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.😥.

Proud of Turkish women

Turkey, though a Muslim country, is far more liberal than I expected, as you see women involved in every type of activity.

At least in Istanbul.

There, I  saw very few covered heads outside the mosques and even saw a few girls in really short shorts on the streets.

We supported their fund raising effort, buying bracelets with the Palestinian flag

The only real distinction I saw was in the mosques where the prayer section for females is not open and they have much smaller spaces for this.

     Modesty clad Indonesian Muslim women. That's how I had visualized Turks too😊

Clearly the type of reports you see about women in Muslim countries, does not prevail in Istanbul.

It was great too, to see that the majority of people active in Sultanahmet Square, in Istanbul, not only to publicly standing with and showing support for the people of Gaza where especially women and children are being massacred by the Israelis, but they were also raising funds to help feed them.

For as you know, a vast number of Palestinian women and children living in Gaza, are being starved to death too.

It's not too many places outside of university campuses, that you see every-day people showing concern about the terrible massacre occuring in Gaza.

 At this venue however, the dominant leaders were definitely ladies.

Later the women were joined by a formal group of men for what appeared to be speeches and some kind of concert.

Proud of them all.

I wish people all over the world would show some concern for the suffering of others, rather than just complaining about every little thing that affects us personally!

It's Desantis' fault!

 We visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago recently and although it was a great learning experience, we had to pay three times the regular adult entrance fee😡.

We three Florida residents got charged far more than anyone else😡.

 

The posted entry fee was $19 but when we showed our id's which revealed that that we are residents of Florida, we were charged a whopping $49.95!

I can think of no other reason for the inequity except for the fact that we live in a state controlled by that obnoxious Ron DeSantis!

For what else could be the cause?

To tell the truth, I too would charge anyone who I suspected may have, directly or inadvertently, caused that idiot to be the Governor of a state so can now be on the nation's stage, double or triple, so I guess I can't complain too loudly.😆  

My friend says it's a 'punishment tax'.☺

Love it.

Link; Joan, my views: Chicago born. (joan-myviews.blogspot.com.

Fascinating beluga whales frolic in their deep pools.

This aquarium,  the third largest in the nation is a great place to visit though, whether you are an adult or child.

We learned a lot after spending hours on end observing the behavior of some animals that we are familiar with and others that had previously been unknown to us.

So much to learn.

Dolphins delight the audience every time.😊 

The world of corals is vividly displayed. I thought corals were plants, but learned they are animals!

The largest lobster I have ever seen!

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 Videos of ' life in the deep' as displayed at Shedd Aquarium.

  

Yes, it's expensive for Floridians, but still worthwhile!

Exploring Africa!

I had the opportunity to visit the Motherland twice in 2023, but found it intriguing when quite a few of my fellow countrymen/women, asked incredulously  "how yu go a Africa so often?"

Had I visited Europe or North America twice in a year, it wouldn’t have seemed so strange to anyone.😥.

Snow-capped Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,
as seen from Kenya.

You see, we Jamaicans were brainwashed for decades (even after independence😡!) into believing that the European and North American  continents are the epiphany of civilization, whereas Africa is a dark undeveloped place that no one should visit.

Serious ting.

It may appear strange, but many Jamaicans even think of Africa as a country and not a continent made up of 54 diverse and independent nations!

This is because we have been fed so much negative crap about Africa as a whole, that most have not had the interest to research the facts for themselves.

Anyway, I plead guilty to belonging to the class of travelers who have avoided Africa for far too long!

I actually reached the south-western tip of the continent😊

So, for decades when traveling to faraway lands for pleasure, had chosen some exalted city in Europe, never a country in Africa!

 I was bitten by the travel bug from I was 14 years old, thanks to my parents. For it was at that age that they took me to places as diverse as Cuba (then highly developed and not yet communist), a few small eastern Caribbean islands, Montreal and New York.

So, it was from then that I decided that I wanted to see the natural beauty of the world, interact with every animal I could find, and relive history, but bypass cities and man-made edifices.

Playing with a 40-year-old seal in South Africa

But Africa was never in my plans, because of the negative press with which I had been bombarded for decades.

It was only when my Canadian friends who went to work in Kenya, invited me to stay with them after telling me how wonderful it was there, that I decided to explore.😡.

So, Kenya was the first country in Africa that I visited and it was a wonderful experience.

It was also then I  discovered what a fool I had been all along!

Quite frankly though, I was a bit surprised at how developed Nairobi was, because of the negative images that had been implanted in my brain for decades.(brainwashing is real and has proven to be super-effective for decades!)

Well, that's all behind me now, for it will be Africa every time when going on long-haul trips, for there is so much to see and do and so little time. 

On safari in Kenya with my hosts and friends.

Nairobi is very developed

The reality of Kenya certainly belied the propaganda that I had heard all my life. 

What impressed me immediately too, was how highly they respect their own currency, for that's the only cash they accept.

 Better, yet, they are so technologically advanced, that almost everyone pays with their phone. 

So whether you are buying an orange on the street or a car, just pay with the swipe of your phone.

Since that eye-opening trip, it's been Africa all the way for me.

Hanging out in a lobby in Botswana

My second trip to the Motherland took me to parts of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Robben Island (where Mandela was imprisoned for decades), and Cape Town in South Africa.

With Wendy and family.

This was all thanks to my Jamaican friend Wendy, who lives in Lusaka. She has lived and worked in Africa for more than seven years and knows areas of the Continent extremely well. 

I learned so much just visiting museums on this trip!

She was therefore able to guide me on how to travel, where to go, where to stay etc.

 It was a wonderful trek and I am eternally grateful as I was able to travel to places and experience things I had only heard of, but never thought I could do in this lifetime.

A Mandela memorial on Robben Island

Up to now, I still can't believe I saw and did the things which had only been distant dreams for decades. 

Fact is, the education I received on these brief trips have been more valuable and memorable than I have accumulated in many years.

Sections of Cape Town, South Africa

More recently, I had the opportunity to visit Ghana and even got my new name, KORLEKi.

I felt so at home in Ghana for the foods, flora, city scenes, lifestyle, fauna and even the huge gap between the rich and poor, seemed so much like ours at home.

But boy is their culture deep.

Joan, my views: A cultural powerhouse (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

I now understand why Rita Marley made that county her home for some 20 years!

I understand that the properties above are part of the Marley portfolio I Ghana.

Ghanaians are also super-welcoming but interestingly, while I had been under the impression that most of the slaves that were transported to Jamaica had Ghanaian roots, on my visit there, I learnt that only 23% did. 

Joan, my views: Religion and slavery (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

Although i  had long ago been told by my grandmother that our actual roots were in Sierra Leone with the Mandingo tribe, I still felt at home in Ghana and honored to be inducted into the Krobo tribe.😊

These school children reminded me so much of our own💓 

I also discovered that many Ghanaians are outstanding linguists, speaking French, and German due to their close association with Brussels where thousands live and work. 

Most also speak English very well as it is compulsory in school and they all speak many tribal languages as well.

The magnificent Mosi-oa-Tunya which spans sections of Zambia and Zimbabwe, is named among the top 7 natural  wonders of the world.

Because I am crazy about animals, I think the country I need to return to soon is Botswana, although I still have another 48 independent nations in the homeland to sample!

You can easily do both land and river safaris in Botswana 

So much to do, so little time.

Oh well, it was the insightful Lao-tzu who said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," so I should be grateful that I got the opportunity to take that single step a few years ago.

Now its on to the rest of the journey.