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Poor People in Negril #2
And then there was one, jus’ me. I saw the last of my peeps off last night, JT and The Triplets. Eleven have come, eleven have gone. I’m the last man standing. I miss them all. Many of them told me it was their best trip ever to Negril. Virtually all of them spoke of ‘next year’, and we made some plans already. Now that I’m alone I can cut back on the rum and Red Stripes. I’ll have time to do some writing and I can catch up on a novel that I’m into. I may rent a scooter and go out into the country.
Now, instead of sliding along in a comfortable groove, I feel like I’m riding my mountain bike along a really sweet section of alpine single-track, with steep rocky drop-offs on both sides. The ride is exhilarating, the scenery breathtaking, but one errant move and I’ll be over the side, tumbling arse over tea-kettle, never to be seen or heard from again. But the trail ahead beckons, if I’m careful I can stay on it and ride it forever. If I keep following it I could lose myself in Jamaica.
“Whatever happened to Kahuna?” people might ask. “He moved to Jamaica and went off-line. Someone thought they saw him last year, they say he’s gone Jamaican.” It could happen.
I think I now understand why some people come here to visit and eventually end up staying. But it’s like walking a tightrope, like riding a sweet section of high-alpine single-track. It takes skill, some luck and you gotta be careful.
Only four days left. I leave late Friday night.
I talk to Bea at least once a day. She asked me, “Do you feel like you're on Survivor? You have out played, been out bitten, out drunk, out swam, out walked, and now out stayed everyone.”
Here are some more thoughts on poverty in Negril.
Like many repeat visitors to Negril, we pick people who we know (Jamaicans) to be the direct recipients of our ‘charity’. I use the term loosely, because I don’t feel that it’s charity, more like direct-giving to a friend who really needs some help. Once you get to know someone here and realize the limited options they have and how little income they can earn, it just comes naturally to help them out.
The usual form of ‘help’ is cash, in the form of a large tip or tips or an intentional overpayment for services or goods. Money is most appreciated, but sometimes, when it’s not appropriate to give money, food, drink or articles are gifted.
When Bea and I were staying in Redground, our walk down into town from our place took us by a run-down vacated block building behind a concrete wall that was occupied by a couple of guys who were living there in a form of urban camping. There was and older gentleman who had fallen on hard times and a younger guy who was lost to the world, the apparent victim of a serious drug addiction. Often when we passed, the younger guy, dressed in worn and dirty clothing, would be sitting motionless, staring, vacant eyed, off into his own personal reality.
The older man, clearly in a hard situation himself, looked after the younger guy as best he could; cooking for him over a campfire and arranging for shelter in the crumbling structure.
Bea and I regularly provided the guys with food. We brought them rice, beans, bulla bread, oranges, etc. For Christmas we added some sorrel and a few beers. The older gent, who was very articulate, was always profusely thankful. One day he held my hand a little longer and said, “It is not my request, because you have been kind, but it would be my wish that one day you could bring me a little drink. You know, our life here is stressful and a man needs a drink from time to time.”
“JB?” I asked.
He nodded and smiled.
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Very nice of you and Bea to help out the less fortunate.
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Nice report, thanks for sharing!
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I cannot believe our time with this report is drawing to the end. It will make me sad not to have this thread going...
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I was hoping to be able to run into you again, but I guess next time.
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Kauhuna:
Thank you for your travel adventures . Safe Travels always.
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Would have liked to have met you. Sounds like you travel in fun circles. :)
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Thanks for your continued reporting...your style of writing is so vibrant and full of imagery, I feel like I'm right there. Continue to walk good.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kahuna3
Hockey and Fights on the Beach
JT and I went down to Margaritaville to watch the Canada – US hockey game the other day. It was the only option that we knew of. There was a big crowd there, mostly Canucks. We watched it at the Tiki bar on a big screen TV. The signal was bad and cut out entirely once, but it was fun. I almost fell off the bar stool when the bill of $1,100J arrived for our two Red Stripes
We taxied up to Seastar to watch the game...good crowd up there as well
and the beer was a helluva lot cheaper!
