It's gonna be alright

I don't know which misguided person said 'time heals all wounds' but that is a bit of an exaggeration, for time certainly cannot heal some wounds. What it does though is to make some unpleasant situations eventually become nothing but faint memories.

It's sometimes easy to start feeling sorry for yourself when you are as restless as I am and feeling stuck, especially after they closed off the gym and pool in our complex.

I was therefore forced to put things into perspective.

Heck, what am I complaining about when the late, great, Nelson Mandela was stuck in total confinement in a much smaller space for 25 years! But who am I to want to compare myself with such a unique person, for such tribulation would have driven the ordinary human totally crazy!

The point is though, millions, at some time or the other, have had to remain in one place and most survived, put it behind them and moved on.

I remember watching an interview with a Holocaust survivor who was kept hidden by himself in the attic of a kind non-jew for three whole years from he was age nine. He was over 90 years old at the time I saw the interview and he had survived, prospered and lived a good, successful life.

I also read the story of a Rwandan lady who was hidden in the bathroom of a pastor for three months during the genocidal campaign in that country. She eventually got out, moved on and is a successful teacher in her country today.

And didn't I, a few years ago, ride out a miserable six weeks without electricity, without a means of making a living and eating tinned corned beef almost every day?

Yep, that was from September to  December 1988 when a wicked category 5 hurricane named Gilbert, devastated my little island and some of us in the capital, Kingston, never got back electricity for months as most of the light posts on the island were torn down.

I was totally unprepared for that event although the Met Service had been giving several warnings that a direct hit was inevitable. The problem was though, every year we got those same warnings and no hits, so I had stopped preparing for hurricanes!

I, therefore, had nothing stored up for that rainy day, so to speak.

But although I was left in the dark for six weeks, I really cannot now even remember the day to day trials and tribulations of what must have been an unpleasant and stressful period.

We were not under quarantine as we are now and our freedom of movement was only curtailed because trees and light posts blocked most roads for days and even weeks. Thank god I have never been without my trusty bicycle though!

I do remember that because I was unprepared, I did have difficulty with basic foods and other stuff, for even where you could find a shop open, the shelves were bare. Besides, farms had been wiped out and because so many roads were blocked, even where businesses had any goods to distribute, vehicles could not get through for weeks.

I was by then a single mom with two teenage children and no financial assistance from their father, no fridge, not even fans to keep us cool and only lamps to light the dark nights. Luckily, I had the lamps and candles as power cuts in Jamaica had been regular and unceasing, although none really lasted more than a day at a time before that stupid hurricane.

Now, I don't even remember how I managed financially, as most businesses in the city were closed as they could not operate without electricity and because I had just set up my Public Relations business, it must have been a particularly dry time for me.

One of the few things I recall about the aftermath is how it took me years before I could even think of eating corned beef from the tin, for as a  rabid carnivore without a refrigerator, I remember always having to turn to that for meals. when I could find any to purchase.

You know, there is a popular adage in Jamaica "good fren betta dan packet money" and it did prove to be so true during that drought, for whenever friends saw anything available, anywhere, they would get extra for others.

It took me years too before I could drink room temperature water, for without electricity we had to boil the water and with the natural heat on our island, we never had a chance for the water to really become cool, for we had no ice.

Oh, yes, we did get ice for a while, for when the roads cleared a bit, a friend of mine used to drive some 16 miles daily to Spanish Town to buy ice until we heard that the water they were using to make the ice, was the irrigation water in the canals!  Those waters weren't even used for irrigation alone, for whenever you drove by the canals, you would see kids swimming, people bathing and even animals in them.

In retrospect, we used that ice for many weeks before the rumor (?) stopped us in our tracks, but it never killed us!

I recall with much love how when I told my brother who lives in the USA about that dilemma, he offered to send me a cooler (as neither coolers nor things like generators, were to be found anywhere on the island). Yes, he sent it,  but with everything virtually closed down for months, it arrived about six months after the electricity was finally restored!😡😡😡.

It must have been a difficult and stressful period, but now all I have are vague memories of quite insignificant things like the above, for we survived, we overcame, we rebuilt and we moved on.

The point is, no matter how dire things appear to be at the moment, nothing lasts forever.

I, therefore, predict that by next year this time, those of us who don't get killed by this invisible menace, will forget the confinement and will probably be laughing about some of the trivial discomforts that occurred during leap year 2020. 

Always grateful

Today is the 1st of April, a day when I normally mess around with my friends, thinking up and playing silly pranks.

Not April 1, 2020, for today is not just another day when the world stands still in the face of Corvid 19, (as the damn virus is called) but also, men, previously thought to be  'all-powerful,' continue to tremble in fear of the unknown.

A pool of my own

Today is also supposed to have also been an especially significant day for me, for it was the first time in my life that I was due to set foot on the great continent of Africa.

My plan had been to land at Nairobi airport this afternoon, have a whale of a time then go on to Ethiopia in the middle of the month.

Ethiopia, like Kenya, has always been on my bucket list.

Kenya to get up close to wonderful, rare, exotic wild animals and Ethiopia because of its intriguing history and the fact that all our lives, my daughter and I have had constant queries from strangers as to whether we are from that country.

 Hilarious, since neither of us has ever been there and have no relationship through our ancestors to that country. (My daughter did the ancestry thing and it revealed that our roots are in Sierre Leone. That confirms what my grandmother told me decades ago as she had always insisted that we were from the Mandingo tribe).

But this trip was not to be so I must move on, stop complaining and be grateful for what I have.

I think after my son was killed 24 years ago, the thing that helped me to heal best was learning about gratitude. I don't remember who explained to me the healing power of gratitude, but I remain grateful for whoever it was that opened my eyes.

So, for decades now, I have practiced finding things to be grateful for every day.

Even last night as I had an awful pain in my wrist and was about to feel sorry for myself, I found myself smiling instead as I remembered how painless that felt, compared to what I went through with chikungunya.

Chikungunya became my barometer for pain some years ago.

For the information of those not familiar with that disease, it is spread by mosquitos and it ravaged at least 50% of the Jamaican population in 2014.

Before I got it, I thought the most painful thing in the world was delivering a baby. Chikungunya proved me wrong.

To begin, whereas the baby pain lasts only a few hours at most, the excruciating pains accompanying that disease can linger up to a lifetime. While that disease raged through my body, there were times I could not even stand up, because every inch of my body hurt. Many days I even found myself crawling on the ground to get from place to place while wondering if I would ever walk again!

That disease is really evil as it targets every joint in the body, especially where there had been previous damage. I had heard the after-effects lasted five years, but that is not true. For as a child, both my thumbs had slipped out of the joints and my wrists damaged, when I was learning to roller skate. Chikungunya not only targeted them both during its evil reign but also, for every now and then, even last night, the severe pain returns to those joints.

Now, why did I stray so far? 

Oh, I remember, I was telling you about being grateful for having had chikungunya so I know what real pain feels like thus can dismiss the frequent tinges that come with old age.

The abandoned golf course all to myself. Nice

This morning, April 1st, as I enjoyed my early walk, I could not help being very grateful for my current environment which includes having a huge, closed down golf course all to myself.

Lots of birds and even iguanas love this golf course too and while I hate the reptiles, the ducks, geese, and egrets are always wonderful to have around.

I once saw a raccoon in one of the ponds but that was months ago. Maybe he still sees me but I don't see him.

Last week,  I also saw the most beautiful orange and black bird in one of the trees too.

Then there is the pool that I can have all to myself when I am finished. Although there are some 30 units in my over 55 complex, the place often feels like a morgue, as I rarely see anyone else outside, so have most facilities to myself.

I am absolutely amazed at how people love to or are even able to stay indoors. I seem to have a more serious case of claustrophobia than most other people. When I see on television what's happening in places like Italy, I cannot but wonder if I wouldn't crazy having to stay totally indoors. Even when I visit cold places like Colorado and am not forced to stay inside but do so more than normal as it is so cold outside, I find it intolerable.

So once again, here I am giving thanks for everything as we go through another day when we are once again reminded that so-called powerful humans are not in control, but an invisible virus.

Ironic but true.

Out of evil comes good

Being a positive person, I always like to take the position that all things happen for the greater good.

Corona caused me to miss, probably a once in a lifetime trip to Kenya in April 2020 and an upcoming trip to St. Augustine, Florida in May 2020 and I am still trying to figure out the greater good, but time will reveal all!

In the meantime, I must meditate on these wise words written by the late, great Bob Marley; 
There's a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear
This could be the first trumpet
Might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer
Many more will have to die
Don't ask me why
Things are not the way they used to be
I won't tell no lie
One and all got to face reality now

Get the drift?

As far as the planet which I now occupy is concerned, having an invisible virus which has taught many powerful people that they are not all-powerful, is wonderful for all who they sought to rule or influence.

You also need to read the essay called Quiet China written by a Chinese pastor to a brother who lives in Istanbul for some of his views have really made me stop to appreciate some really good aspects of this virus.

One observation that he made which I overwhelmingly want to associate myself with is;

"The 'wild animals' that were once held by humans in cages finally managed to put humans in cages'. 

This is clearly in reference to the fact that the virus came from a wild animal that was infected by bats at a live market in China.

If this virus can deter the Chinese from killing and eating wild animals, especially exotic and endangered ones, it will be a great gift to mankind, especially future generations. For this craving of theirs to eat rare tigers and other exotic animals; kill elephants because of some so-called medicinal effect they say they get from the ground tusks, thus depleting numerous endangered species, has also cost many countries in Africa and Asia, dearly. 

Affected African and Asian countries have had to spend billions in scarce resources to keep away poachers and save the species so future generations can enjoy these wonderful animals.

Let's hope the habit of putting wild animals that were once held by humans in cages, will be broken forever, even after the virus takes us, humans, out of our cages'

The planet rejoices

Another observation he made in his essay was;

'The air is getting fresher...the haze is gone...the sky is getting bluer.'

While his essay was specifically about what was happening in China, because almost every country has now had to restrict human activity because of this invisible virus, worldwide the air, sea, and sky will start to become cleaner and the planet will heal.

Already, in Italy, one of the countries most badly affected, a miracle is taking place. The news is that the waters around Venice have actually started to become blue and fish and even dolphins can now be seen swimming around happily.

I have been to Venice more than once and never ever imagined those waters could become blue!

Another way the virus is forcing us to stop destroying our planet is that it has reduced traffic as millions are being forced to park their cars instead of going to offices and schools.

Production has not stopped in most cases though simply because millions are now operating/teaching just as effectively from their homes. This has also cut into the heavy use of air condition in the vast concrete structures. For as you know, HFC used in air conditions, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

There is absolutely no reason why after this virus teaches us that many workers including teachers can be just as effective working from homes, this should not NOW become the new norm.

In my book, anything that helps to heal this planet and fight climate change is good. So by forcing us to change the way we do things, the corona is doing mankind a great good.

As to forcing us to become more hygienic! By the time this is over, the measures we have been forced to take,  should (I hope) become a habit. For good hygiene will not only fight corona and other viruses but also regular germs which are also hazardous to our health.

Importantly too, by forcing us to spend more time with our families, that can only be good for the welfare of most children. 

In his final sentence in the essay referred to above, the pastor declared; 'THE VIRUS REMINDED US THERE IS AN ALMIGHTY AND HUMANS ARE JUST HUMANS.'

Need I say more?

It always helps too, when we, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, remember that 'Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.' 

So let's give thanks for small mercies.

https://youtu.be/HUTn8cmBi9c

Divide and rule

When the first white settlers set foot in North America, they tried to wipe out the native people totally, in order to steal their land. 

The rest of the well-armed white world stood silently and observed the attempted genocide but did nothing.

The white settlers learnt a lifelong lesson about the inaction of spectators.

So since gaining control of this great land, they have perfected the art of maintaining total dominance and control over every other race, whether native or fellow immigrants, by exploiting differences and picking them off one by one.

For they recognize the truth of  Edmond Burke's words; " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (people) to do nothing."

They brought in black slaves from Africa and when they could no longer work them to death, their various white supremacist groups tried to violently eliminate them. Those that survived were subjected to the most vicious psychological, financial and physical atrocities. While a few whites were uncomfortable with this, because they loved the benefits of white privilege more, the majority remained silent. 

Many minorities here, also remained silent as they had never been enslaved.

Next, the oppressors targeted the Japanese who had come in and helped to build their railroads.

Other minorities kept their eyes tightly closed.

After 2002, it was the Muslims, because of the bombing of the twin towers and because their religion was different.

Most other minorities have remained basically silent, whether out of religious differences or fear.

Hispanics who had long been conveniently divided by the 'rulers' between the privileged Cubans and others, were next in line. So after 2016, they were lumped into one group because they were procreating too rapidly and they were just not white enough for the ruling Republican establishment.

Most members of other minority groups have basically looked on in silence.

Then in 2020, Corona virus made not only Chinese citizens in the USA but also anyone looking like a south east Asian, the target of the hatred. So today, hourly news reports about such people being harassed, cursed, spitted on and violently attacked, lead the news. 
 I have even seen tweets and other comments from minorities who comment approvingly, for they had long resented the superior attitude of many of the Asian people and the advantages some are given in the universities.

The ability of the white American establishment to find and exploit differences that keep minorities dividied while they rule supreme, has led me to wonder whether most of us have never understood the depth of the poem written in the 1930's by German cleric Martin Niemoeller. 

It said;

“In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

 Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. 

 Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

 Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. 

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

When will we learn that "divide and conquer" will always give oppressors the edge over us?

https://youtu.be/HUTn8cmBi9c

The circle of life

There is a feature on Facebook which I really cherish. That is their reminding us of your posts and photos posted years ago.

This picture  below, from sometime in 2016 was especially memorable.

Here I am, looking down the throat of a nurse shark, as a fisherman held its jaws open.

On that particular day, I had been returning from Bob Marley beach in Bull Bay, St. Andrew, Jamaica after a vigorous ride there with my fiends from Fun and Thrills Adventure club, to enjoy a Saturday morning swim.

Just before reaching the main road, I had run into two men, one pushing a wheelbarrow with a strange looking creature inside.

Curious, I stopped to find out what it was. When I was told it was a nurse shark, I berated the men for killing the poor creature which I declared was harmless.

That's when one told me it had been caught in his fishing net into which it had stealthily entered it to eat the fish inside.

He then pried its jaws open, to show me the evidence of its dastardly act.

He said he was going to sell it to a security company to recoup some of his losses. They he said, would grind it up for dog food.

That dear friends was another valuable lesson for me about the circle of life.

https://youtu.be/O4H4Js9esxY

Corona jottings

As I sat down to express my thoughts on this mad virus that has the world in a tailspin, I decided to look up the meaning of the word 'corona' for didn't the Japanese company which manufactures Toyota, name one of their models corona some years ago?

That's what drove me to the on-line dictionary. There were several meanings listed but I assume the one the Japanese were thinking of was; "likened to a crown". In giving the origin, it says "mid 16th century (in corona 1 (sense 5)): from Latin, ‘wreath, crown’."

I wonder if anyone still has a Toyota corona and if it is today considered valuable or a piece of junk? Remind me to check this out one day.

Well so much for that civilized Corona product (in addition to the beer) for the Corona we now have is the evil one that has brought the world to a standstill! (How on earth did it earn such a lofty name?)

  

I have been enjoying my retirement and why shouldn't I, for didn't I have to work more than fifty years (many decades of which I had to finance the education of my daughter and grandson almost single-handedly, except for the regular assistance of my big brother Bernie!) to get to this stage? \

So I was determined to spend as much of the rest of my life as possible, doing the things I love most, ... travelling and writing. 

Then corona stepped in. So is it that I should  now just get accustomed to writing only?

For I was  scheduled to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya on the 1st April 2020,  after flying out from Florida on the 31st March. (Maybe I should stop making serious plans for dates that include all fool's day!😇😇😇)

Long story short, the world locked down on me for not only did I see flights being cancelled and airports locked down but then the Kenyan government, like most governments throughout the world, put out an advisory that only their citizens and residents would be let in. But that turned out to be good luck for the next thing I knew, my Canadian hosts were ordered home by their government, so if by chance I did reach Kenya, I would have been homeless.

Hopefully, I will see you later my gracious hosts, the Masai, lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and all the other fantastic animals found in that wonderful region.

You know, I had forgotten until my brother reminded me, that this was my second attempt to try to visit the land of my dreams, which had been frustrated. For in 2019, a number of us planned to set out for that very destination, but one of the group, got ill and had to undergo an emergency operation.  Thank heavens it was successful but since then, no one else had appeared to be in the mood for the long trek so soon after.

I am positive my third attempt in late 2020 or early 2021 will be successful though. For I can't be so bad lucked can I?

  

So here I am in the USA where things have come to a full stop. 

With the community center where I  do my yoga, zumba and play pickle-ball now locked down tighter than a sardine can, I have had to find some morning activity to I remain healthy so I can take on the world when it opens up.

Well on Monday I went riding on my bicycle but the next day, I rediscovered our fully equipped recreation center for which I have been paying maintenance but not using the facilities. So  I went there to the gym, hot tub then pool. No other human being around so it was quite good.
I therefore shall return daily.

So while corona may be a temporary setback, it certainly is not going going to stop me or keep me cooped up inside. Maybe I will change my routines and travel less for a while, but that's about it.

 😊 And I shall remain fit and healthy and ready to move on when the rest of the world opens up.

(260) Talk Jamaican: di chiney virus - YouTube

Being quarantined is no fun

As a joke, on the 21st February 2020, I put a post on my Facebook page asking if anyone wanted a free cruise. I was absolutely shocked by the number of persons who replied yes, considering that the horror stories about people being quarantined on cruises ships and ports of call refusing them landing, had started to surface.

I don't think anyone in the world loves cruising more than I do. Or just travelling for that matter.

I got my first cruise when I was 14 years old and was so excited about the experience that the first job I applied for on leaving high school was to work on a cruise ship.

Thank god I never got the job for I learnt later in life that working on these floating hotels is no fun.

For the workers seem to work almost 24 hours per day. Also, they live in cramped quarters on the bottom of the ship and have to be nice to all sorts of assholes.

Not getting that job was probably my best luck in life for apart from the horrible conditions under which cruise ship employees work, lots of them pick up dangerous viruses.

But back to quarantines.

I am claustrophobic so being quarantined is a fate worse than death.

 I have been quarantined twice and thank god it was for short periods of time.

The first time was when I developed a fever after returning to Jamaica from vacation in Guyana. On that trip I did the exciting trek through the forest by minibus over to Brazil.

When I went to the doctor after developing a fever shortly after returning home, it created panic with the damn doctor who swore I had developed dengue, malaria or yellow fever, mosquito borne diseases that were no longer in Jamaica at that time.

That's when she said I must be quarantined in a hospital, public or private.

At least I could go on my balcony

 I had never heard about the process before so called a friend who was a GP, to find out what would happen if I refused to turn myself in. He soberly advised me that they would send the police to bodily take  me in. That was enough for me so reluctantly I checked into a private hospital and was confined to bed under a mosquito net for three whole boring days.

It turned out to be a colossal waste of money as nothing was  wrong with me except some ordinary damn flu.

The second time was in 2018 when a group of us went on a cruise of the Canal zone. The  night before we arrived in Old Cartagena, Colombia,  I had gone to watch the show on board and had to comment how a man behind me was coughing non stop.

The next day we took a tour of the old city and after we had finished  visiting the square, I stood on the sidewalk waiting on my friends when Bam, I collapsed on the sidewalk. nearly bashing my head on raised section. Maybe I was temporarily out as when I came to, a crowd was standing over me with everyone offering to help. My friends secured my belongings and put me in a taxi back to the boat.

I had not been feeling ill but when  they took my temperature it was 104 degrees. Long story short, I was then quarantined to my room for two days. It was so boring. I did not really want to come off in Limon, Costa Rica as I have visited it quite a few times, neither did I want to come off in Colon as I had also visited that town once and did not like it.

That's all I could see of Colon from my balcony

But being confined to my room while everyone else was out having fun was a killer.
I later learnt that 40% of the passengers on that ship had gotten the flu and some even had to be airlifted off.

I recall all this as I listen to the horror  stories of people being quarantined on cruise ships for up to fourteen days during  this corona outbreak and I sympathize with them as I think I  would die if I was confined to a cabin for such long periods!

 I really love taking cruises and was looking forward to doing the river cruise down the Rhine later this year, stopping in Northern and central Europe on the way, but I think I might just give cruises a break for a while.

For while cruises are fun, quarantine is hell.