Fr. Jim,
LOL! I have been living here 20 years now, and trust me, the money changers pester anyone they think has money to change. The money changers all know me and I still get asked nearly every day. No biggie...
Obviously, if someone is white in Negril, there is a very good chance they are a tourist, so the money changers would be stupid not to play those odds. But if they think anyone has money to change, regardless of their color or nationality, they will ask them - even Jamaicans get this attention. I have seen hundreds of taxi drivers refuse the money changing question.
As for any "apron strings" - as I stated, any day (other than Sunday) is a great day to get ice cold beer and great jerk pork at the Red Dragon. The Monday gatherings were purely set up to allow us a chance to sit and talk without being behind a keyboard with our Boardie friends.
And if by chance that makes some feel more comfortable in exploring the Red Ground area and Red Dragon - that is wonderful. But no one needs to hide behind some imaginary apron strings....





