Well, it’s been a few days since I last wrote about life on the island. I admit, writing a blog is sometimes hard because you want to update everyone all the time, but after working and adventuring, you’re just too darned tired to go back through your day and write about whatever seemed to be interesting at the time.
I mean, I literally haven’t written for about 3 days because I just couldn’t be bothered and by the time I was ready to write, it was bed time and I would get into bed and pass out.
But, since we are here, and I have decided to actually turn my computer on for the first time in days, I might as well get to the recap! And in this blog post, I will not have any specificity to it, and all the days will blend together. Enjoy!
Alright, so one morning I decided to go on a walk before work, and since I was feeling particularly adventurous, I decided to walk down a different road than I had been. It was one street over from mine and it definitely was more sketchy than my road, but it was like 06:45 so I just went for it. I passed some junky yards and this one house that was playing the radio way too loud way too early in the morning. If I was their neighbor, I would constantly be getting mad at them and may have a few choice words to share. I pass that bright orange, loud (color-wise and radio-wise) house, and all of a sudden, here pops out two puppies into the road that are just running straight for me. I was in puppy shock! They were so incredibly adorable and so happy to see me, it took everything in my power not to just pick them up and go home. I took a video and some pictures of these little cuties, and I loved on them a little bit (not a ton because, fleas), and as I was walking away, my heart was breaking a little bit. The look they gave me as I walked away just tore me up inside! It was the “wait, wait, where are you going?” look and I had to turn and keep walking otherwise I legit would end up with two dogs that I can’t care for and that would be worse. Later, I would find that they did have an owner, but I think the owner was selling the puppies or something because there were people looking at them when I walked by again. Either way, that owner’s place was pretty junky and I’m honestly shocked anyone would live there, especially with some dogs. But I have seen a lot of puppies out near the roads and whatnot so I am not exactly surprised. Breaks my heart.
But anyway, I walked away from the puppies and continued down the road where I ended up seeing one of the most beautiful “sunrises.” I put that in quotes because the sun rising was actually behind me, but the way the sky was colored over the ocean still made me so happy. It was absolutely beautiful. I had forgotten how wonderous the sunrises and sunsets were in the Caribbean. Not to say they weren’t absolutely gorgeous in Michigan – they absolutely were – but it’s just different. It’s the reminder of my childhood, or rather my beginnings of being an adult, when I was 18 living on a sailboat with my parents and brother. Nostalgia was hitting me pretty hard.
I kept walking and as I came back onto my street and started walking past the garden, I was noticing along the roads that there was an insane amount of trash. Like, just too much. It was bothersome. I made a mental note to start taking trash bags and gloves with me on my morning walks so that on my way back I can just pick up trash, leave the bag, grab my car, pick up the bag, and take it to the dumpster I know. This mental note came a few days later when I did exactly what I described. I had people who passed by thanking me, I had people introducing themselves and offering to help in the mornings, and I had people just drive by. It’s very interesting to see all the difference in level of care. But I guess you can get that anywhere you go.
One of the evenings this past week, I met up with Nadine and we did another trash walk. But we first walked to the beach, saw a rainbow, sat down at the beach, closed our eyes and took in the ocean sounds. I attempted to meditate, and I thought I was doing good until I could feel way too many flies on me. I opened my eyes and there are at least 20 flies on me and I shook them bad boys off and proceeded to cover my legs in sand. I mean, really, what else is there to do when that happens?
It started to become dusk and we decided to actually start picking up trash before it got dark. As we were passing this one area, I walked by a truck under some of the trees and I hear a woman say, “thank you, queens, for picking up the trash.” I say “you’re welcome” as I always do and mention that we are just trying to do our part. Well, then she and the man she was with drove up to us and told us they had coconuts, to which I replied, “oh that’s cool but I don’t have any cash on me.” The guy actually said, “no, this is a blessing, there is no charge.” He parks the truck in the road, gets out, goes to the back of the truck and starts hacking away at some coconuts. The woman, her name is Paula, starts telling us that he is “Buju the Coconut Man” and that they have a Facebook and we should follow and like their page (which I totally did later). It was a really cool experience because he was chopping up these coconuts so I got to drink coconut water straight from the source for the first time (not in the slightest bit sweet), and I even got to eat the jelly from the inside (weird, gooey mess) so I got some good iron and other vitamins that night. We ended up having good conversation and by the end of it we all thanked each other and went out separate ways.
We also picked up another person while were on our walk. This woman named Savannah was just out walking and while we were around, she picked up a thing or two. She decided to just walk with us because at this point it was getting much darker. She walked in the middle of the road while Nadine and I were along the sides. Perfect social distancing! She told me about how she grew up on the island, went to Georgia for a while, then came back in 2014 so her daughter could grow up on the island. That was really cool to hear. She also told me about how her daughter loves science and animals. At 5 years old, this little girl loves watching Planet Earth and Discovery Channel. THIS IS AWESOME. I love that! So, Savannah and I decide to keep in touch because she would love to volunteer, but she also wants her daughter to learn more about the aquatic sciences as well. I’ll see what I can do, but with COVID-19, things are just a little more difficult to do.
Savannah reaches her car, says goodnight to the both of us and Nadine and I continue picking up trash until we get to our cars. We put the bags in the dumpster and we thank each other for the company and say good night. We get in our cars and go home.
I realize that I really appreciate the time I get to spend outside, even when it’s picking up trash, because I get to meet new people even at a social distance. I also get to inspire people through my actions. If I keep picking up trash, maybe more people will follow suit. Or not. Either way I get exercise out of it and a feeling of accomplishment, so really I have nothing to lose by doing it. I actually thought about making a combined effort with other like-minded individuals, but that may have to be saved for after COVID-19. Though, I may try and reach out to the public and suggest that if they are really antsy in the house, go walk down your street and bring a trash bag and gloves with you.
By the way, pretty much for 3 mornings in a row, I have woken up to lizards in the house. Now, mind you, I love lizards and think they are super adorable and I just want to hold them and maybe feed them sometimes. I like that they eat the bugs, and they are just overall cool to observe and admire. But, when they are in my house, I just get this thought about them getting behind something and not being able to get out and then proceeding to DIE. I do not want any dead lizards in the house! One, because they would stink, and two, because I don’t want them to die! I basically used a couple mornings to get the lizards out by either cornering them to the point where they either have to jump into my hand or cornering them where they had to jump onto me. Although, the first one I corralled went behind and under both the fridge and stove. He was the most difficult one to get out. But, the others ended up being relatively easy! After I got over my hysteria of them possibly dying in the house, I realized that they would be fine. If they got in, they can get out. But I’m still going to shuffle them out when I can. I think we have a decent understanding with each other now, even though when they run away I just yell, “LET ME LOVE YOU.” Our relationship is blossoming.
There is still so much to tell, but this can be all for this post tonight. I will have some really great photos in my next post, so keep an eye out!
Until next time,
-Curby
CURBY IN THE SEA 