- Joined
- Jul 27, 2010
- Messages
- 30,543
how do you react to the people there?
I was once laid off in the early 90's with a real chance of never being rehired again. It was devastating to me at the time because it was the first job that I loved to do and was good at and the only reason I wad laid off was due to seniority (union job). I dabbled in penny stocks at the time with the help of my sister who worked at Smith Barney and I made a nice little profit from them. So like a young man does after he gets laid off, I called a travel agent and said, "I want a hotel where I can step out of my room and be on the beach in a few steps. I also want a bar located in the swimming pool so that I could drink a Long Island Ice Tea while doing the backstroke....
Well, she set me in up in a hotel on the beach in St Thomas/Virgin Islands. I went alone and even though I was a loner at the time, I did get lonely after a while, drinking alone in the pool and eating my meals in the hotel restaurant by myself. All of the touristy things kinda bored me. I saw people on the beach getting pulled by a speedboat into the air on a glider in the midst of all the foreigners like myself, having fun. The locals who worked there, pasted a smile on, as the rich, drunk foreigners played on the beach. I decided to walk into the capital of the Virgin Islands called Charlotte Amalie to shop and to eat at Arby's believe it or not. This Arby's had a second floor bar that I wanted to see because I had never seen such a thing before.
Anyway, as I hoofed it into the city, I noticed things. I passed an elementary school. There were slats opened to the air, where windows would be in the US. It was so hot and humid and these poor kids were trying to study in the midst of that. I noticed the administration building had a big ole' air conditioning unit going full blast. I also noticed the dwellings there. They were concrete block houses, also with no apparent ac units with no wooden structures. I found that the VI has a problem with termites and so cement blocks were the only practical building materials. My wife later explained to me the possible reasoning why kids studied in a hotbox school rooms, because that's what they were used to at home and the administration were likely composed of foreigners who would only work in air conditioned spaces. She learned this as a missionary in the Philippines and they had the same set up there. It still seemed effed up to me.
I finally got tired of walking and flagged down a cab. I got in a conversation with the cabbie when I noticed and remarked about some banner that recognized Emile Griffith.
He said with surprise, "You know him?
I responded, "Of course I do. He was a great boxer and held multiple World Boxing titles."
The man seemed surprised that this white boy knew about the pride and joy of St Thomas. He loosened up a little after that since we shared something we both loved, which was boxing history. I realized that the common people on St Thomas lived mostly below the poverty level and relied on the tourists that came in from the Cruise Ships, mostly. I was the anomaly because I stayed in a hotel instead of being on a ship. It was a slow week because no Cruise Ships were there when I visited, of which I was glad. I felt self conscious because I know I'm not better than anybody else and it seemed that Americans/Europeans were acting like people on vacation: having nice meals, taking Island tours and buying expensive things in shops while the locals go back to their humble cinderblock, non-airconditioned homes after a long day of serving the "rich" foreigners.
Looking back, I wonder how I should feel about it? The "rich" foreigners helped the locals have jobs and a means to feed their families. And the foreigners themselves, probably didn't consider themselves to be rich, because it's all relative, after all. Maybe I was noticing things that I shouldn't care about? I people watch as a hobby and I noticed blank stares on server's faces that lit up into bright smiles when dealing with people like me and it made me feel uncomfortable.
Recently I have noticed unmasked A-listers being served by staff wearing face masks....or servants carrying the trains of some rich chick's long dress, also wearing masks. That shyte bothers me. So what do you guys think?
I was once laid off in the early 90's with a real chance of never being rehired again. It was devastating to me at the time because it was the first job that I loved to do and was good at and the only reason I wad laid off was due to seniority (union job). I dabbled in penny stocks at the time with the help of my sister who worked at Smith Barney and I made a nice little profit from them. So like a young man does after he gets laid off, I called a travel agent and said, "I want a hotel where I can step out of my room and be on the beach in a few steps. I also want a bar located in the swimming pool so that I could drink a Long Island Ice Tea while doing the backstroke....
Well, she set me in up in a hotel on the beach in St Thomas/Virgin Islands. I went alone and even though I was a loner at the time, I did get lonely after a while, drinking alone in the pool and eating my meals in the hotel restaurant by myself. All of the touristy things kinda bored me. I saw people on the beach getting pulled by a speedboat into the air on a glider in the midst of all the foreigners like myself, having fun. The locals who worked there, pasted a smile on, as the rich, drunk foreigners played on the beach. I decided to walk into the capital of the Virgin Islands called Charlotte Amalie to shop and to eat at Arby's believe it or not. This Arby's had a second floor bar that I wanted to see because I had never seen such a thing before.
Anyway, as I hoofed it into the city, I noticed things. I passed an elementary school. There were slats opened to the air, where windows would be in the US. It was so hot and humid and these poor kids were trying to study in the midst of that. I noticed the administration building had a big ole' air conditioning unit going full blast. I also noticed the dwellings there. They were concrete block houses, also with no apparent ac units with no wooden structures. I found that the VI has a problem with termites and so cement blocks were the only practical building materials. My wife later explained to me the possible reasoning why kids studied in a hotbox school rooms, because that's what they were used to at home and the administration were likely composed of foreigners who would only work in air conditioned spaces. She learned this as a missionary in the Philippines and they had the same set up there. It still seemed effed up to me.
I finally got tired of walking and flagged down a cab. I got in a conversation with the cabbie when I noticed and remarked about some banner that recognized Emile Griffith.
He said with surprise, "You know him?
I responded, "Of course I do. He was a great boxer and held multiple World Boxing titles."
The man seemed surprised that this white boy knew about the pride and joy of St Thomas. He loosened up a little after that since we shared something we both loved, which was boxing history. I realized that the common people on St Thomas lived mostly below the poverty level and relied on the tourists that came in from the Cruise Ships, mostly. I was the anomaly because I stayed in a hotel instead of being on a ship. It was a slow week because no Cruise Ships were there when I visited, of which I was glad. I felt self conscious because I know I'm not better than anybody else and it seemed that Americans/Europeans were acting like people on vacation: having nice meals, taking Island tours and buying expensive things in shops while the locals go back to their humble cinderblock, non-airconditioned homes after a long day of serving the "rich" foreigners.
Looking back, I wonder how I should feel about it? The "rich" foreigners helped the locals have jobs and a means to feed their families. And the foreigners themselves, probably didn't consider themselves to be rich, because it's all relative, after all. Maybe I was noticing things that I shouldn't care about? I people watch as a hobby and I noticed blank stares on server's faces that lit up into bright smiles when dealing with people like me and it made me feel uncomfortable.
Recently I have noticed unmasked A-listers being served by staff wearing face masks....or servants carrying the trains of some rich chick's long dress, also wearing masks. That shyte bothers me. So what do you guys think?
