Clarity, Markus and Jamar in Negril – Nov 2011 Trip Report: Day 1-3

[Hubby-man]

Jamaica Nov 2011 – Day 0

Where to begin?

It seems so much harder to write this trip report. There is for one the weight of the perceived expectations of those who have already read our last trip report. In my mind everyone is waiting for a trip-report 2.0 and I am not sure I can deliver or write anything that will satisfy.

There are also my own expectations of myself to adequately recall and describe those special moments when everything just clicked and all things all around us seemed to hum in extraordinary concord. Those transcendent moments when life sang in an all pervasive harmony with a vibration that resonated in the deepest place of our being – a mystical universal song with a distinctly Jamaican flavor. Those moments that cause you to know...when you go.

Such expectations are of course extremely UN-Jamaican and must be dismissed with a smile

It doesn't help that right now I am stuck in ice-cold Germany, 5760 miles (or 9126 Kilometers) away from my beloved muse and her stimulating Dirty Bananas. Instead of Berris Hammond I only have the humming of the radiator in my Boss's bare-walled basement with only a little glass table, an I-Pod shaped, white-framed bed and a broken pool table to keep me company.

The abode should be very fitting for a writing project, but I returned from Jamaica with a massive ear infection that since has spread to both ears, and the emptiness of the room only makes my thoughts turn more often to the throbbing pressure in my temples. No noise could be louder than the heart beat pushing past my ear-canal.

Alas! I must find a place to begin.... but where? This trip started so much earlier than conveyed by our travel dates. Some part of it started right after we returned from our last reach or when we were still in Jamaica in April. Another telling of the story might begin with Daisy and her brother sharing a dream 2 years ago. Even earlier than that, our story might begin in the middle of the last century in the cold, old Scottish Highlands.

That latter narration surely would produce the most awe, as it is laden with crowd pleasing coincidence, serendipity or fate, however you might call it. But that story is still in the making and for another person to tell, so I will begin this recollection just before our departure.

Our building is a early 20th century brick structure in the heart of San Francisco with 4 floors and 20 Apartments. Below our apartment is our best friend, Jamar's studio. We decided after a year of meeting weekly for bar trivia, that we would like stop by each others place without the inconvenience of travel. We also like the show “FRIENDS” and thought this might be like creating a few new episodes ourselves...and right we were.

The apartment above us for the last 37 years has been occupied by an elder ordained Buddhist monk named Ben, who likes to have me over for instant coffee every so often.

On this day like on many others I found a note on my door. The tell-tale smiley-face signature made the sender immediately obvious: “Dearest hubby-man, please urgently stop by my Apartment before your departure. I will provide Coffee -Ben”, .

It was Monday, the day before “Jamaica Eve”, and I had nothing to do. My boss had given me off, and Daisy had already frantically run around the house on Sunday, throwing all last minute necessary items into the two tiny carry-on suitcases. The note was intriguing as the word urgent was usually not in Ben's vocabulary.

Ben as always greeted me with a big smile in his kind, round little face:” I am glad you came!”. He hugged me tightly and waved me in. Stacks of books and holy pictures are strewn everywhere and it took some rearranging to free a chair. He disappeared into the kitchen, I heard the microwave go “bing” and he reappeared with a cup of instant Joe. “Here!”

I took a sip of the extremely hot liquid and tried to get comfortable while attempting to look appropriately holy in his presence. After some rummaging in several rooms he finally held up a book victoriously. “Here it is! I found this in a used book store. You can't have my copy, but this one I want you to keep. It will change your life!”

I took the unassuming paperback entitled “A NEW EARTH” by Eckhard Tolle. “Read this on your travels. I want to know what you think.” I handled the book a little more looking at the back and front flipping a few pages and I thanked him profusely. We chatted a while longer and I went back down stairs to stuff the book into one of the bulging overfilled suitcases.

The next day came and I spent most my day swiveling in excitement in my office chair. Every few minutes Jamar sent me an text saying stuff like:

”DUDE, JAMAICA, DUDE, TODAY!!!!!!!”

I replied:

“DUDE, I KNOW,! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!”

Back to swiveling.

Our cat sitter arrived around noon with her own little suitcase. We had felt really bad for asking her to sit the cats, but she immediately thought that she would love to spent a week in our apartment and so it was settled. I guided her through the idiosyncrasies of our apartment and gave her my computer passwords. Showed her how to feed and medicate my felines.

When we were done she immediately started cleaning. I had really thought that the apartment WAS clean, but she could not be halted, so I stopped trying. We tend to befriend really, really clean people. It's not that we are total pigs, I swear!

Finally Daisy came home from work. I had been dying for that moment all day.