I think this is the first Christmas that I have spent outside of Jamaica in decades, in fact since I became a "returning resident" from Canada in the 70's.But how could I resist the idea of spending these holidays with my grandson Shadrach who was coming down to Florida from the Bronx on Kathy's invitation? Poor kid he is having such a hard time coping with the terrible weather up north, but his mother Michelle, though loving much warmer Atlanta, wants to stay close to her mother in New York. So until he finishes high school in two years, he is stuck there but grabs at every opportunity to go south.
The worse part of the trip was the fact that I got stuck with Spirit airlines to come up but once I arrived all went well.
Fact is I don't really like Florida as it is too flat and rather lacking in character so I have not stayed overnight here for decades, usually just catching a flight on my way some where else. In the olden days, (read 70's and early 80's,) when food was in short supply a "yard", I too took those beautiful flights to Florida to stock up on food. These days however, we have everything and unless I see a real bargain, I am not lugging anything to Jamaica for by the time you calculate the price, time, and effort its not worth it. Anyway people are now accustomed to the fact that when I return from "farin" I am empty handed. I was quite amused earlier this year when I told by new tenants that I would be going to Denver for a while and asked me to bring home a bag full of stuff for him. I set him straight there and then so am home free as far as expectations are concerned!
Anyway, I have been totally out of touch with friends and family in Florida and its been great. We have been staying with Cardiff, Kathy and their kids in their huge house in Miramar.
As soon as I got here, I got in touch with Pixley, who had been my sea faring partner and very good friend for many years when he lived in Jamaica. Fact is I haven't been on a sailboat since he left for whereas anyone can steer a motor boat, it takes real skill to sail. He came over as we arrived on Tuesday night for he was in Davey with his in laws for he lives way up north in Fort Myers I think.
I have not seen my "little" cousin Michelle for years although we are in constant phone and email touch. Anyway her son Chris is 23 now and a great artist to boot, but I would never had known him in a crowd as have not seen him for donkey's years! She and her husband operate an excellent restaurant called Everton's Mandeville Delight in Miramar and they make the best oxtail, rice and peas and jerk pork I have had on the mainland. We went there for lunch on Saturday and I hear the curried chicken and curried shrimps were excellent too.
On Christmas eve we went to see Marsha. I have been dying to see her baby Sean, born in September. I feel so sad when I think about them. Not for her but her mom Hilma who was my best friend. 2011 should have been the best year of Hilma's life for that is when her first grandchild was born and her son Jerome, my godson, graduated as a doctor. Hilma would have given everything to be around in 2011, but unfortunately she succombed to kidney failure and the related problems in 2009.
Sean is a real Mr. Chin as his dad is Korean. A sweeter baby you cannot find when is mom is in view but when she gets out of sight he raises holy hell! Marsha says he does that even with his dad. I don't know how they are going to manage when he goes to day daycare, but its one day at a time.
On Christmas day Anne Marie, Gino his baby Vinney and girlfriend came around. Gino is so tall and handsome and now has a beard. It was great seeing them and the baby is wonderful as he goes to everyone without any fuss and is always smiling.We are supposed to go down to Guyana in Easter to stay with Anne Marie and go touring in Brazil. I am really looking forward to it as I have always wanted to go to Brazil to sail down the Amazon. Anne Marie speaks Portuguese fluently and having lived for many years in Brazil, knows all the great places to go.
The one problem I have with where Cardiff and Kathy live is the difficulty in getting around as there is no subway in Florida and the bus service up here sucks. I rented a car and we drove up to Port Charlotte on Tuesday after Christmas and we all drove up to see Lola and family and overnighted there. Port Charlotte is 186 miles up north and somewhat isolated but those guys know more about whats happening in Jamaica than most people do as they listen to RJR all day, via the internet. It was an easy drive but all the alligators we are told we would see along Alligator Alley were missing on both our way up and down.
I not seen Damion since he was about 14. He is of course a big man now with a teenage son and two other cute boys. He spoke to Michele in Colorado on the phone and she invited him to come up and take the kids snow boarding. His second son has threatened to nag him forever until he doe! I don't think he is going to get away with just a promise! Lola seems comfortable and happy and tells mr she will be back in March.
Shadrach has been having a great time with the girls here and going down to the gym but I notice he avoids the pool although Florida is reasonably warm. Although he seems skinny, he is extremely muscular and very strong when he gets going. He hates the idea of going back to New York and cant wait to come home to do law at UTech. He has two years left to complete high school in New York. Unfortunately as he had to spend new year with his mom's family, He left on the 29th. Chris took him to the airport.
New year's eve was especially wonderful. We drove over to Hollywood to the Seminole reservation where they have Hard Rock casino. It is by far the largest and most impressive casino I have ever seen and I have been to casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic city, Bahamas, Colorado, Germany, London, St. Martin and Antigua. It is really vast and well laid out and I even made 40% interest on my money! I love to play blackjack but with the minimum bet there being $25, I had to abstain.
I did not stay long in the casino as there was so much to do. I wonder how they make money in the casino section with so many other things, including live stage shows and dancers plus the numerous clubs and restaurants to distract. I am no good at estimating crowds but I think there was in excess of 10,000 people there new years eve!
The fireworks we saw from the casino were not particularly impressive .........not half as good as our on the harbour, but I suspect these were just individually done, not organised like at Times Square and places like that.
You know there was a time when I used to ridicule Floridians when I saw them on tv in winter gear....long boots, winter jackets with hoods etc. Well I have to admit I stopped laughing on Tuesday for when I attempted to go outside to walk to the gym, I had to fly back in immediately, get a sweater and cover up under a blanket. I never went out for the entire day as it had dropped to he 40's.
The weather did not stop us from going to Hard Rock live in the night though. you should have seen me in my winter coat with the hood over my head and i was still close. The show featuring Tavares and KC and the Sunshine Band was excellent however. They both rocked the house down and for a couple hours we forgot the terrible winter outside. We had gotten so hot during the concert, that it did not seem as bad as we walked back to the car park.
Wednesday too was extremely cold and again it was again a winter coat and hoodie for me but by mid day it started to warm up.
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| L-R Alexander, Joao(partly hidden) Amanda, Arianna, Shadrach. |
Fact is I don't really like Florida as it is too flat and rather lacking in character so I have not stayed overnight here for decades, usually just catching a flight on my way some where else. In the olden days, (read 70's and early 80's,) when food was in short supply a "yard", I too took those beautiful flights to Florida to stock up on food. These days however, we have everything and unless I see a real bargain, I am not lugging anything to Jamaica for by the time you calculate the price, time, and effort its not worth it. Anyway people are now accustomed to the fact that when I return from "farin" I am empty handed. I was quite amused earlier this year when I told by new tenants that I would be going to Denver for a while and asked me to bring home a bag full of stuff for him. I set him straight there and then so am home free as far as expectations are concerned!
Anyway, I have been totally out of touch with friends and family in Florida and its been great. We have been staying with Cardiff, Kathy and their kids in their huge house in Miramar.
As soon as I got here, I got in touch with Pixley, who had been my sea faring partner and very good friend for many years when he lived in Jamaica. Fact is I haven't been on a sailboat since he left for whereas anyone can steer a motor boat, it takes real skill to sail. He came over as we arrived on Tuesday night for he was in Davey with his in laws for he lives way up north in Fort Myers I think.
I have not seen my "little" cousin Michelle for years although we are in constant phone and email touch. Anyway her son Chris is 23 now and a great artist to boot, but I would never had known him in a crowd as have not seen him for donkey's years! She and her husband operate an excellent restaurant called Everton's Mandeville Delight in Miramar and they make the best oxtail, rice and peas and jerk pork I have had on the mainland. We went there for lunch on Saturday and I hear the curried chicken and curried shrimps were excellent too.
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| Hilmas's grandson, Shawn. |
On Christmas eve we went to see Marsha. I have been dying to see her baby Sean, born in September. I feel so sad when I think about them. Not for her but her mom Hilma who was my best friend. 2011 should have been the best year of Hilma's life for that is when her first grandchild was born and her son Jerome, my godson, graduated as a doctor. Hilma would have given everything to be around in 2011, but unfortunately she succombed to kidney failure and the related problems in 2009.
Sean is a real Mr. Chin as his dad is Korean. A sweeter baby you cannot find when is mom is in view but when she gets out of sight he raises holy hell! Marsha says he does that even with his dad. I don't know how they are going to manage when he goes to day daycare, but its one day at a time.
 |
| Gino and Vinney |
I not seen Damion since he was about 14. He is of course a big man now with a teenage son and two other cute boys. He spoke to Michele in Colorado on the phone and she invited him to come up and take the kids snow boarding. His second son has threatened to nag him forever until he doe! I don't think he is going to get away with just a promise! Lola seems comfortable and happy and tells mr she will be back in March.
Shadrach has been having a great time with the girls here and going down to the gym but I notice he avoids the pool although Florida is reasonably warm. Although he seems skinny, he is extremely muscular and very strong when he gets going. He hates the idea of going back to New York and cant wait to come home to do law at UTech. He has two years left to complete high school in New York. Unfortunately as he had to spend new year with his mom's family, He left on the 29th. Chris took him to the airport.
New year's eve was especially wonderful. We drove over to Hollywood to the Seminole reservation where they have Hard Rock casino. It is by far the largest and most impressive casino I have ever seen and I have been to casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic city, Bahamas, Colorado, Germany, London, St. Martin and Antigua. It is really vast and well laid out and I even made 40% interest on my money! I love to play blackjack but with the minimum bet there being $25, I had to abstain.
I did not stay long in the casino as there was so much to do. I wonder how they make money in the casino section with so many other things, including live stage shows and dancers plus the numerous clubs and restaurants to distract. I am no good at estimating crowds but I think there was in excess of 10,000 people there new years eve!
The fireworks we saw from the casino were not particularly impressive .........not half as good as our on the harbour, but I suspect these were just individually done, not organised like at Times Square and places like that.
You know there was a time when I used to ridicule Floridians when I saw them on tv in winter gear....long boots, winter jackets with hoods etc. Well I have to admit I stopped laughing on Tuesday for when I attempted to go outside to walk to the gym, I had to fly back in immediately, get a sweater and cover up under a blanket. I never went out for the entire day as it had dropped to he 40's.
The weather did not stop us from going to Hard Rock live in the night though. you should have seen me in my winter coat with the hood over my head and i was still close. The show featuring Tavares and KC and the Sunshine Band was excellent however. They both rocked the house down and for a couple hours we forgot the terrible winter outside. We had gotten so hot during the concert, that it did not seem as bad as we walked back to the car park.
Wednesday too was extremely cold and again it was again a winter coat and hoodie for me but by mid day it started to warm up.
2 comments:
Nice reading about your family escapades Joan. You can take Maurice with you to Brazil as he speaks the language. His father is Brazilian.
2011 would really have been a year Mummy would have talked about for a long time. I hope she is looking down on us and smiling!
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