A very cold Christmas

I knew it was cold in the USA but I had no idea it could be so cold in Southern Florida! Well, it hasn’t been this cold here in over 30 years the weather people declared, but why did it have to happen when I was here?

Heading outside in my winter coat in Florida! Window inside all misty.

 It’s a good thing the last time I was in Colorado, I   brought over my winter garb as without them, I would probably have frozen to death. 

 30’s and 40’s  in Southern Florida. It is inhumane!

 This is definitely climate change at work, for on   Christmas day when we were in the 40’s, my friend in Colorado said it was in the 50’s there? 

Two days before, it had dropped a whopping 47 degrees in two hours there. My daughter’s poor dog, smart girl that she is, refused to go outside so left her owner an unwelcome Christmas present inside.😖

All the same, while I was griping, 48 people died of cold-related problems in the the USA, most in the Buffalo area where there were blizzards. And in the Dakotas, it went down to 62 below zero, the weatherman just announced.

So, in retrospect, we were warm here and I had a good Christmas lunch with friends Sonja and Rosa. The plan was to go play dominoes afterwards, but my bed sent me a message that this was a crazy idea. So, I didn’t. Instead, I drove home and watched two movies with my grandson and his mother.😊

 A much better idea.

Another good Christmas and I shall always be eternally grateful for warm weather, and of course stay healthy in 2023.

Garvey Museum at last?

Am I dreaming or are we finally going to get a Garvey Museum at his birthplace in St. Ann?

My reason for hope is coming from an article I read in the Gleaner of 22^nd December 2022, entitled “Sisters receive houses to make way for Garvey’s museum”.

According to the report, “Sisters Jacinth and Carla Johnson were overcome with emotion when they received the keys to their new houses in Seville Heights, St Ann, from Prime Minister Andrew Holness, just in time for Christmas.”

These sisters had occupied the house in which Garvey was born, for years. 

It was a squabble about relocating them which had been given as the excuse by succesive governments for years, as the  reason why the museum could not be built there. 

Many years ago, I had visited the location in the middle of St. Ann, where Garvey was born and the sign demarking te property is extremely visible at the bottom of the steps of this humble home.

For years after that, I kept asking on Facebook what happened to the promised Museum (last post May 2020!) but could get no progress report. Then I was informed that the project was delayed because of financial wrangling with the current residents.

Well apparently, this has been now rectified which paves the way for the construction of the museum to honor of our first national hero.

While in Jamaica, there are normally years if not decades between when announcements are made and action taken, I hope this will not be the case in giving Garvey the honor he deserves by making his boyhood home a museum where we can all go and be reminded of his struggles and gifts to the world. 

For as the prime minister said at the handing over ceremony, “….Marcus Garvey’s philosophy, work and fight for equality helped pave the way for the liberation of an entire race worldwide, and in that regard his legacy deserved to be monumentalized.

He emphasized; “In any other country, a figure like Marcus Garvey, whose work, philosophy and leadership contributed significantly to the liberation of an entire race of people, his boyhood home would be a Mecca, a place where people from all over the world, particularly people of African descent, would come to see where it is that he drank water, mixed with the people, had the culture infused, and the life experiences from which he was able to generate with great eloquence and clarity of thought.”

My problem is though that we Jamaicans do not have much of a tradition of embracing the important symbols of our heroes.

Bogle's monument at Stony Gut is rundown and virtually abandoned

Take for example, the monument to National Hero Paul Bogle, in St. Thomas. 

Bogle was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay protesters, who marched for justice and fair treatment for all the people in Jamaica. After leading the Morant Bay rebellion,  he was captured, tried and convicted by the colonial government (who had declared martial law), and hanged on 24 October 1865 in the Morant Bay court house.

But you would never know it if you visited his monument in Stony Gut or anywhere in St. Thomas. Joan, my views: Reggae Falls and Barren Monuments (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Even the home of the late, National Hero Norman which was extensively and expensively refurbished, remains a virtually empty and rarely visited monument in Manchester.

Yes, we pay lip service to our heroes and even spend money making memorials, but what publicity is given regularly to encourage our citizens to visit these places and appreciate our history?

None in my book. 

Not even the age-old custom of introducing kids to these historically significant sites by organizing school trips, seems to be done anymore.😡

Let’s hope that if and when the museum in St. Ann’s Bay is constructed, it will not be similarly ignored, for you could hardly ask for a more central location than this could you?

 

Gender?

 

I consider myself to be an extremely liberal person but I have to admit I am getting totally confused on the issue of gender and in fact have been become a bit wary of the developments.

Wary, not intolerant let me emphasize. For I am trying hard to understand exactly what is happening.

You see, in the olden days, we knew of homosexuals, heterosexuals and lesbians.

Easy to understand.

Then. I heard about LGBTQ which Wikipedia says means "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (or questioning)"

Lawd have mercy, when did life get so complicated!

You know what is really troubling me quite a bit? This issue of young immature children being allowed/urged by parents and psychologists no less, to change their gender.

OMG. Suppose my parents had been so inclined?

For growing up, I was an outright tomboy who preferred to climb trees, shoot birds and rarely played with dolls. Further I loved wearing pants and shorts instead of pretty frilly dresses. 

I may have even thought that it would be nicer to be a boy.

But then came puberty and my natural instinct was to like boys not girls! 

In fact, as I developed in this new role, I even insisted on being treated like a lady😊.

Based on my own development, I have always had a special love/sympathy for homosexuals, who I realize do not choose what gender to be attracted to, anymore than any of us have control over who should be our parents!

In my book, it all happens naturally.

So where am I going with this?

It’s this article  which appeared in the New York Post under the headline “Retired Navy SEAL Chris Beck, who came out as trans, announces detransition: ‘destroyed my life,” which got me thinking.

It was published on December 12, 2022. 

It begins; “A retired Navy SEAL who became famous nearly 10 years ago after coming out as transgender announced he is detransitioning and called on Americans to “wake up” about how transgender health services are hurting children.

Everything you see on CNN with my face, do not even believe a word of it,” Chris Beck, formerly known as Kristin Beck, told conservative influencer Robby Starbuck in an interview published earlier this month. “Everything that happened to me for the last ten years destroyed my life. I destroyed my life....."

He continued;“There are thousands of gender clinics being put up over all of America, As soon as [kids] go in and say, ‘I’m a tomboy or this makes me feel comfortable’ and then a psychologist says, ‘oh, you’re transgender’. And then the next day you’re on hormones – the same hormones they are using for medical castration for pedophiles. Now they are giving this to healthy 13-year-olds.”

Concluding; “This is a billion-dollar industry between psychologists, between surgeries, between hormones, between chemicals, between follow-up treatments." “There are thousands of gender clinics popping up all over our country. And each of those gender clinics is going to be pulling in probably over $50 million.”

His declaration may be the most publicized, but it is not the first time I am reading about someone who had regrets about doing the gender change.

His experience is something every parent should take note of, for although he was an adult when he chose to take that mammoth step, regularly, you see stories about youngsters making the demand for gender change these days.

Sure, it may be an American issue now, but you know how America leads the world in these matters, so although you may not think it is relevant in your society now, it sure will be someday.

It’s Elvis!

It was quite a pleasant night at Kings Point Theater, where Chris McDonald backed by a live band, performed at Memories of Elvis.

According to his profile, despite the myriad of would-be performers who hope to breakout by mimicking the late great pop star Elvis Presley, “Chris MacDonald has the ultimate honor of being the "Only Tribute Artist hired by Elvis Presley Enterprises to perform at Graceland's Heartbreak Hotel."

Outside Kings Point theater

And I can see why, for he has quite a good voice and was impressive as he sung a series of Elvis popular hits from Christmas carols, to songs from Blue Hawaii.

But he did not stick only to Elvis as he also performed popular songs from Chuck Berry, Neil Diamond and got standing ovation for “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

It was amusing though how he first came on stage with an Elvis-like guitar and pretended to play, but he only did it once, giving us the impression, it was just a prop.

He also tried hard to capture Elvis’ moves and clothes, notably tight-fitting pants.😛

Kings Point is a Senior Community in Tamarac, Florida and they have quite an impressive theatre where there are regular live shows.

The senior ladies ate up the McDonald’s performance as he came offstage and wooed them leis, scarves, pecks on the cheeks and joined all who wanted in selfies.

Sonja, Rosa and I had attended on Saturday night to celebrate a pre-birthday with Rosa who would be marking the big day on Sunday.

It was our first time to the Kings Pont Theater and from the impressive schedule of shows that they have published for 2023, we will most likely be going there again soon.

Good choice by Sonja.

The three Musketeers 😊

.

 

What about the boys?

 According to a Gleaner report on December 6, 2022, “During the sitting of the Senate last Friday, Opposition Senator Damion Crawford called for the age of consent to be raised from 16 to 18 years old in light of a high number of teen girls leaving school after becoming pregnant.

 The age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is old enough to legally consent to participate in sexual activities.

 During Crawford’s contribution to the State of the Nation Debate, he cited statistics from a World Bank-UNICEF report which outlined that 49 per cent of school-age girls reported being unable to complete their high-school education because of pregnancy.”

 This is indeed troubling and if it takes raising the age of consent to deal with the mis-education of our girls, then I am all for it.

 Yes, young people will experiment with sex at all ages. This reality is older than you and I.

However, if the age of consent is designed to protect vulnerable, immature young girls from being taken advantage of, especially by ole-back pedophiles, I have no quarrel with increasing the age.

 There is a real problem here though, that affects young boys adversely.

This is where teenagers are in a relationship and the boy is only a year or two older than his girlfriend.

When they have sex, it is easy for the boy to become a victim of an intransigent law and earn a conviction for having sex with a minor. For example, if the boy is 17 years old and the girl under sixteen!

He deemed to have committed Statutory Rape!

You see how this is troublesome and unfair, for technically he would be having sex with a minor.

 I have heard of many cases like this where the girl’s parent/parents do not like her boyfriend and demand his conviction!

 So, if we want to make the current debate sensible and relevant, dealing with the age of consent by itself without taking steps to protect young, vulnerable boys as well, is grossly unfair.

 

 

Tranquility

I am happy that in the middle of the hassle of moving, getting people to clean and paint today (3rd December 2022, my Guatamalan, nature loving friend Rosa, called to tell me she was going to Wakodahatchee Park to look at the birds.

You know me. Just say outdoors and I am there!

So, I told her give me two hours. 

Thankfully she did and it was a really a great afternoon. 

The Wakodahachee Wetlands, opened in 1996 are in Delroy Beach, Florida. 

It has a three-quarter mile boardw​alk that crosses between open water areas and islands with shrubs and snags to foster nesting and roosting.

 This site is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail and offers many opportunities to observe birds in their natural habitats. 

Over 178 bird species have been identified there, along with turtles, alligators, rabbits, fish, frogs and raccoons and the words that come to mind are peace, beauty and tranquility. 

 I had the feeling I might have been there before with a Meet Up group, but nothing quite rung a bell. But I did, for I found the blog I did on that visit. 

Joan, my views: Alligator mating call (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Anyway this is the type of place you visit over and over again if you can. 

In fact we met a retired federal officer who is an amateur photographer and he admitted he had been visiting this park for 47 years! 

We thought this stork was a dried branch! Great camoflage

I suspect he is not the only one, since all around you see dozens of photographers, amateur and professional, toting huge expensive cameras,  just hoping to get that special shot!

This is not just a place for leisure seekers and bird watchers though, for it is reported that each day, the Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility pumps approximately two million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, which in turn acts as a percolation pond, returning billions of gallons of fresh water back into the water table.

For us though, it is a place to enjoy nature and find peace and tranquility.

A colorful iguana

A tree covered with storks

George, the Park's mascot!

 

It’s Christmas 😊

I don’t normally go to church, unless its Christmas or if a very special person passes. 

Then I go to be with their family.

This is not because I am an atheist, but because I hate religion. For in my book, religion is the root of all the evils in the world, having caused most of the bloodshed over the centuries.

In my search for a civilized, non-violent religion, I had even looked into Buddhism one time. Then chaos reigned in Myanmar, and we saw the terrible images of Buddhist Monks, chasing out Rohingya Muslims, killing them and burning their villages.😡

That cured me instantly.

Obviously, the common thread among most religions seems to be vicious dogmatism which dictates that only my religion is the true one, so no one must enjoy this planet unless they subscribe to MY particular religious beliefs!

However I make the exception about avoiding religion and go to churches during Christmas, because I love Christmas music.

 In fact, not just Christmas music but Gospel music in general…….a hangover from the days when I was dragged into boring church services and the music was the only respite.😏

So, when in Jamaica, I even caroling with my friends in Lauristan, Spanish Town, on  Christmas mornings. 

This despite the community’s terrible reputation for violence. However, that problem only applies to small section on the banks of the Rio Cobre River, where squatters have settled.

The rest of the community has solid citizens and my friend Audley Nain, formerly of the Jamaica Folk Singers who is also president of the Citizens Association, started a Christmas ritual years ago whereby we would start at 5 am on Christmas morning,  knocking on peoples’ gates and singing carols loudly.

Then we all converge at the Community Centre where everyone would bring a dish, curried goat, jerk pork, turned cornmeal, hot chocolate, roast breadfruit and on and on😊.

After a sumptuous meal, the kids have their entertainment and we our dominoes, whatever.

How I miss those sessions, although I had the pleasure of joining them to celebrate Jamaica 60 this year. Joan, my views: Memories of Jamaica's 60th Anniversary celebrations. (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

But I am rambling aren’t I?

This was just a preamble to say how much I enjoyed the Christmas Concert at United Methodist Church in Plantation, Florida, which kicked off the season for me.

This was a Steve Higgins Production, in conjunction with the Consul General of Jamaica, featuring the South Florida Caribbean Chorale.

Steve Higgins as you probably know, is an excellent Jamaican tenor and cultural ambassador.

I enjoyed the entire concert, the interaction between the MC and audience, the music, and even the bits that the Jamaican Consul General to Miami performed.

He seems to be quite charismatic and talented.

I loved too how the choir and other performers switched from traditional Christmas Carols to Jamaican Christmas Carols written by the late, great, Noel Dexter and even one perforemd by Jamaican performer Pluto Shervington.

So, I have saved quite a few clips below for posterity. 

For posterity