Deflecting the Blame

If ever there was a puny, sick, hypocritical attempt to deflect the blame for the appalling crime situation in Jamaica from the politicians, it was that presentation in parliament recently by Minister of Education Ronnie Thwaites, in which he labeled some schools as crime incubators.

For just about everyone knows that Jamaica being in the top five of the murder capitals of the world, is a direct result of the activities of some of the politicians themselves, no one else.

For it is the politicians who created the garrison constituencies which research has shown, has produced some 80% of the violent criminals who continue to haunt the country.

Oh yes, we in Jamaica  like to boast about our democratic traditions but we find it convenient to forget while talking about this  "democracy" to ignore the fact that some 25 % of the constituencies are garrisons or have large garrison segments where the people must vote as the dons, (gunmen supported and armed by some politicians) instruct them and in some garrisons, the people are even virtual slaves who must give the dons a portion of their earnings and send their children to them on demand, to satisfy the sexual pleasure of these well armed enforcers.

In the constituencies controlled by dons on behalf of some of the legislators sitting in parliament, a politician getting up to 120% of the vote in an election has not been considered unusual in Jamaica!

After establishing the tradition of garrison politics, mainly between the 70's and 80's, what we have today is the children and grandchildren of the original dons who were nurtured by some politicians,  growing up to become successful gun criminals in their own right and being the main perpetrators of the extreme violence in the country.

While listing the schools that Thwaites claimed statistics showed produced most of the criminals who were polled in prison, what he failed to tell the country was that most of  these schools were in the garrisons created by the politicians, so it is the environment that the kids were coming from that made them deviants, not the schools.

No attempt by Thwaites or any other politician to sanitise the role some of our leading politicians or deflect the blame from them {many of whom have been  hailed and deemed Most Honourable,) for making Jamaica one of the most murderous places on the planet, can succeed, for our memories are not that short!

Rebel Salute, (Rasta Salute) not for me,!

It was really Rasta Salute and it was all I needed to convince me that I definitely could never become a Rastafarian.

Even if  I were not a sinful and committed pork eater and  even if i had an inclination to become religious, this religion is just not for me!

Why? I just couldn't survive on their food which was really horrible as the only protein available seems to have been fish.....cold fish that is.Yuk.

Anyway, my first visit to Rebel Salute was quite a disappointment  and something I would never repeat, for I guess I have become spoiled by the professionalism at Sumfest and Jazz Festival so I found the whole idea of having to be tortured by a a series of neophytes in the entertainment industry before hearing those who I had gone to enjoy, just too much. For of the 34 artists that they had on Saturday 18th January, only ten,  yes some 30% were up to my standards so I had to suffer through the other 70% just to enjoy these performers. Worse too, one I really wanted to hear was Rodney Price aka Bounty Killer but after suffering for a very long time through I Wayne's monotonous performance, it was just too much so we left at 7.30 am and I am still vexed as I hear that Bounty was as great as expected.

Call me old fashioned, but the only performance that I really loved were, Jah Bouks, Queen Ifrica, Stitchie, Admiral Tibet, Bob Andy, Horace Andy, Edi Fitzroy, Leroy Sibbles. The others were jsut boring, so boring in fact that I spent  so much time sleeping that I missed one of my favourite artists Terry Linen who I heard after I woke up,  was as great as expected.

Thank god though that I slept through Jah Cure's performance for  I did have some qualms about having to listen to him just to hear the ones I love. No I have no problem with his voice or talent, just the fact that he is a rapist and after reading the interview with his victim some years ago in the Gleaner, I decided from then that I would never have the stomach to listen to him!

But back to why that Rebel Salute was my first and last for there is the issue of the unfair distribution of the irie feeling, for while ganja was widely available (I love the smell but eight hours of inhaling second hand smoke was a bit too much for me ) bald heads like myself and our party could not even get a rum or vodka to buy so we too could get into the mood.

No I am definitely sticking to bald head  entertainment for the rest of my life!

Breakinridge, Colorado

I returned to Breckenridge, Colorado, compliments of my daughter and son- in- law, so I could see what happens there in winter as opposed to the summer,  when I had  a great time there. (See http://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/enjoying-mountains.html)

Breckenridge  is about 2 hours out of Denver and is part of the Rocky Mountain Range (Rockies) and in the summer,  I considered it such a beautiful place to visit, but seeing it from the winter perspective was absolutely awesome.

My only not so good experience there, was having to wait some ninety minutes at a restaurant to get a table, the first night we spent there. We had walked from our hotel to Main Street thinking we could get  dinner quite early. Big mistake.

The first restaurant we went to, told us it was a forty five minute wait to get a table so we put our names down and walked on. At the next ones we were told an hour and a half and by the time we got to the third, a New Orleans type featuring Cajun food, we were told the waiting time was two and half hours.

So we walked around a bit enjoying the Christmas lights which shone brightly in the snow from just about every thoroughly decorated tree, shop and structure before doubling back to the first restaurant where we had made reservations. However, the forty five minute wait they promised came and went but as we were in the bar where everyone was having a jolly time, having consumed every type of Christmas spirit, the time came and went quickly and when we were served,  the food was worth the wait.

Of course, that experience taught us how to avoid having the problem in the future and that is to phone in reservations early in the day!

I used to live in Toronto, Canada, a cold place with lots of snow, and hated it. But going to Breckenridge for 2 days and staying at a condo  in the middle of town operated by the Wyndham chain, reminded me of the funny story which tells the difference between residents and visitors.

View from, the hotel room

According to the tale, a man was in hospital on his death bed and was visited by St. Peter  who wanted to find out if he wanted to go up or down when the time came. The man replied that since he was unfamiliar with the places one resides in the afterlife, he  would need a tour of both destinations.

So  St. Peter complied. First he was taken to the place above where he saw everyone drinking milk and honey, flying around peacefully or and lolling on clouds…….. really boring stuff. So he asked to see what happened down below. When he went there is was nothing but the good life with drinks flowing, beautiful girl sand lots  partying, so he chose the latter,.

 Then he died. When he went to the place of his choice however, it was nothing like the place he had visited on his familiarization tour but instead it was hot as hell, dreary, bleak and there was a monster chasing people around with fiery spear. No he said, this was not the place I chose at all, so he demanded to see the boss. When he got the appointment he explained to the snarling demon that there was an error as the the place he chose was beautiful with lots of parties, good looking girls,wonderful beaches etc.  To which the boss sneeringly replied, "Yes, then you were a visitor but now you are a  resident."

So true when for  I lived in Canada, I was a resident and didn't like the snow at all. That is because I rarely got the opportunity to witness the beauty of the sun glistening on snow covered trees (although there was lots of snow there)  as in winter in Toronto the sun never came up till around ten am and was set by four pm so I was always outside commuting during the dark hours and inside heated buildings at work or at school, when the real beauty of the snow could be appreciated.

On the other hand, at Breckenridge in the beautiful Rockies, we never left our apartment until the sun came up and it was warm, so although the snow had fallen the night before, everything looked bright, inviting, beautiful and sparkling. It made one  feel so inconsequential as a human being in the shadow of these great, multi- shaped, snow-capped peaks. The sight of the glistening snow on the mountain slopes shining brightly through the green pine trees just made you want to soar up to the hills and roll off and despite the weatherman saying it was only eight degrees outside, it did not feel cold at all.

In fact, every time I entered a building I had to peel off all outside clothing as it became so hot so quickly. It was absolutely wonderful to have the option of deciding when it was best to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors rather than having to, come what may, as residents do!

Of course, having boots which could withstand 40 degree below zero weather was great for although my original ones were warm and sexy, I kept sliding when walking in the areas where the snow had started to melt.

And guess what, Jamaica was also present in Breckenridge in the form of Rasta Pasta! Yup. Never stopped to taste it, but it was very much there.

You know the difference between Colorado weather and places like New York? In Colorado the snow melts quickly because of the frequent sunshine here with no huge buildings to bar the sunshine like in New York, the snow melts easily and the place warms up quickly.

On this trip I  discovered that whether it is summer or winter, Breckenridge and the environs the Rocky mountains are absolutely beautiful and an nature lover's dream, for in the summer, it is great for hiking, mountain biking, camping etc and in winter for those so inclined, it is skiing and snow boarding.

However although I became thoroughly immersed in the beauty of  the area, there is no way I would be coming off those steep slopes on either snow boards or skis but much preferred to be a passive observer and a lover of the great outdoors, as long as I  am warmly dressed and  not have to become a resident!

It was when I returned to Denver that it struck me how boring and blah cities are. Most of them except for places like San. Francisco have such a sameness about them..... and the suburbs too. Really I am the happiest when I am in the mountains, snowy or not or at the beach when the sun is hot.

That's what I will do a lot more in 2014.

Breckenridge is some 10,000 feet above Denver and descending from the beautiful Rockies, the view was fantastic as the lower we got, the less snow showed up among the dense pine plantations. The frozen lakes we saw on the way down where people ice fished and even did motor racing. were also so beautiful and calming.

Delta, The World's Worst Airline

Delta Airline resumed its Kingston to Atlanta service on the 19th December and I used this service on the 21st December to go to Denver, Colorado for Christmas. Big Mistake, for when I arrived at my destination, it was without my luggage. They had it delivered, leaving it out on the snow- covered porch in the middle of the night (I guess, since I was fast asleep when it came) despite my answering no to the question of delayed baggage clerk when asked if it could be left when no one was there to collect it!

That was not so bad but trying to get back to Jamaica on the 7th January was the real trial.
Of course I could never blame Delta for the Arctic storm that caused a snow storm, but it is how you manage things in a difficult situation that separates professionals from  amateurs. 

I had to rush headlong to catch the connecting flight DL383 in Atlanta as flight DL1578 was about one hour late in arriving from Denver. This was no fault of Delta's however, as on coming into Denver International Airport the plane had a collision with birds and safety maintenance had to be done.

Where I found total mismanagement however was in Atlanta for they had boarded passengers on to Fl 383 although they had no co-pilot!!!!!!

 It appears that because of the bad weather, the co-pilot's flight to Atlanta was delayed by some 4 hours, YET DELTA WENT AHEAD AND BOARDED THE PLANE HE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN TO KINGSTON! IS IT THAT THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION AMONG DELTA'S MANAGEMENT?

While the crew was very professional in trying to appease the plane full of passengers who became more and more irate as the wait moved from a few minutes to just under four hours, to add insult to injury, when the flight arrived in Kingston, some 20 passengers w, including myself, were left without any luggage.

Can you believe that with a flight delayed for almost four hours, the luggage from connecting flights could not be loaded on? How much time does Delta need to deal with connecting baggage? 24 hours?

You know, one cannot but wonder if the reason why this flight was treated so disrespectfully is because it was a planeful of mainly black  people!

 Over a day has passed since my arrival in Kingston and yet no one at Delta's office can tell me anything about my luggage.

As one who has traveled extensively, I definitely vote Delta the worst in the world and I certainly do not consider their return to Kingston as an asset for the island.

American Economic Bullyism

How do you think it feels to be a Jamaican in the state of  Colorado on New Year's day 2014? Damn annoyed, for that was the day that Colorado legalized the use of marijuana while poverty stricken Jamaica looks on in frustration as our ability to enter the market legally, is overpowered by American might.

Jamaica has always been known as the country that produces the best ganja in the world. And don't tell me about ganja being a dangerous drug for it is a well known fact, internationally accepted by now that ganja has been used to  treat or cure for many diseases and is certainly a miracle worker when it comes to relieving chronic pain.

So why is it we have to keep our industry underground even while the states of Colorado and Washington are able to legalize the product?

Sheer economic terrorism on the part of the Americans.

For what we will see happening is state after state in the USA legalizing the use of the product until is freely available in every nook and cranny of the USA while the federal government uses its military and economic  might to keep weak, small countries like Jamaica from legally entering the market and offering quality products on a competitive basis.

 And don't tell me about being against smoking since marijuana can be consumed in many forms as even one shop in Denver supplies some twenty five, yes 25, different products made from ganja, many of which were probably first "discovered" when some American entrepreneur visited Jamaica.

It is now clear that the rest of the producing world has to come together to fight this most unfair attempt by the American government to sneak around the important terms of the WTO agreement, which were signed on to by all interested in fostering a level playing field in trade, internationally.

In the meantime too, we must join the courageous government of Uruguay which on the 23rd December, 2013, signed into law, its progrmme to institute a legally regulated market for marijuana. 

Christmas in Colorado

I always love going to Boulder, Colorado, if only to hang out with the family in their touristy mall with the quaint shops and lovely animal carvings. Also you do see  a number of performers using the tourist traffic to try and "buss out". This time there were the usual singers and a rubber man who sounded like he was from the eastern Caribbean.

Madelyn had fun running up and down while we window shopped and our little Italian restaurant delivered great food as usual.

The best meal I had on this trip to Colorado, but in Denver this time, was at an Ethiopian restaurant and Devin had to treat us to as he lost a bet to me lol.

Their of food is really spicy and delicious and as usual, people always think Michele and I are Ethiopian which I consider a major compliment as they are in my book, the most beautiful people in the world.

 You know what too, eating with our hands like we do at some Indian restaurants, beats having to struggle with knives and forks as you simply use the delicious breads they supply with the meal to sop up the delicious meats, lentils and vegetables.hmm.

You know I would not be surprised if my granddaughter turns out to become a great criminal lawyer. Yes she is just two and  a half but I heard her doing an  excellent piece of cross examination which left her parents running around trying to avoid the traps she was setting for them!

They had promised to take her to the zoo to look at the Christmas lights but when we got there, the parking lot was full, it was quite cold and the lines were very long.

 So they decided to take her to the botanical garden instead to see their display of lights there.

As we drove out of the parking area, she started to smell a rat and demanded to go to the zoo to see the lights. So they told her they were looking for parking space, to which she replied "At the zoo?"

 They spent some time trying not to lie to her but there was no compromise as for probably the next 10 minutes, every single question and sentence ended with "…at the zoo?" It was really uncanny hearing the way she came back to the main topic and the intelligence with which she posed the questions! Thank heavens when we got to the gardens and she saw the wonderful display of lights, she forgot about the zoo and the animals.

New Years day started out quite bleakly with snow falling but by 10 am it was sunny and warm (40 degrees), so we decided to drive to Black Forest to see Devin's brother and family.

 Black Forest lies between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs where they had a huge fire last year. His brother lives there on a 5 acre plot in a million dollar house but the fires which destroyed 379 homes and killed 2 persons  in June  had them having to to evacuate their home for a week  but thankfully when they were allowed to return, their home was intact.

It was an easy ride going down and the scenery was pleasant with rolling open ranges and the 14,000 foot Pike's Peak hovering on the horizon.

Dan's place is a lovely 4000 square foot ranch house with pine trees all around and actually it is the only place I have seen that still has green grass since everywhere else the grass is brown. No one could explain to me how sections of their grass remained green!

 On the way back we ran into a snow storm and within minutes the once rolling brown fields were pure white as was the long narrow road. We had nothing to fear however as Devin was driving his 4 wheel drive Jeep which he uses to climb rocks for fun. We did see a number of vehicles skidding on the road but luckily no accidents.

It is interesting though for despite the high rate of snowfall in Colorado, it is far more pleasant in the winter than places like New York,  Toronto and Chicago. For what is amazing is how quickly the snow melts here as by the next day almost all had gone and the blazing sun warmed up the entire city.

However, occasionally the poor sun gives up in the struggle to emerge, as it did on the 5th January when there was a nationwide snow storm which saw even Denver dropping to 2 degrees. I had to go out and could not find the road half of the time. Only driving where I saw tyre tracks saved me.

Yes it was wonderful being here for Christmas but there is no place like home, beautiful, warm Jamaica. Yup, the four inches of snow that fell on Saturday and he extra snowfall on Sunday sure brought me back to reality quickly!