Sorry It Took So Long...

Maybe it's the anticipation of friends near-forgotten, having not seen them in what seems a lifetime, or the mouth-watering prospect of being on the cusp of finally graduating, but something has me wanting to go to school; and desperately. So much so that I've forgotten to enjoy my trek to back to school.

Tonight, I'm writing from a home that I've visited on many occasions and it's always a pleasure to be sitting and talking with family, even if it once again signals that my short-sighted government, who ironically is investing heavily in tourism, has yet to afford my nation a night-landing capable airport. Yet even the joy of hanging with family, whom I last saw a few years ago because of the many interesting routes I've taken to Jamaica over the years, pales in comparison to the burning desire to get back to familiar surroundings and faces. And to think just a few months ago I was itching to run from it to the uncertainty that home offered.

Be careful, though, that you don't interpret what has been a fore mentioned, as meaning that i did not enjoy it. That was not the case at all. I enjoyed it all, from the sweltering heat and horrible humidity to the air-conditioned newsroom of one of the top radio stations in the country and every degree in between. The long Sabbath services, drawn-out by incredibly beautiful singing (it's in the genes...lol) and heart-wrenching testimonies are just part of the experience of my entire "summer's experience". However, I have come to realize that with each tropical depression, summer slips away and I have arrived at it's inevitable end.

I felt it about a week ago and I knew that I had already turned the corner and school was staring me right in the face. Surprisingly and, like I mentioned, I don't know exactly why, my attitude towards the notion of returning to school is better than it's ever been. And I understand that some may not share my enthusiasm and of such I will do my best only to express it on blogs and keep it to myself when we meet. But know that I will be delighted to see you and eager to again attempt the "perfect" semester.

T.O.T.D: When In Rome, Be Sure To Tell Them You're Dominican!!!

From Whence I Came........Post 3

Kanye said it in his hit song 'Touch the Sky' and no sooner had I stepped off the plane as I had resounded it, "Feels Good To Be Home!" And indeed it does. With my travels concluded, having reached my intended final destination, my mood has changed from one of anticipation and expectation to one of focus. The single focus, as of now, is to drive the summer in the way I think it should go to turn expectations into reality. But the final leg of my journey wasn’t short of some drama.

The flight out of Tortola left on time at 7am Sunday 24th of May. Without me! You see what had happened was, I’d left my passport and ticket information on the coffee table while I brushed my teeth and since mom had already started the car by the time i was done, in my haste to bolt out the door I had failed to remember or notice where the passport was or that it wasn’t on my person.

The drive to the airport was about 30 minutes, just cruising, ‘cause we were making good time. And as is usual for me and mom we talked about everything but failed to mention anything that would have triggered the word or the thought ‘passport’. We didn’t notice the grave oversight until we pulled up to the unloading zone and it struck me that I had forgotten it, and I remembered exactly where I had put it! So as mom sped off to retrieve it, I took the place in the line that I would not relinquish for an hour, sitting on one of my bags and staring across the check-in area at the huge clock, watching each painful second slip away and realizing that I wasn’t gonna make the flight. That was 6am.

Mom returned promptly at 7 as the plane roared into the air just overhead. So the only other option was to have the attendant at the counter reserve me a seat on the 1 pm flight, which meant check-in was at 10am. It was 7! But mom was adamant that she wouldn’t take me back home, so for most of the next three hours we just waited and ate and watched planes leave and waited some more. We did happen to meet two Dominican people though, which was kinda nice. I must pause a second to note that it seems that everyone I’ve met on this trip has met someone that I had previously met or knew someone who knew me. Dare I say, therein lies the true joy in ‘small island’ Caribbean travel!

The flight that I got on took me on a tour of the leeward islands...lol. First, a brief stop off in St. Maarten, where I’d been only a week and a half earlier, then to St. Kitts, flying past the island of Stacia and circling the airport and the town of Basseterre a few times. Thankfully the wait in Antigua, when we finally got there, was quite brief and I met two of my cousins who work at customs there.

When i finally saw the Dominican coastline, flying from Antigua, the rush of blood to the head was almost too much for me to take. My heart leaped with excitement and though most of the other passengers didn’t quite seem as elated as I was, my face could do little to hide the anxiety. Strangely, I reacted just the way I thought I would have at seeing Dominica again, even though I initially thought that after the long day I’d had in expectation of the moment I’d just be relieved it was over. So I got to Dominica at 5pm instead of at 10:30 am, as I had been expected to.

My first week here has been incredible and the hugs and kisses have flowed like streams, overflowing their banks. I’ve met family and re-acquainted myself with friends, some of whom I haven’t seen for over five years. I’m brimming with joy and I can barely contain it. Feels good to be home, you know what, scratch that, feels GREAT to be HOME!!!

From Whence I Came.....Post 2

This summer for me will either be the best summer ever, or terribly disappointing. There was no build up to my summer! It was on a whim that I asked to be let out of my summer academic obligations and by the seat of my pants that this entire elaborate journey home was carved out of schedules and countries; and all on a budget. But it was that same element of spontaneity that now has left me expecting so much. I have been to three countries so far and with each stop, the excitement grows.

I feel like a bit of a bum because I've been here a week and a half and have only mustered up one blog entry so far. This is compounded by the fact that the country is beautiful, the people are very courteous and I have been reminded on countless occasions of just how splendid island life has always been. Add to the the view from my perch, high in the hills and I'm a quad-bum...

Out the windows I have borne witness to magnificent views, looking across the marble sea, on which sailboats, yachts, speedboats and ferries zip past every couple of minutes headed for the U.S.V.I or one of the other small islands and islets that make up this country. And that fresh sea breeze. I can't quite get enough of the sea breeze. A stark alternative to my coop, nestled, or should I say buried, in the cool hills of Manchester obscuring any possibility of a view!

I have also re-discovered what it feels like to be "home" at church. The metropolitan churches that I have gotten used to with their excellent musicians and choirs, fail to provide and pale in comparison to a good-old, comfortable, familiar Sabbath day's fellowship! This has further afforded me a foretaste of home. And I can't wait. I leave for home in the morning and I doubt that tonight's rest will be the least bit satisfying. I also face what may turn out to be the longest hour of my life; my wait in-transit in Antigua, with the anticipation of home burning the tip of my tongue!

So here I go, another long summer to explore. Untold possibilities await me, or none at all; And I can't wait to find out which!!!

From Whence I Came.....Post 1

So I finally left Mandeville. I can't say it hasn't been absolutely torturous being there every single day of the two years since I've been home. So this could not have come at a better time! I am at the peak of my annoyance with everything that my life has now come to mean and represent. My days are now a series of endless ones and like a soap opera, they blend seamlessly into each other as I repeat the same activities in a sort of drone-like fashion that makes life as I used to know it seem so interesting compared to now. I feel like I have lost all that once made me who I was and I'm not sure that I'm too happy with what I have become! So what better way to refresh and refocus that to return to whence it all began, back to square one and try and retrace my steps, taking careful note of where I missed "that right turn at Albuquerque".

Tonight, I'm writing from Tortola and in these unfamiliar surroundings my heart already feels free, unleashed and ready to explore the possibilities that come with being on vacation. I don't expect much of a "vacation" though; I'll be out of here in a week and a half and then it'll be all work, till August. Much of my new material will be drawn from the thrill of a new focus, not just in my life, but a shift from the daily routine to something else....and I think I'm at the point where anything will do!!!

I Was Thinking....

Life is oft compared to a journey, a seemingly lemming-like march towards the an inevitable end. And the ultimate goal of life has been framed as happiness, forcing us, or at least most of us, to relentlessly pursue it. In our pursuit, we attempt to ignore life the way it may actually be. Instead of a state of constant motion, consider life as a perpetual state of standing still. We can only be in one moment at a time; the present. This minuscule measurement of time is always at the intersection of the past and the future; smack dab in the middle of what has been and what will be. Maybe it is not us that move through life, but life that moves around us. Maybe all we can do is turn in this or that direction and allow life to carry us.

We live each moment in cognizance of the fact that we cannot change the past. Ironically, we are forced to recall, with each passing second, what has gone on before the time that we are now living in. Whether we look to the past for a vision of tomorrow's possibilities, or we stare back with nostalgic intent, one thought eventually slams against our frontal lobe. We come face to face with the reality that we cannot and will never be able to change it. We must then wonder, what purpose is there in regret? It seems good for little more than wastage of the few precious years granted to us by reason of strength.

All of our power lies in the potential of our futures. The things that we can do and that we have yet to do, should be where our eyes are affixed as life happens. The future will become the present whether we influence it or not and whether we are here or not. The untapped, infinite potential that will be granted us with tomorrow's rising sun is a priceless gem that we are entrusted with affecting. The onus is on us, as time moves towards us, to take charge of our and its direction.

T.O.T.D: "Man is the only animal that blushes-or needs to!"---Mark Twain

Muse Wanted!!!

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to fill the following position.

Position Title: Muse

Age: Any applicant born after 1990-91 will be ineligible.

Gender: There is no need to be politically correct. Therefore, all applicants must be female. All other applicants will be shot on sight.

Education: Although education is not a direct requirement, a medium to high level of reasoning skills are necessary as there will be some element of debate in the position. Applicants must be inspired and inspiring persons with the ability to evoke deep thought from employer.

Experience: There is no experience requirement necessary as there will be adequate initial position training. However, any previous experience or competency that can be transferred will be a boost to acceptance probability.

Skills: Applicants must be good with their hands but must also be willing to use their head. Any applicant must be cunning linguist (or cunnilinguist...lol). Applicants must also be trainable and open to learning new techniques and methods of carrying out age-old, traditional activities. The position requires a decidedly high level of flexibility. Regular working hours may not be adequate to complete all tasks and directives.

Language and Communication: Applicants must possess excellent reading and literacy skills and must have an interest in literature.

Please forward all applications or requests for further information to superdupes21@gmail.com or contact me on facebook. Any additional information will be appended to this blog post.

Of My Daddy...

He, gave himself freely to the idea of marriage and family
When I was known to exist. And on rare occasions his eyes
Tell of his storied past and how different his life now is
From what he had imagined it being.
As his eyes refocus, Removing from his trance,
A glimmer of hope shines from his soul.
His eyes meet mine and he begins to ramble on about me being his heir
And I cannot sit still. They burn into me like sunlight through
Ice cubes and I melt into his hands, Taking careful note
Of his wise saws, praying that I will one day be as wise as he.

He, is the reason I'm watching every time the Windies lose!
Each time they don their whites and proceed to soil a history
Of years of cricketing dominance with lack luster fielding
And mediocre batting efforts, I can't miss a ball!
I watch with eager anticipation of the day they'll turn it around,
And I only do this because it was one of the few things
That we did together.

He, taught me how to respect the ground; the earth;
How to till and plough and weed and prepare for sowing.
He taught me how to plant tomato plants,
Far enough apart so that they don't inter-twine and how to
Prop them up with sticks so that their trunks wouldn't break
As the fruits become too heavy for them to carry on their own.
And although I got upset every Sunday morning in that garden,
I have learned, because of him, how to survive.

He, taught me, by his example, how to truly love a woman,
When he allowed my mother to follow her life-long dream, at 35!
And I never understood it then; I came to resent him for it,
Till I realized the dedication and boldness it took.
This quiet, unassuming man is a giant in my eyes!

He, once bought me a T-shirt that read,
"Anyone can be a father but it takes someone special
to be a Daddy!" I never quite knew what that meant!

-HalfCrazy