Paradox in Paradise

[Guirigay]

Back at the hotel we head up to the room for the last time. We pack trying to account for the need to grab extra layers of clothing before we grab the shuttle to our car tonight. We’re supposed to meet Coolbook and HH for an Academy Award Short Film Festival after party in Detroit tonight so we’re trying to figure out how we’ll look decent as well as semi-warm. Even with those concerns significantly less effort goes into stuffing the bags than did just over a week ago. Toss it, smush it, close it.

We haul the bags down to reception and say our farewells to Charlie and the staff and make sure everyone who has been a part of our wonderful week gets a little something. We head down to the cliffs for the last time and take a moment to soak it in. What a beautiful place, what lovely people, what a great week.

As we come up to the hotel Chris is there waiting. We load up and are on our way. The ride down our daily walk brings conflicting emotions of so many pleasant memories and disheartening pangs of departure. Chris is such a good nature guy, though, that you can’t be down for too long. He has us talking about our trip and future plans in no time. We are talking about the amazing colors in Negril and the great paint jobs so many places do on their buildings.”I want you to tell me what you think of these buildings coming up,” says Chris. We have fun disparaging the color schemes of the RIU’s, we’re going to see if we can find a more abhorrent color on any building between here and Mo Bay. We don’t.

“We haven’t had a Jelli Coconut all week,” I say, “If you see any on the way can we stop?” “I know a place,” says Chris. Somewhere around Orange Bay or Green Island we see lights being strung up between a few roadside bars and a number of people busy pulling things together. “Gonna be a Jump Up here tonight?” I ask Chris. “Yah, mon, you know it!” “Gonna be the place to be tonight, eh?” “Yah, mon, exactly!” Sweetie Pie doesn’t know what a Jump Up is. I explain that it’s a big street party mostly attended by locals but it wouldn’t be unusual to see a few tourists there. “It’s a real Jamaican party,” I say. “That’s what we need to do next time!” says Sweetie Pie. “Yah, mon, there’s one just about every week someplace,” says Chris, “I know where they’ll be, I can take you next time.” Hook up!!

[Guirigay]

We pull into a nice roadside stand above the Grand Palladium, it has a nice big parking area but it’s empty. Chris gets out and greets what is obviously an old friend. “Coupla Jelli’s,” says Chris and the gentleman pulls out two green coconuts from an ice chest. With two quick chops he has topped our coconut and hands it to us with a straw. He has left just the thinnest bit of soft coconut meat to keep the whole thing sealed. You have to pop through the skin like a children’s juice box. The water is really cold and delicious. He has lopped off the top of Chris’s completely and he turns it up and slugs it, water splashing over and dripping down his chin a little. “That’s how I remember it!” I say to Chris as Sweetie Pie and I finish off our jelli. The coconuts are busted open and we use a little bit of the husk to scoop out the jelli. “Like coconut custard,” I say. “One a day, every day I can,” smiles Chris. As we’re getting back in the car Chris points out to the massive sea of industrial looking rooftops on the Grand Palladium. “He used to have a great view here,” He says, “One of the best, lots of people stopped.”

“You want something to eat before you get to the airport?” Chris asks as we approach Mo Bay. We are hungry and know what awaits us past the terminal doors. “You want to go back to Pork Pit or do you want to try another place?” We loved Pork Pit but ask what the other place is. “Called Jerky’s,” says Chris. “Well I think we need to try a place bold enough to declare themselves Jerky’s in Jamaica,” we say. “Yah, mon, you compare and tell me what you think.”

We pull in and order a couple of jerk pork’s and Stripes. While we’re waiting, which isn’t really long, we witness one of the more unusual encounters of the trip. A Jamaican fella in his late twenties, probably, comes up to the young lady behind the counter and just rips into her for the service. Slow, unprofessional, discourteous, etc. He riffs long and hard and the poor girl just takes it. “You got no business being in business,” he says, “You need to find different work.” Then he leaves. I have no idea where this came from, she was quick, kind and corteous with us and the half a dozen other customers who were there in the few minutes we were. Weird. Jerky’s is good. We really enjoy our first bite of it and when the jerk cook notices he tosses some festival in our baskets. I don’t think the jerk at Jerky’s got free festival. We finish our jerk in the car. “What do you think?,” asks Chris. Sweetie Pie and I agree. “The pork is better at Jerky’s, the sauce is a lot better at Pork Pit.” Yah, mon.”

At the airport we say our goodbyes and make sure we have plans for the future. I am reminded again, at this final farewell, that yes, “You have a special lady.” Thank you, Chris, blessings my friend.

[Guirigay]

We get our boarding passes and Sweetie Pie looks at me smiling. “I gotta take a picture!” she says giggling. I don’t know it until later but my straw hat is very unhappy at being removed from the humidity of its natural habitat. The brim is rolling up and twisting in its losing battle with arid conditioning and has gone all Clem Cadiddlehopper on me without my notice. Sweetie Pie snaps a picture. A passing traveler asks if we’d like a picture together. Sweetie Pie runs over and pulls my hat off, plunking it on her head. She doesn’t want a picture with me looking like the first one!



We get into the security line for departure and there is a family in front of us with two young girls around six or seven who’ve had nice braid jobs done. It takes me back again to my little girl, she loved having her hair braided on Caribbean vacations. “How long do you think you’ll keep them,” I ask,” I think my daughters record was about six weeks.” “Longer than that!” says one girl. “Forever!” says the other. They are adorable. A few corral turns later and the girls are in a very important discussion with their Dad. “How can it be, desert and dessert? They’re nothing like each other and they’re spelled the same.” Their Dad patiently explains that they’re not the same but many times words have different meanings. They don’t get it. “That makes no sense!” they say, “Desserts are delicious and deserts are terrible!” I laugh and the Dad looks at me and smiles. “I remember telling my kids about that,” I say, “They didn’t get it either. Don’t EVEN mention deserters.” He laughs, “Oh, I know. I’m not going to touch that one. I think all parents have this conversation.” “You know, I not only remember having that conversation with my kids, I remember thinking that made no sense as a kid. I think it may be the first paradox kids are aware of because of the treat connection,” I say and I’m moved by the synchronicity of this moment. “Circle of life,” says the dad.

We get to the boarding area and look for Robin. We find her and have a seat. She’s had a great week, she says, but she is kind of morose. We hope it is because her week was so great she didn’t want to leave. The plane is late departing and they pre-load a very elderly lady in a wheel chair with an oxygen tank.

[Guirigay]

We take off and Sweetie Pie and I crank our necks at the window to catch the last possible glimpse of Jamaica. Because the flight originates in Jamaica we get free TV and movies. Sweetie Pie and I are political junkies and we settle in to watch Ides of March. Just after passing into Florida the plane makes a long bank turn to the right. It should not be doing that and for a moment I think the worst. Things are about to get real strange.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” comes the pilot’s voice over the intercom, “we’re going to be making an emergency landing in West Palm Beach. We’re having a passenger incident that requires immediate attention. We’re sorry for the inconvenience and hope you will understand that we would do the same thing for you. We should be on the ground in 10-15 minutes.” We see activity at the bulkhead row where the elderly lady had been seated. She is lifted from her seat and lain down on the floor. Two attendants disappear to the floor and a third is standing above them counting out and giving commands. This goes on for some time. We see the attendant shake his head but keep counting, keep prompting action. A short while later he shakes his head then drops it into his hands. The plane flies well out over the Atlantic before it turns finally to make its approach to West Palm Beach. There is no need to hurry now.

[Guirigay]

We touch down and are met by an assortment of emergency vehicles. Paramedics come first, then guys in sort of low end hazmat suits. They clean up the floor. About a dozen folks deplane after the elderly lady is removed, we wonder what that is about. This is probably the most unique information flow I’ve ever been involved in. You never heard or saw anybody say anything to anyone in front of or behind them but eventually everybody knows what has happened. An elderly lady of 92 had gone down to Jamaica to be at her sons wedding. She was terminally ill but received a Doctor’s permission to fly. The wedding had been on Monday and she had spent the week with 24 members of her family and her new daughter-in-laws family. They were flying home and she started to have trouble at the gate. “Get on the plane,” she was told, “we’ll land at the first available airport in the States if we have to.” The folks who deplaned with her body were her immediate family. They were all Canadian.

We text Coolbook and HH and tell them we won’t be meeting them tonight. They are dumbfounded by the reason. We’re on the tarmac in West Palm Beach for over three hours. The Canadian citizenship issue creates a lot of problems for Immigration and Customs. No one makes a peep the entire time.

Well after we were supposed to land in Detroit we take off from West Palm Beach. The inflight entertainment system has reset itself for a US departure, nothing’s free. The flight was catered when it left Detroit this morning and the food and beverage service doesn’t make it through the whole plane. No one complains, many people compliment the flight crew. The tone of the entire aircraft is very reverential. A look around the cabin on the way to the restroom indicates many people lost in contemplation. It is an easy moment to be caught up in reflection.

[Guirigay]

I think about the good fortune she had to be able to see her son wed in paradise and how happy he must have been for her to be able to be there. I think of the misfortune of having their anniversary forever tied to this tragedy. Birth, joy, renewal, pain, death and tragedy all rolled up in one unforgettable moment. My heart goes out to all of them.

I think of the flight crew coming to work this morning on a non-stop flight to paradise. Their expectations certainly had to be of a happy and excited group going down and a dejected but satisfied group coming back. There is nothing that can prepare you for having someone die in your arms, I know, and I can’t believe how professional they all continue to be. My respect knows no bounds, they are amazing.

I think about what this means for Sweetie Pie and me. I pride myself on my ability to see connections that aren’t necessarily obvious to others, there must be something to this unforeseeable event that means something to our journey. The dream wedding that doesn’t end happily ever after must have some association to the Family Man without a family. It feels like a unique event concocted by the Universe to drive home SOME relevant point to me. We talk very little on the flight to Detroit but we hold hands through long stretches of the flight. I decide at some point near our destination that figuring it out isn’t the really important thing. In fact, it can’t be figured out, only accepted. A crazy journey specific to me. What is really important lies gently resting in my lightly clasped left hand. A partner who loves and cherishes me through all of it, who shows through word and deed that her greatest desire is to be there by my side. Sweetie Pie!!

[Guirigay]

We land in Detroit and disembark. We, along with nearly every other passenger on the flight, pay our respects to the flight crew as we depart. We’re fairly far back in the plane but when we get out of the gate everyone, and I mean everyone, is milling around the gate. It is an incredible experience. I have chills and misty eyes right now recalling it. We have an impromptu memorial service and wake right there. There is hushed conversation amongst all of us. It is a shared experience that will remain forever for each of us. Many comments are made but nearly all end in “makes you think about what’s important.”

We head for luggage pick up and customs and immigration. Everyone in front of us peels off for luggage so Sweetie Pie and I end up being the first folks to the immigration line. The huge bullpen at Detroit is empty. “Did you have to wait for us?” we ask the first official waiting to guide us through. “Yes, we would have been gone three hours ago normally.” “We were rerouted, we had to land in Palm Beach, someone died,” I say expecting a little bit of a reaction. “Yeah, we heard,” says the immigration officer vey matter of factly. I’m more than a little surprised. “Does that happen often?” I ask. “You’d be surprised,” says the immigration officer, stating the obvious.

“It happens all the time.”

[TizzyATX]

WOW.

I'm speechless. What a surprising bittersweet ending.

I dont have to tell you again, but this was a great trip report. I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to crossing paths soon.

[SweetSue]

Your trip home had a sobering event but in a way a blessing. This lady could have easily gave up, said I'm too sick to go and stayed home. So many people do that, give up, don't try to live, settle for the safe route barely existing. This gal wasn't going to have any of that. She knew her time was short and she made the choice to make the most of it. God Bless her and her family. I hope that had a great week filled with making memories to last the rest of their lives. She set an example to follow. Don't quit, go after what matters to you, seize the moment and live life until the very end.

Thank you again for this wonderful read.

[Guirigay]

Tizzy - thanks, we're looking forward to it ourselves.

SweetSue - Exactly, you got it. your welcome, I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

Brasi - YOU'RE excited? Set em up!!