No more

A family friend's four year old, let's call him Noodles, which is actually one of his nicknames, has been a frequent visitor at my parents' place in Toronto. My mother is one of his favourite people and he will not pass up the chance to spend the night at their place. So, of course he regales her with all sorts of stories and is quite content with having 'conversations' with her, not to mention playing games with her on her iPhone.

During one of their conversations, the topic of relating something back to each of their parents came up. Noodles asked my mother where her parents were. Not wanting to tell a four year old that they had long since passed she told him they were not around. Her rationalisation was, how much does a four year old know and even understand the concept of being dead anyway.

Noodles, proceeds to ask her: Well, where are they?

Mom: Well, they're not alive anymore. They're in heaven now.

Noodles: In heaven?

Mom: Yes, in heaven, with Jesus.

Noodles: In heaven with Jesus? Oh, so they died?

Mom: !?!?!?!?!?!

And here she was trying to break it to him gently. Well, apparently that was unnecessary! He's obviously a very smart four year old.

Which bring me to this, with all this 24 hour coverage of the legendary Michael Jackson's demise and the constant scrutiny and airing of how his fans come to terms with his death, I have to wonder: do WE, as adults, really know and understand the concept of death and what it means to be dead?

Batabano

Cayman's version of the Caribana which is called Batabano. Now it's not as good as Toronto's Caribana, as many of you can attest, but it'll do...Maybe next year's will be better.

Hey Frenchie

I am so pleased to share with you a first time find for me.

Taken (by me) over a month ago at Cemetary Beach in West bay - a juvenile FRENCH ANGELFISH. Gorgeous, innit? They look quite different all grown up. Since they're also cleaner fish, they tend to take on 'clients'.

These fish are also monogamous. Ha! Who knew!

Put on a happy face

I am about to get very busy for the next couple of weeks, so to remedy my posts that would normally be few and far inbetween, I am going to share some island appropriate visuals. Are your eyes ready for this? Here goes...

Just this alone is enough to take me to that happy place. Seriously, who can't use a happy face?

Canines of KY

I love dogs and it is for this reason that I hate seeing stray dogs out and about, left to fend for themselves. Cayman has plenty of them. Some have collars. Now I'm not sure if many of these have been 'adopted' by the many dog lovers out there, or if dog owners just let their pooches roam free. I have also seen dogs chase after their owners as they drive off to work or running errands, oblivious at these times to the rush hour traffic. I have stopped one too many times for these dogs, afraid that if I don't to give them way, someone else won't either. Why are these dogs not on a leash in the safety of their own backyards? It's hard to tell.

Regardless, Cayman's dogs are SMART! I cannot count the number of times I have spotted a dog 'waiting' to cross the road, looking for a break in traffic in both directions before they make their way across. And they do it is such a humble manner, not cocky at all. You never see a Cayman dog strut his stuff as he crosses the road. They are cautious, with their heads lowered in humility knowing all too well how dangerous crossing the road can be. It's a lesson in humility we can all learn from, and apply to so many different areas in our life. But getting back to these dogs, why are they not better secured, why are they left to roam the streets, left to meet up with their other unsecured friends. Sure it's a life without restrictions, but such a dangerous one at that. Oh how I tempted I am to take one home with me.

Can't speak English a wah?

There has been a little bit of a debate going on and around about speaking English while in Cayman. There are so many foreign nationals here that you're bound to hear a myriad of dialects when you're out and about. With one thing I do agree, English MUST be spoken at the work place and there is no room for other languages, especially when dealing with customers. But anywhere else, is fair game. It's a free country and what that means is that you cannot stop someone from speaking in their own tongue with their friends while, say at the beach, or shopping. A restriction placed on that freedom is going a bit too far.

Hot hot hot

It's that time again. Summer heat is here. And so the comparisons begin from my folks in Dubai & Bombay thinking that they're the only ones suffering the from the heat and that it's just exclusive to them. Just so y'all know, Cayman is just as hot as Dubai & Bombay. How do I know this? Check out the weather map on the left.

Before and after

And touching on this post:

You know you're Caymanian when most stories are either "before Ivan" or "after Ivan".

Let's talk about...

I found a link to a bunch of You know you're Caymanian when liners and thought I'd share some here and there.

So, here's goes: You know you're Caymanian when you can research anybodys sexual history if you ask enough people.

'Tis the season

This happens every year. Just like the cold white north prepares for the winter season conducive to snow storms, we here in the Caribbean prepare ourselves for hurricane season. Some say to me, 'Oh you guys must be pros by now, having lived in Bermuda for three years and now in Cayman'. But that's just it, you can't ever get 'used' to a hurricane. You can't ever be a 'pro', well, unless you're like those audacious Hurricane Hunters you see on TV, flying in the midst of it, or close to it to bring us up to date details on any ongoing hurricane.

Most outside of Cayman may not know but 2004's Hurricane Ivan was the worst the island had seen since the 1930's. What made it worse was that most were so lax about the approaching hurricane, that no one thought that it might actually be devastating. And the reason why not many may know about this is that it wasn't publicised. Cayman blocked all media access that no one really knew the extent of the devastation that took place here.

I often hear about how some if not most parts of the island lacked electricity and water...for weeks! How during the hurricane, tidal waves pretty much flooded Georgetown which is shaped like a bowl, how some parts were under 12 feet of water, how so many coffins were unearthed during the hurricane - and this being Cayman how the rumours ensued, how so many left the island never to come back, how new comers onto the island were not told of the hurricane nor the aftermath - and how would they know with the lack of media coverage, I could go on and on.

Since Ivan, the government has been far more cautious and takes every hurricane/ approaching storm warning seriously. So, are we worried? Should we be? I am not sure. Most homes here in Cayman are post Ivan construction, and have been built to withstand hurricanes. There were very few places and cars that were not affected by Ivan. But regardless, I don't see how we'd have a good summer if we spent everyday worrying about the hurricane season that officially begins today.