Virgin Islands today comments

My father's family owned people in Virginia. Not proud of it, but it is what it is. You can't change the past, only learn from it.

I have also been put off by the level of general rudeness and lack of civility on both boards. I don't post nearly as much as I used to.

bombi my mouth is watering, thanks.
sorry i cant remember your name ( from ny ) but if you look a little bit harder im sure youll be able to make out just the tippy tip of either stt of pr, doubt youll be able to see us in stx as i believe stt is in front of us. correct me if im wrong, not good with the whole nwse thing.

I could see the islands from New Mexico (course I had my rose colored glasses on)...

I'm looking at STX right now. This is as clear as February normally is.

"I have a question. Where do you go on Holiday? Off island ? Hang out?"

Europe. BTW, pick up a Daily News today. For once it's worth a dollar with a lot of Hugo stories.

Trade some of the Hugo stoeies are in the online daily News. The film @ Hugo is on this weekend on #2 Innovative 2 or 3 times.

My ancestors are from Ireland and Scotland with some French and German. Traced my Dad's side back to Cape Bretton Nova Scotia where they fished, whaled and farmed and slowly trickeled down to Boston. No Caribbean history. My great uncle invented the machine that makes styrofoam cups, (damn I hate them).

Why anyone would get vexed about someones ancestory is beyond my comprehension.

I can see some offshore land from here on the esat end of STX I think it Virgin Gorda. Rare

I agree, Bombi. To blame anyone for something beyond their control is nuts. Nobody picks their relatives. I picked my family here.

Anita, I read the account in the Source this morning about you being one of the four people keeping WSTA on the air during Hugo -- would love to hear your stories from then.

hi fdr,

it was me and a number of other folks. i tell you, none of us thought it would be as bad as it eventually became. showing up with a little peanut butter and expecting to spend an extra day or two, hah! that tiny station which sits on a hill right at crown bay held up like nothing else, and we ended up talking people through some interesting situations. sometimes i marveled at phones that worked even as people ran from floor to floor seeking shelter as the buildings they were in flew from around them. our team purpose kept us going so that we did not have to think about what was really going on. we held on for as long as we could, and when we went dark, we suddenly realized what we were up against and did what we could to preserve our equipment.

the hurricane itself was something else, but the aftermath was the real test. we lost a lot of people (by their own hands or by slow suicide... substance abuse, domestic abuse) in the months after. i saw us all pull together and i made some new friends that i have to this day. it was actually a magical time because i read more, talked more, laughed more and danced more. i had my very first credit card suspended by the company because i could not afford to pay it off - we could not preserve too much food because of no electricity until just before christmas for me, so a lot of meals out... very expensive. amazing how it adds up. a couple thousand is a lot when you haven't got it.

i am no longer in the radio business, but i learned something about radio in those days when the hundreds of slivers of paper passed through our hands to be passed to the person on the mic... calling out to someone, that someone was alive, that someone lost a home, that someone needed to know... are you still alive, are you ok? to see a huge man crumple to the floor in tears because he'd heard that we had a message for him, but we could not find it, just couldn't find it in the many boxes of meticulously filed silvers of paper... written on napkins, the backs of envelopes, pieces of cardboard... we could not find it and he had trekked all that way, in bearish traffic, to get to the station. and we could not find it.

seeing hillsides that looked like a giant had stood one one side and simply blown someone's life down into the trees onto the grass, all their personal business soggy and just lying there, open for everyone to see. and as bad as st. john and st. thomas had it, st. croix had it much, much worse, they were absolutely flattened. times like that i will never forget.

back to what i learned. what i learned about radio was this... we play music, entertain, talk, joke, and play commercials to support it all... but our only purpose is to be interesting enough to keep you listening so that when we have something as urgent as that came along, you will be there and you will trust us.

The skies are putting on quite a show tonight. I have never seen such beautiful stars.

Anita you write like some of my favorite authors. Makes me feel like I was there. You have a true talent.

JJ won a trip on the kinderd spirit at the crab races tonight. A beautiful boat.

Tammy, thank you for the reminder! I stepped out back and realized my quilt was still on the line . . . brought that in . .. then went out front where it's darker to enjoy the sky and the Milky Way. It's my last night here until November so I'm thankful for a clear sky to enjoy. Since it was my last full day I even got in a late afternoon dip in the ocean, followed by dinner at with a dear friend. Oh how I miss STX when I leave! I hope my hummingbirds forgive me!

Anita, the radio is a lifeline too for those of us who were alone (or with pets in my case) during Hugo & Marilyn. I remember thinking "if I only knew when this was going to stop..." I really have to grit my teeth over people who look forward to hurricane parties because for anyone who has been through a Hugo or Marilyn it definitely is no reason for a drunken festival. For some reason, when the worst is at night it's even scarier.

I can't remember how long after Hugo that the only thing to watch on tV seemed to be the Frugal Gourmet on PBS with rabbit ears. 😀

Trade, I agree. Having been through them all starting with Hugo, I cannot imagine a drunken party. There is so much work to do during the storm not to mention after.

Anita, thanks so much for sharing. You had a unique perspective on the storm, and it's really valuable to hear. Especially what it seems people forget to talk about is how folks coped (or didn't) with the mental and emotional aspects of the aftermath.

Trade, thank you too, and thanks for the tip on the Daily News -- someone had left their copy at the bar where I went after work, and I was excited to read the whole thing. Definitely worthwhile.

When the radio stations went off here after Marilyn, it was REALLY scary. I was hearing all kinds of things about where the storm was on stations I picked up in Puerto Rico & elsewhere & the information was so wrong, it wasn't funny. It's truly a miracle more people weren't killed after Hugo & Marilyn. The smaller storms just don't really prepare you for the monsters. I hope they miss us again this year. You sure see the best & worst in people in those circumstances & in my experience, there was more good than bad.

It's hard to believe how lush it is today compared to then. You sure saw houses you never knew existed until all the bush & trees were blown away. Anyhow, all who kept us company on the radio should have extra blessings. I'm sure it was even scarier for Anita & the others who couldn't be at home during it.

anita,
I was on island during Hugo, didn't hear you because unlike being a good Boy Scout I wasn't fully prepared. I bought "C" batteries and my radio needed "D" batteries. Today I have a 4.5 Generator, Batteries, Candels and three battery operated radios, that take "AA" "C" and "D". and a Cell Phone. I also fill my gas tank up and have 4 Five gallon gerry cans for gasoline, When the Power goes out they can't pump gas. I also fill the bathtub with water and fill every empty bottle with water.

Anita,
Thanks for your post on Hugo. My husband was on St. Thomas for it and then eventually came over to St. Croix to take care of his Aunt who was there at the time. He always said that it really was the aftermath of the hurricane was far more difficult than the hurricane itself (although it sounds like that was no picnic). He was in a house that had one wall come apart at the bottom and sides. He said the wall flapped open like a huge garage door, with water pouring through the whole place. Another friend told of their bedroom going crazy. I think it was a window that blew out and their possessions were circling the room, stuck in the wind, like a horror movie.

I'm so glad there were people like you and your colleagues to give folks hope and keep them company. KJ

Fun day today. Hubby is jack hammering up our concrete to fix broken pipes and what he found was Frankenstein previous repairs. More jack hammering. At least when we do sell this house we can do so with a clear conscience. Everything will be fixed. Not hidden like when we bought it. I think I will watch the movie "The money pit" with Tom Hanks tonight. Maybe I'll have a good laugh and it will make me feel better.

I got some HD network channels on my Dish this week and can't watch football on the regular ones today. Guess I need to be rid of the regular stuff and go all Hi Def. Moving into the 21st Century!

Went to some health lecture/brunch at the Wyndham today. Didn't win any raffle prizes but the food was good. So after all the health talk about cholesterol, low salt, low-fat dairy products I stopped & bought my favorite ice cream & 2 bags of Goldfish. 😀

Trade,
Gotcha beat, I bought Bryers van ice cream and oreo cookies put them in the blender and waiting for the game to start. it don't get no better than this.

If you can find it, get the Breyer's Waffle Cone Overload. OMG, wicked good. Tastes like smashed up ice cream drumsticks.

HeHe I'LL look for it!

I had to go to the store to get some stuff to make JJs school lunches this week. I have been working all day cleaning and helping hubby with the broken pipes so I had on my favorite worn out working shorts on. I came home and hubby and JJ are cracking up because the entire back of my shorts were ripped from waist to hem. At least I had pretty panties on. Hopefully I made a lot of people in the store laugh and gave them a funny story to go tell their families.

HA! Maybe they ripped in the car on the way home, because I'd like to think someone would've pulled you aside and mentioned it to you if they were ripped while you were shopping. 🙂

Tammy,

I was in Wal Mart. Just checked out, carrying bags in both hands. Walking to the door my shorts slipped down around my knees! No belt. Luckily I had underwear on or that would have given everyone an even better laugh (saggy butt and all)...

Had a terrific day! Went to look at a car this morning. Got lost and ended up in F'stead! The guy called me and was quite amused (and probably upset as well) about this newbie... Lots more work to get it 'road worthy' than I can handle with my limited mechanic-ing experience... More searches tomorrow.

Met a great guy at the 'Green ??? Marina' on the East end for a drink and listened to music by Steven Katz. What a wonderful musician! Bought one of his CD's and will be going back for more! Is this a great place or what?
nn