💞.

It was like a musical explosion in slow motion.⚡🌄🌅🌪️✨

 Oh what a night.

Beautiful Nigerian prints on display 

The Nigerians were the only Africans who had displays at this festival. (Never saw any Caribbean booths beside Jamaica's either!😡)

This Nigerian mother and daughter showed off their outfits.

Jollof rice from Nigeria 

Sonia cops a pose

This band delivered some good African drumming 

Shuga from Montego Bay was good

This dancer kicked off the show. It started almost an hour late though😡.

Vincentian Soca warrior Skinny Fabulous got us out of our seats.

The covered area was eventually fairly full but overall, I expected a larger crowd.

You see, it was promoted as a free event for those wanting to sit on the grass or bring their own chairs.

 However, the covered area up front was being sold for $150.00. Very few people took up that offer though, so they eventually opened up that area to all us 'plebians.' Hence it looks crowded now!

Teflon tried his best but people were tired of having to wait too long for Steel Pulse.

Its actually the first time I ever attended an outdoor event at Miramar.

It is a much larger city than my own Tamarac and with a population twice the size as ours. And the fact that it is dominated by Jamaicans is obvious, based on their apparent love of Jamaica time.😁👍.

The festival was quite good though, although some performers could have been left out.

of

But what the heck, Steel Pulse saved the day.

Florida's cold spells

 I love the cold spells in Florida. Not because I like to freeze🥶, but because I hate iguana lizards.

Actually I hate all lizards, but iguanas have a special place in my hate gene😡.

The good news is, during the (infrequent) cold spells in Florida, they fall out of trees and some actually die.

I used to rejoice until one fell out of the tree I normally park under, and was laying right beside the driver's door!

Omg, I nearly stepped on it too and was sure I was going to fall, before I quicky regained my balance. 

I could have had a heart attack too!😡

Luckily for me, my neighbor, who had never  looked anything like a hero,💪 was just coming out of his vehicle and rescued me by taking it up by the tail and throwing it away.

It clearly was not dead as it moved slightly when I tiptoed over to look at it.

I thought that would be the last of my terrible experiences with stinking lizards since winter is over. However, this morning as I approached my vehicle, I was overwhelmed by the stinkiest smell.

As I walked around the vehicle to see the cause, I nearly stepped on a huge, dead, rotting iguana monster, right by my passenger door!

Omg. What next? An iguana lying stunned or dead on my car top or horror of horrors, one falling out of the tree right on my head?😭😭

 No, this is getting too much for me.😡

I have to find a warm lizard-free state to move to.

Any suggestions?

 

The procedure

 I hate hospitals and all things medical. But I guess if you live long enough you have to learn to put up with a few.

 Old age sucks😡.)

Having developed a few Arrhythmias, (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1) including AFib and SVT, the cardiologist thought it more prudent that I  have an ablation rather than add more  drugs to my growing list. 

When I heard the procedure was no worse that filling teeth, I said run with it, despite the $134, 000 price tag. (Thanks President Obama, for without Obamacare, people like me would just have to watch the heart deteriorating as the drugs became ineffective. In Canada a similar procedure is around $21,000  and maximum $15, 000 in Mexico I hear!)

So here am I doing a report on the procedure while waiting on my daughter in law to pick me up.

 She had to drive down from West Palm as my grandson was at work, so I took an Uber to Cleveland Clinic. For its their policy that while you can take Uber or whatever to get there, you must be picked up by a known and trusted person as you remain groggy afterwards.

When they prepped me at the hospital, I had an all Caribbean nursing team, one Jamaican, one Trini and one Haitian, all caring and pleasant professionals.

Another nurse who took me to the operation theatre was also Jamaican.

So I felt at home until I got into the theater (it was extra cold😶‍🌫️) where four or five nurses were inside waiting. But I never got the opportunity to delve into their ancestries as they immediately got to work strapping me down to the bed, even tying arms and legs and I was almost immediately out of it!

 My cardiologist Dr. Parishit Sharma, is a specialist Electrophysiology from India. He is reputed to be one of the best in the fields of  Atrial Fibrillation, PSVT, Arrhythmia and pacemaker implantation.

The fact that it all went smoothly and I feel on top of the world a few hours later, proves it.

In fact,  my only discomfort was having to lay totally still on my back for 3 hours in recovery.

My biggest problem will be staying reasonably inactive for around 10  days while the holes in my groin heals.

All's well that ends well🙏.

Link: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2026/01/reflections-on-biology.html?m=1.

Note

Heart ablation (catheter ablation) is a generally safe, minimally invasive procedure to fix heart rhythm disorders, considered effective but carries low risks of complications like bleeding, infection, blood clots, or minor heart/vessel damage, with severe issues  experienced electrophysiology team significantly lowers these risks. 

In Summary: It's a serious procedure with potential risks, but often a very effective treatment with a favorable safety profile compared to the risks of living with afib.

Suffering in Cuba

 I was really touched by the recent Observer story "Mexico to send food aid to Cuba while seeking end to oil siege — Sheinbaum." 

I must say President Claudia Sheinbaum has gone up 100% in my book, for not only her humanity but also her courage.

We all know life is not fair, but what is particularly despicable about politics is the fact that all over the world,  millions of people consistently suffer and die because of the actions of a few people.

Nowhere is this being played played out more before our eyes than in our nearest neighbor, Cuba.

I am no Cuban apologist, for I despise communism and for a few years in the 70's I even assumed an activist role when the Cubans, under their patron Michael Manley, appeared to be close to introducing their alien ideology and attempted influence into Jamaica. 

 (This is all recorded in my best seller, Looking Back, the struggle to preserve our freedoms. See Jamaica Observer review at: https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2017/12/joan-williams-former-local-host-looks.html).

But the reality is, the vast majority of ordinary Cuban people have suffered immensely for decades, first under the dictator Batista, then under successive dictators from the Castro family and their successors. And I like so many Jamaicans have close relatives there.

More than a century ago,  Cuba provided an escape valve for many of our ancestors and some of us remain in touch with our kit and kin living in penury there.

For in case you forgot, when slavery was abolished and thousands of "freed" slaves had no means of survival, it was to Cuba they fled  to seek employment. For as that beautiful big island is only 90 miles away at its closest point, Jamaicans could escape there in crude vessels that were barely sea worthy. So when you go to areas in Santiago, Holguin and Guantanamo Bay, there are hundreds of thousands of Cubans there of Jamaican ancestry.

 I  still remember well the old man I met in Guantanamo Bay (The Cuban side), decades ago. He had never been to Jamaica or even met or been in touch with his family here, but he listened to Jamaican radio everyday, spoke a fair amount of patois, knew everything about us, including the price of a lot of basic products and longed to meet his Jamaican family.

Our history with the Cuban government has not always been cordial, but many family ties have remained close. 

When I think of the plight of our families and others there who are today without viable incomes, light, power, basic foods, medicine etc, since the latest threat of increased sanctions from the Americans on any country that provides them with fuel, my heart goes out to them. 

This is after sections were devastated by hurricane Melissa and a recent 5.5 earthquake. 

Worse, tourism, which had remained fairly vibrant with guests coming every winter from Canada and Europe,  came to a virtual halt in late 2025, due to the power cuts and increasing shortages.

So you know that with increased sanctions to deprive them of even fuel,  things can only get worse each day.

After the Manley government era, the Cubans went from interfering in our internal affairs to assisting in many areas, especially education and health.

The reality is that neither Mexico nor Jamaica can defy the Americans as far as these threats are concerned. 

However, President Sheinbaum was not prepared to just walk away and do nothing, hence her determination to use diplomacy while sending food aid to the beleaguered people.

What is the Jamaican government doing?

 

Culturally awake

 While Governor Ron Desantist does everything to downplay/hide black history in the schools in Florida, our city Tamarac, led by activist Mayor Michelle Gonzalez, does the opposite.

So everywhere you turn at the Senior Center, there are reminders that February is Black History Month. Then valuable information about the positive role black activists played in the development of the country, is posted all around.

 The overarching cultural event is the annual Multicultural Festival.

I have been attending these festivals almost every year since I moved to Tamarac in 2016 and really appreciate and enjoy them.

Last night's was not so well attended though.

 Maybe it was the cold spell we have been having. Maybe it is because ICE has been making life miserable for us immigrants. 

I don't know.

I was fully prepared for the cold spell though, carrying 3 jackets/sweaters, one pair of leggings, a scarf and even a pair of gloves. 😁.

All I had to don though was two sweaters as the coldest it got to was 62°.

There was lots for the kids to do. The most popular attraction seemed to be the rock climbing. 

It looked like fun👍.

My favorite was the Maori warrior. He was good as he demonstrated his fighting moves.

Maori warrior 

There were not as many costumed dancers from various countries as normal but what was new was the Chinese dancers/fighters in their colorful costumes.

Costumed Venezuelan dancers.

Then we moved over to the main stage for the star performance by Kevin Little, the Vincentian Soca warrior.

He wasn't bad but when you grew up with performers like the Mighty Sparrow and Calypso Rose, you maintain high expectations😊.

I enjoyed the offerings though.