A leisurely afternoon on a wind-blown Bahamas day seems like a great time for a walk around your AirBnb to say hello to the cast of characters that dot the dirt filled streets of this lil neighborhood.
I am always interested in the cultures, how people live, seeing them in their natural state.....away from the fake-ness that oozes in the hubs of these tourist towns....today, I will get a " hands-on " experience " of just this very thing....
Linda is a gracious woman, runs her little enterprise here on Bel-Dock St, doesn't smile nearly enough, though flows into this scene while her neighbor slowly carves out a drainage ditch and their friend continues to work on the car that doesn't look like it has moved in a decade.....a couple of cats look at me like some of the neighbor folk - who is that "Gringo" and what is he doing here?
Everyone seems very friendly on this island in the Caribbean, " Hey Mon " and " Good Day " pepper their sentences as it gives you the notion that you are welcome.......maybe that is why I turned the corner so leisurely......
Kids playing on a makeshift play structure - swinging on swings and laughing at nothing distract me from the blacked out house on the corner with weeds growing halfway up the boarded up windows littered with cars and..........dogs......lots of angry dogs.
They criss-crossed the property with reckless abandon, hell bent on announcing their presence with authority as their "canines" gleamed in the afternoon sun........they all had one thing on their mind.........me.
See, I had unknowingly gotten way too close to " their " house as I enjoyed a gorgeous Caribbean day and now I was gonna pay for it.....
The first 2 charged at me with fangs snarled and tails raised but as they got near they looked backed at the " leaders " to see if they were following as I made my move..........slowly away from the now known neighborhood blight. The leaders egged them on, howling and snarling and charging forth - the pack mentality has started to set in as they all look at each other for reassurance - while I am looking for the cleanest exit out of there.....
If there is one thing I learned in the Marines is that when chaos is abound - it is the ones that are calm, collective, read the situation, and slow things down that make it out......don't overreact.
I make it slowly to the middle of the street not engaging or threatening the bravest of them as he nips at my heels but stops in his tracks......he has no backup, just a lot of noise from the porch and unfinished dirt piles of the corner lot.......the barking fades as my heart rate stabilizes as I start to smirk...and realize....
Their job has been done. I am no longer a threat to the house. They will eat another day.
I stroll back to my place, full of story telling and see Linda out front tending to her property. As I tell her my escapades from down the block, she looks at me and says....
" I would've told you that "Mon" , we know what goes on down there......."
Still without a smile :)