about the London 2012 Olympics thus far…some (not so reverent) thoughts

It’s July 31, and all of Jamaica is waiting on track and field to start, me included! I can’t help but feel though, that Beijing was as good as it’s gonna get for us. Look at the USA male gymnasts and swimmers…not living up to expectations are they! The thing is, there are so many extremely hungry competitors just straining at the bit to compete and win. All of this notwithstanding, I remain respectful and in awe of the talent of our athletes. I sincerely hope that Usain Bolt not only defends his titles, but that he sets some new world records too. Greedy? I think so…but hey…Usain is a SUPERSTAR, in terms of his amazing talent (have you ever really looked at him over the last 40m of his race?) and also in terms of his natural ability to interact with people…so darned comfortable in his own skin.

And I absolutely love VCB and Shelly-Ann and ma girl Melaine. Man…I wish them well. And as for Asafa…I’m going to say it here: if anyone is to beat Bolt, I would like it to be Asafa. I would be happy. I am so nervous though. In the sprints there is absolutely zero room for error, and the rounds are taxing, and the whole false start thingy….we just have to wait and send love and positive vibrations to our Team over there. GOOD LUCK, GUYS!

Let me say, I enjoyed the opening ceremony. It was entertaining and not too long, and reflected what Britain is quite well. I still say that LA 1984 will remain my favourite opening ceremony. Who can forget the 84 grand pianos playing in unison? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_B-lgIc2_w I will admit that the fact that I was watching the opening ceremonies with my family while enjoying pizza and drinking rum could have contributed to my overall enjoyment of the proceedings! And then came Team Jamaica on to the filed, resplendent in their edgy and colourful uniforms. Awesome! I suspect that at the next staging of the games, Olympic uniforms will undergo a paradigm shift from the traditional boring and stodgy to something more in the vein of our uniforms, and the parade of the athletes will take on a vibe not unlike a haute couture fashion show! No problem as far as I am concerned.

I am pissed at the fact that I can’t watch the games on NBC. It’s great that we can watch the events live. But I don’t think our local station would lose viewers if we had the option of watching the games on cable that we have already paid for! I guarantee you that in any event with a Jamaican, Jamaica would turn to CVM. Simple. But I want the option to take in NBC’s perspective too, and to relax and enjoy the delayed coverage that they are offering.

On now to the Jamaican athletes who have done well so far. Samantha Albert (equestrian) remains a puzzle in my mind. I wonder why she didn’t represent Canada or the UK…methinks she should have been able to do either…anyhows, good effort on her part. Yes, my enthusiasm is muted, but is so it go.

Alia Atkinson copped a great 4th place in the 100m breaststroke swimming. She competed like a champion and I wish her all the best in her two remaining events. She’s strong, and fit and fast with the heart and demeanor of a champion.

In closing, allow me to ask some questions that have come to mind:

1. If there’s table tennis in the Olympics, why isn’t there netball. Just saying…
2. Why can’t the genders compete together in events that don’t require speed or strength? Take for instance shooting…that requires a steady hand and a good eye. Methinks the sexes can compete fairly here.
3. Where are the breasts of the female swimmers? Is it the swimsuit that has crushed them flat?
4. I wonder if the condoms that they have distributed in the Olympic village are being used up? I am somewhat intrigued by reports of sexual activity in the village. As one person in the article I read said: “everyone in the village has a great body!”
5. What the hell is the Jamaica50 secretariat going to do if Jamaica doesn’t get a gold in the male 100m on Aug 5? They are planning celebrations around the race…talk about pressure! It’s never really a good idea to plan around an unknown. And we still don’t have any guarantee that JA will get a gold in the event. The damn race lasts for 10 seconds (count them!) and every one of the 8 that will be in the race is a competent athlete to say the least.
6. Why do all the female beach volley ballers have ponytails?
7. Why do all the female beach volley ballers NOT get a wedgy?
8. Why do all the female beach volley ballers look so darned good in a bikini? (can you tell I’m a tad obsessed with the the female beach volley ballers?
9. Why hasn’t Yohan Blake uttered a word since he’s been in London?

Let the Games continue!

Fun times with the kids on a budget

This week, a friend asked me how I do all the stuff that I do with the kids. “You must have a huge budget, Kelly!” he remarked. The answer is no. I do not have a huge budget. But when you have kids and you work too, it is critical to do stuff together where everyone (and that includes you!) can relax. You get to de-stress and you build memories too. It is possible here in Jam Down with a little planning. So this post is dedicated to EY. May you have fun times with your girls and build memories for a life-time.

MY MUST HAVES FOR A FUN TIME

1. Working vehicle
2. Tank full of gas
3. Igloo

You see, with all of the above in place, there are so many options open to you. Here are some of my favourites:

1. BEACH TRIPS:

Ocho Rios Public Beach, Frenchman’s Cove (Portland), Doctors Cave (Montego Bay), Negril, Ft. Clarence. Any of the above can be done in a single day. For Negril and Mobay, leave home early (think 6am). Buy patties en route for breakfast or make sandwiches from the night before. Pack your own snacks and fruit that you bought in the grocery, and pack water and juices, soda and rum for Mummy. Admission to these beaches ranges from 150.00 per person to 400.00. Now many of these beaches don’t allow you to bring your own food. Some of the food options on the beaches are really overpriced in my opinion. So for those beaches with the expensive options, I still carry my snacks and frozen bottles in my beach bag, and promise the kids to stop somewhere more affordable for food on the way back. This adds another dimension to the road trip. Kids are usually more than satisfied with the low budget options available like BK and KFC, and I also use the opportunity to expose them to various jerk spots and “decentish” cook shops where you can get get good Jamaican food for under 500.00 (there are great places with parking along the Northcoast highway like that spot opposite Green Grotto Caves, Lyming, jerk in Blueberry Hill, St. Mary, Spur Tree curry goat. On every road trip I look out for potential stop-offs and plan for them on my next trip.

2. THE ZOO IN KINGSTON:

I think it is now 500.00 for adults and 200.00 for kids. This is a central oasis that doesn’t require big planning. Stop at KFC or your favourite take out place, get your food, carry a blanket (or not!) and head off to the zoo. The zoo has recently been transformed and the grounds which were lovely before with huge expanses of lawn, are even lovelier now with the addition of many many palm trees and the creation of new picnic areas. You can picnic in peace and quiet under the mango trees and enjoy the quietude and breeze. The children will enjoy running up and down looking at the animals and you can walk with them or not. It never gets tired. There are new animals with the promise of more to come. There are interactive exhibits where for a little more money (think 200.00 per person) you can feed the birds or pet specific animals. Check it out! It’s a fun, hassle-free way to take a few hours off and just relax.

3. THE NATIONAL GALLERY

An hour and a half in the gallery on a quiet Saturday morning down town Kingston is a wonderful way to expose your children (and you too!) to another side of our culture. Sometimes there are exhibits and activities there geared towards children. Admission is free I believe. Parking is secure. And when you are finished., just take a walk with your children along Harbour Street. Take them into Burger King for a little treat. Easy, fun and memorable.

4. TOM REDCAM LIBRARY

I could almost copy and paste the verbiage for the National Gallery here.

5. EMANCIPATION PARK

The park is lovely in the evening, just before the sun sets. It’s still light, but it’s cooler. There’s an icecream shop opposite the entrance to the park. Get a single scoop of your favourite flavour and saunter slowly into the park. Chat, walk, people watch and grab a seat on a bench or on the grass. From time to time there are shows there that you can enjoy for free. But even without a show, the park remains a great choice to just exhale and clear your mind. Really young children love it. The huge expanses inspire them to just run, and by the time you get home and bathe them they’re ready to crash! Hint: keep those toddlers awake in the car on the way home so they sleep when you get home, and you can relax with a glass of wine in from of the TV. Heaven!

6. HOLLYWELL PARK

It’s just a 45 minute drive from Papine. Pack a picnic, wear your sneakers, carry your sweaters and lots of drinking water and fruit. A regular car can make that drive. Once there, I think you pay a nominal entry fee (something like 200.00 or 300.00 per adult and way less per child). Park and take one of 2 main hiking trails. Young children can do these walks. Each trail is 45 min long with great views along the way and lots of interesting things to see. Check in at the Ranger cabin so someone knows you are out there. Ensure that you have your cell phone and get to walking. Aim to get there by 10:00 am. and do your hiking then. The afternoons get overcast, misty and rainy…great picnic weather huddled under one of the many gazebos on property.

7. DRIVE-OUTS IN AND AROUND KINGSTON:

So I love to drive! Grab your favourite music, make a big deal of it, and load up the car. Head out to the lighthouse near the airport. Watch the planes come in, look at the sea. Talk. Collect rocks along the shore.

Drive through the more affluent neighbourhoods like Beverly Hills, Norbrook, Cherry Gardens and do some harmless House Hunting. It’s fun. You can chat along the drive.

Do the Port Royal Tour. I don’t think it’s more than 500.00 for adults. It’s fun and it’s informative.

I highly recommend the Bob Marley Museum tour. Can’t remember the fee, but it is way less than a movie for sure. Even children will find it interesting.

Go for ice cream at Devon House. Saturday afternoons are good. It’s not too crowded, and it feels like such a treat to break your day and just sit under a tree or gazebo eating great ice-cream.

Mayfair Hotel in Kingston is a great spot for the kids to swim and Mom and Dad to have a drink. For 350.00 you can swim and relax under a huge mango tree out back. There’s a bar and grill. It’s central, quiet and safe.

8. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Palace Amusement rocks. I loooove the movies: the dark and cool and nachos and my sneaked in flask of tonic to take me through animate features (I hate cartoons in any form). Nowadays, I consider movies a big budget item! So I carefully choose what we’ll go to see and make an event of it. And to be perfectly honest, I go by myself after work from time to time. Ain’t nothing nicer than sinking into that cushy seat by yourself, in the dark with your snack of choice, enjoying not having to talk for 2 hours and being entertained. Try it…

Take the kids to an age appropriate local play. My kids enjoyed Breadfruit Kingdom

They enjoyed the Pantomime last year too.

Save some $$$ and look out for all-inclusive hotel specials and do this once per year.

Create your own rituals. In my house, Sundays are special. I throw down on a Sunday and we lounge around at the dinner table for 3 hours eating and talking.

Always be on the look out for festivals, free shows, exhibitions, etc that you and your children could be interested in. Naturally, this list is not exhaustive. There are numerous big ticket items like the Water Park in Negril, paint-balling in St. Thomas, Mystic Mountain and swimming with the Dolphins. You can plan for these. I haven’t spoken about Castleton, heritage stops in various parishes, and the many other beaches around Jamaica Land we Love.

My next road trip will be a drive to Black River to do the Black River safari (1600.00 per person). I may stop at the Grace agro-processing facility in St. Elizabeth on the way back and get a tour of the facilities. We’ll see…

It’s always more about building the memories and creating an environment and context where your children feel safe and loved. Have Fun!!!!!

The L Word…not Love, but Leadership.

Like the other L word, this one means different things to different people. But I think it is safe to say that one question sums it up in a universal way: “Who’s in charge here?”. Leadership is a field of study all on its own. Numerous tomes have been written on the subject, everyone has an opinion on it and it is often blamed when things don’t turn out as planned.

I’d like to weigh in with my own thoughts on the topic.
• I believe that leadership can move mountains.
• I believe that more people are comfortable being lead than are comfortable being leaders.
• I believe that there is most definitely a role for someone to define and articulate a vision and get a team on board to make that vision a reality.
• I believe that a good Leader ought to ensure buy in from stakeholders
• I believe that there is a role for a final decision maker. I believe that a single person ought to be held accountable for the final outcome.
• I believe that the role of the Leader is to facilitate constructive conflict and then allow the best ideas to prevail
• I believe that the Leader ought to coordinate execution activities
• I believe that the Leader ought to encourage and deliberately seek to build Leadership among the team of followers

That being said, I also believe that there are some character and personality traits that are common to effective leaders:
• Integrity
• Mental agility
• Articulate by nature
• Salesmanship
• Understander of human nature
• Open minded
• Good listener
• Decisive
• Unafraid of confrontation
• Good negotiator
• Visionary

Imagine an organization where conflict is encouraged, allowing innovation to flourish…
Imagine an organization where your boss can integrate information quickly and articulate an end game that both challenges and inspires… Imagine an organization where all personality types feel as if they are really part of the team… Imagine an organization where decisions are made in a transparent manner in the best interest of the organisation, sooner rather than later….

Now just re-read the few sentences above, putting “Jamaica” where “Organisation” is…

We can do better.

Hard work they had left behind with slavery.

“At Kingston, Jamaica, in April 1975, Prime Minister Michael Manley, a light skinned West Indian, presided with panache and spoke with great eloquence. But I found his views quixotic. He advocated a “redistribution of the world’s wealth”. His country was a well-endowed island of 2,000 square miles, with several mountains in the centre, where coffee and other sub-tropical crops were grown. Theirs was a relaxed culture. The people were full of song and dance, spoke eloquently, danced vigorously and drank copiously. Hard work they had left behind with slavery.” From Third World to First. The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew.

Forcing me to think…

Sigh. That observation was made more than 35 years ago…I sincerely hope that by now we have ditched the notion of wealth redistribution. We are still the same size and we are still well endowed. We still are full of song and dance. We still know how to speak, announce plans and create an impression with words. (Never mind that the English language continues to rot in the mouths of so many: our children and leaders alike!) Here’s the clincher per LKY: we don’t work hard. We don’t work hard?

Yet, I remember on Christmas Eve last year I was making my way home in the heavy Dec 24th traffic with Miss World and Little Master. Our light had just changed to green. And slowly making her way across the road, preventing me from from moving on was a woman pushing a heavily laden cart with produce. She strained and pushed wearily, obviously heading home from selling all day. Little Master said: ” Mummy, don’t blow your horn! Isn’t it sad that that lady has to work so hard on Christmas Eve?”.

Did you know that vendors in our markets gather their produce and take a long journey every Wednesday night to their market of choice and often remain there until Saturday night? Sounds like hard work to me.

What of domestic helpers who leave their own children behind to live and work in the homes of middle and upper class Jamaicans, caring for those children. Sounds like hard work to me.

What of the single mother who is holding down a job in corporate Jamaica. She drops the children to school and then heads in to office to put in 8 hours. She picks up the children in the evening and heads home through bumper to bumper traffic. Homework and dinner prep mark her next shift and then she gets to do it all over again in a few short hours. Sometimes, she manages to squeeze school in to all of that! Sounds like hard work to me.

Quite a few of our local companies are posting huge profits…GraceKennedy, Sagicor, NCB, BNS, Pan Carib, CPJ, Honey Bun… Did the profits happen without hard work? Let’s slow down here… I’m sure somebody had to sweat out a strategic plan. I’m sure somebody had to craft the weekly and monthly reports that checked to see that they were on track. So yes, somebody was working. Sure…you ask: how much of those profits were generated from productive endeavors where value is added to A to create B, creating a base from which future profits are guaranteed? And how much of those profits were generated from simply moving prices for goods and services up higher? When will the law of diminishing returns set in?
I’m not setting out here to validate a business model. It seems to me that in spite of the model, somebody is working.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange

Then we have a SME sector that is still breathing…I think of a venture like EduFocal, small food processors, small players in the hospitality industry, entertainers, consultants, traders and farmers…these brave souls who risk their own capital and manage to make a decent living for themselves and their families! Sounds like hard work to me.

Yet 35 years after the great Lee Kuan Yew made his observations, here is what we have: a shrinking manufacturing sector, the real foundation I think, for creating a sustainable, profit generating base from which to grow. Our debt is increasing, crime is on the rise again and our trade deficit widens with each setting of the sun. We pray for IMF funding for our nation that has been “independent” for the last 50 years. Our leaders fantasize about a “Greek-style” bailout. We seem to have perfected the art of “after the fact”controls, sussing out public sector corruption long after the horse has gone through the gate. We seem unable to put in place mechanisms which prevent it from happening in the first place.

So is our present state due to the fact that we left hard work behind with slavery?

I humbly posit that the correct answer begins with “L”.

More anon.

about GSAT

GSAT is an exam that all students in Grade 6 in Jamaica have to do in order to be placed in one of the hundreds of government run secondary schools on the island. Standards of performance vary widely from secondary school to secondary school, with the better performing ones being in the minority. There is therefore stiff competition, with literally thousands of children vying for only scores of places in these more desirable institutions. Here’s a letter that I wrote to the editor of our leading daily, the Gleaner, that was published on Wed Feb 29. It got Letter of the Day.

LETTER OF THE DAY – GSAT Symptom Of System

Published: Wednesday | February 29, 20128 Comments

THE EDITOR, Sir:

So GSAT is to be reviewed. That is good news, though I am not sure what is going to really be achieved in the final analysis.

In my opinion, there are two issues at play here: GSAT as a tool to assess a grade six student’s knowledge and competence per his/her grade level; and GSAT as a tool to place students in a secondary-schoolsystem which appears to have different levels of success, evidenced by CSEC examination results.

I am a mother of two, and my experience with the GSAT curriculum aggravates me on two levels. First, it seems that GSAT emphasises trivia at the expense of the thorough understanding of mathematics and language arts. There really is nothing wrong with general knowledge, but when children are forced to cram information such as the second-largest lake in South America or the name of the third ship that Columbus sailed on, it leaves little time to ensure that the foundations of learning are properly crafted.

Second, with the volume of information these 11- and 12-year-olds have to memorise, little time is left to explore other areas of learning that are critical to building well-rounded, self-assured individuals. The end result is that the fun is sucked out of learning and the natural curiosities that lead to inventions, innovations and learning are snuffed out.

Thousands disadvantaged

The other issue is with GSAT as a placement mechanism. With just a few schools being deemed ‘good’ based on exam results at the secondary level, and thousands of children and their parents seeking entry to these ‘good’ schools, GSAT effectively acts as the selection tool.

Therefore, thousands of children who achieve average results (75-85 per cent) are made to feel like underperformers and placed in the ‘not-so-good’ schools.

The issue here is not that there is GSAT at all. The issue is Jamaica’s educational system, where performance at the secondary level varies significantly from school to school, the better-performing institutions being far fewer in number than the underperforming ones.

The bottom line: No matter how you tweak GSAT, until performance increases across the board in our secondary schools, you will always have to screen and select in order to place children in the few ‘good’ schools. This is our reality, and our children suffer.

KELLY MCINTOSH

…about Good Jamaicans!

I had intended this post to be about the future of Agriculture in Jamaica. You see, last week Wednesday my brother and his family and me and mine made a 2 vehicle trek to Malvern, St. Elizabeth to visit my friend and colleague Kingsley. Kingsley has been a farmer for decades and in recent times, Kingsley has added to his agricultural endeavours in a really high-tech way. You see, Kingsley now cultivates crops in what we (ahem!) agriculturists refer to as a “controlled environment”. You all (ahem again!) would be familiar with the term “greenhouse agriculture”. Simply put, growing crops under cover allows you to control variables such as water and wind, offers a more suitable environment for controlling pests and diseases and allows you to also optimise plant nutrition. Sure there’s a high initial outlay (relative to growing in the open field), and you have to use specific seed varieties and monitoring becomes a necessary science. But the results when you do get it right, is a higher yield per unit area, more predictable yields and improved quality. You can now operate your farm more like a factory floor, predicting and guaranteeing output. So yes, this was initially meant to be an expose on agriculture in Jamaica. But the more I reviewed our excursion, I became convinced that this was more about the soul of the farmer than his activities. What he has accomplished is more about him, than it is about the science and discipline of agriculture. Come with me…

So we set out from Kingston at 8:00am. Every time I drive out of Kingston I am impressed by awed by just how beautiful our island is. Uneventful is how I would describe the drive over. The view of the St. Elizabeth plains when you are descending Spur Tree took on renewed significance, as I said to my children: “We are most definitely heading straight into the heart of the bread-basket of Jamaica!”.

View of Jamaica’s breadbasket from Spur Tree

Me being me, I asked for directions 3 different times once we made that left turn at the foot of Spur Tree. I could just see my brother rolling his eyes in exasperation, since I was the so-called expedition leader. Whatever. I am “directionally challenged” and lose my sense of direction at the drop of a hat!

Three hours later we arrived at Kingsley’s house. By this time we were joined with another of Kingsley’s friends from Kingston, Pat. He has a massive greenhouse in the front of his property. No…don’t look for an actual greenhouse. It’s really a metal frame overlaid with a combination of plastic and mesh, designed to allow for appropriate ventilation and light and for the exclusion of insects. In the event of a hurricane warning, it’s apparently quite simple to remove the coverings and lower the plants. The frame should be still be standing after the storm.

The White Greenhouse

Seedlings are planted in to pre-prepared bags of coir which are set up prior to planting, with drip irrigation lines appropriately placed. The fertilizer is mixed into tanks with the irrigation water and applied at pre-set intervals throughout the day. The net result is no water wastage and giving the plans exactly what they need in terms of food. Kingsley’s set-up is well equipped with an automatic timer and pH and electrolyte meter to ensure that the water is of the right pH to allow for effective delivery of the nutrients. Farmers in this neck of the woods rely on rainfall for irrigation. Kingsley has added gutters to his house and his greenhouse to ensure that not one drop goes to waste. The water is stored in a combination of black plastic tanks and a pond that he excavated and lined.

The kids (and adults too!) had a great time harvesting the most beautiful tomatoes you’ve ever seen from Kingsley’s greenhouse.

Tomatoes in the greenhouse

The sweetest cherry tomatoes in the world!

Some crops are also grown under a less strict regime: tunnel houses. The sides and front and back are open in this method. But drip irrigation/fertigation and covering on top, still afford some measure of control.

Cabbage in the tunnel

Tunnel House

Kingsley still plants in the open field too!

Irish Potato field

Little Master pulling carrots from the field.

Miss World with her just pulled carrots!

We ate pumpkin bread and drank carrot juice made by Kingsley himself! That is another blog post.

Apart from being totally impressed with Kingsley’s efforts and his fantastic results, I left feeling that Kingsley represents all that is good about Jamaica and Jamaicans. He has carefully planned and invested. He has done his sums and the result is a thriving business utilizing the best of Jamaica: soil, climate and people, producing in a sustainable manner, produce that is wholesome. Kingsley is one of the hardest working people I know and his sons see this and emulate him. All is not lost in Jamaica Land we Love. What a great day!

Kelly and Kingsley

Anger and Choices

It continues to be a rough time for me…emotions swinging every which way. Sometimes things happen that will do that to you. That’s called Life. And in the middle of living, stuff happens. In the last week, two icons passed away, and their deaths gave me pause: Jamaican journalist Wilmot ‘Motty’ Perkins and World Super Singer, Whitney Houston.

Wilmot ‘Motty’ Perkins

Motty had an incredible mind. He never went to University, but I’ve never known a topic that he couldn’t speak about with some amount of authority. But on top of his incredible knowledge, Motty possessed an
extremely analytical mind. Knowledge plus powers of reasoning an deduction make for a very interesting individual and an asset to any society. I used to listen to Motty religiously up until about 3 years ago. So if he was so phenomenal, why did I stop? Simple. Motty appeared to me to be an angry person. He was most times correct in his analysis, but I could sense venom and bitterness whenever certain topics were broached. Three years ago I separated from my then husband. There was enough anger and bitterness to go around in my life at the time and I became extremely selective about what I allowed to enter my mind and my space. So I simply turned off Motty. I hate nonconstructive anger…you know…that kind of anger that just goes on and on without creating any kind of change. Listen, I am sure that when you check it out, most anger that we feel or that others around us feel can be justified. But when we stop at simply feeling anger and never move on, and when we make decisions borne out of that anger then it gets dangerous. Unchecked anger will most certainly result in physical illnesses, alienation of those we hold near and dear, compromised decision making and a very unhappy existence. I still struggle with personal anger. I can justify why I feel angry. But I make every effort to be honest with myself in analysing the root cause of my anger, managing my thoughts and in so doing, controlling my emotions. I have had to learn to forgive and I also acknowledge that this is a process, so change is not often overnight. As long as we are honest and aware of unproductive emotions and doing the right things (managing thought especially!) in dealing with the so-called negatives in out lives, let it go. The feelings will eventually fall into place.

Then Whitney died. So very sad. She had such a tremendous talent. Every single time that I look at the video of her singing the American National Anthem at an NFL match in 1991, I am blown away. Hers is the face of a Champion who knows that she is kicking butt. She is totally in control, totally enjoying the moment doing exactly what she was born on this earth to do and she knows that she is in that zone where a better performance is impossible. It does not get much better than that for us Humans!

There was a time when I felt that a little heartbreak would have added dimension to an already fantastic range. Alas..we speak so casually of heartbreak…as if recovery is automatic. Bobby Brown was, well…Bobby Brown. I don’t think he forced Whitney to love him. I don’t think he forced her to do any of the things she got up to with him. Yes, we can speak about “undue influence”, but at the end of the day, the choice is always ours. She was a humongous talent whose humanity was all too evident for us to see. Whitney Houston remains undiminished in my eyes.

Let’s be cognizant of the choices we make and the possible repercussions, especially as it relates to those near and dear to us. Let’s also consciously manage our thoughts and eschew anger. It makes for happier living.

De-stressing in Jamaica

To say that the last 2 weeks have been stressful is an understatement. So, not one to wallow in unhappiness and stress and strain, I hastily planned a weekend doing some of the things I enjoy best! The yells of joy when I informed Little Master and Miss World confirmed that I had made the right decision.

ROAD TRIP! Yep, I absolutely love a good drive out, and the state of our roads notwithstanding, the Jamaican countryside is soooooo beautiful. I decided to head west to my all time favourite place on the island: Negril. Here’s the thing about Negril: that 7 mile stretch of white sand and clear, blue water and the absence of the more commercial, high-rise complexes and the way Jamaicans and tourists quietly co-exist make Negril’s vibe relaxing and therapeutic. There is never loud music offending you, but always the quiet, low throbbing of a comfortingly familiar reggae beat, gently lulling your soul into a state of rest. The beaches are shallow and waters calm, allowing for children to frolic safely and allowing you to paddle and soak and just be. And when the sun sets, there are no words. The beach comes to a standstill for a few minutes while everyone basks in the awesome sight of the sun dipping below the horizon. Negril sunsets never, ever get old.

Negril Sunset

I have been staying at a modest hotel right on the beach for the last decade or so called Negril Treehouse Hotel. This is where Stella got her groove back! Well, before she discovered that her groover was bisexual/gay/whadeva…Oh well, Stella aside, I ALWAYS enjoy my stays there. The rooms are modestly priced and modestly outfitted. But really and truly, when you are in Negril, you really only need the room to shower and sleep. All waking hours are best spent on the sand which is literally footsteps away from your room. I walk with my igloo and my beverages of choice (woohoo!!!!) and set up camp under a huge almond tree and happily pass the hours away there. Negril Treehouse is owned by the Jacksons (Mr. Jackson passed away late last year…may he rest in peace) and you can feel the impact of these owners/managers throughout your stay. There’s a real family feel there.

But before I got to Negril, I had to drive four hours to get there from Kingston. We departed at 6:30am, a cool, clear Saturday morning. It was an uneventful, enjoyable drive. The ubiquitous speed traps were largely absent and the radio station of choice was on point with their selections. We enjoyed lots joking and laughter and singing and even some quiet time as at one stage I was the only one awake!

Bamboo Avenue, St. Elizabeth

I decided to stop in Middle Quarters for “peppa swims” (read: peppered shrimp). The shrimp are prepared in the shell with lots of salt and a whole heap of hot pepper, stuffed into small plastic bags and sold by the roadside.

Eating the spicy treats was an adventure, but being the prepared traveller that I am, bottles of Catherine’s Peak spring water were quickly deployed to deal with the burning! Apart from the spice, beware the spiny claws and other appendages on the shrimp. They stick…hard!

Peppered Shrimp from Middle Quarters

Negril was just what the Doctor ordered…the kids played, I relaxed, I napped and I really enjoyed having what I thought was great conversation with Rachie and it was just, well…perfect…

Negril Tree House

I should mention that Negril Tree House serves a great breakfast that is included in the cost of the room!

Callaloo, ackee & saltfish, johnny cakes, ham & cheese omelette and pineapple

Yes…it was a well needed break. Sometimes you just need to put down the load for a while, regain some strength and then you can take it up again once you’ve rested a while. I put down my load this weekend for sure!

The view from between my legs 🙂

Reluctantly, we packed up midday Sunday morning. Sigh…back to life, back to reality. Cho man…
It was a great day for driving and at Miss World’s request, I decided to drive back via the North Coast. That’s a 5 hour hop!

Road Warriors on the move

We stopped for cold coconut water in Trelawny and for soup at Scotchie’s in Drax Hall.

Thank God for a moment of fun in the middle of living. Tomorrow is another day. And we will continue the struggle having rested a while. “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow”.

Being right isn’t enough

Happy 2012!

Here in Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) just lost their bid to remain government for the next 4-5 years. By all accounts (polls and general sentiment amongst my peerage) the results were going to be close. But methinks no one saw it coming…the People’s National Party (PNP) won the December 2011 election in fine form, winning 41 seats out of a possible 63; the JLP winning 22. The process itself worked…no one has cried foul with respect to the proceedings on Dec 29. I cast my own vote in under 5 min. So how could so many people have gotten in wrong? Here are my own thoughts on the issue. And as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

Your decision making platform is directly related to your circumstance. So someone with adequate resources at their disposal will process options differently from someone scrambling to have their basic needs met. I believe that the JLP was doing well given the context of the Jamaican and indeed, world economy. Of course, that was from my personal vantage point. I was able to eat well, pay my bills, take modest vacations on the island, live debt free, school my kids, I was gainfully employed and I was even able to save a little. So when faced with missteps that the JLP had made during their term like the mishandling of an extradition request for a known JLP strong man and the resultant chaos and loss of life that this mishandling caused…the mishandling of significant funds that were to be used to fix and build out our roads…the innuendo around the integrity of key players of their administration, I was prepared to overlook the deficiencies in the administration for what I termed “the greater good of managing the economy”.
I suppose the JLP was banking on the majority of persons processing in the same way that I was.

Here’s the thing: the number of people living below the poverty line in the island had increased.

The JLP displayed no empathy for the growing number of people that were finding it increasingly difficult to have their daily needs met. They set out their equations and the numbers looked right. But those equations ignored one critical variable: human emotions. Jamaicans have very clear notions of what disrespect looks like and they reject disrespect very quickly and very definitively. In addition to what the masses perceived as disrespect from the JLP, their ability and willingness to do what I did in overlooking the “missteps” was severely impacted by the awful reality of their lives. They simply did not possess the space to appreciate macro-economic variables being aligned correctly when mounting bills, lack of food, absence of jobs and a rapidly declining standard of living were what they looked at each and every day.

So along came the PNP with declarations of love and promises of jobs in the form of JEEP and clearly articulated understanding of the plight of the people. Love and understanding mean nothing to those of us who are relatively comfortable. But to a drowning man, it appeared a better proposition to the alternative: a regime of suffering and the absence of empathy. Hence, the majority made their decision based on their context and not based on the equations handed out by the JLP or the track record of the PNP for the 18 years they were in power prior to the outgoing JLP administration. The space to make decisions after thorough analysis simply does not exist in Jamaica’s context of poverty, and the JLP ignored, to their downfall, the Jamaican psyche. Thus, they did not frame their communications appropriately. They did not work the communities effectively. Instead of being focused only on what was “right” in terms of managing the economy, they should have placed equal focus on getting buy-in from the Jamaicans who put them there to serve.

Subsequent posts will explore the benefits of a strong Opposition, the JLP’s next steps and hope for Jamaica.