Back in the bs…

Here is part of where the inspiration for the title of this blog post came from- www.google.bs-(what I see when I hit my usual browser every morning after I boot up when I’m here.) The bs stands for the Bahamas. More of my inspiration comes from the place itself. I am sitting outside beside a newly sprouted coconut palm, escaping the A/C inside blue door 711, my abode on Andros, enjoying the beauty and warmth of the day. The sound of the birds and occasional high spirited laughter that drifts my way on the breeze is infinitely more pleasant than the incessant hum of the A/C or the noise of the election results being rehashed over and over again on the TV.

As I pass the grill (where you can order a cheeseburger at lunch or a steak at dinner on Wednesdays) in the chow hall I hear a welcoming shout, “Hey Jomomma!” and see many other smiling faces. An analogy here would be the chow hall:AUTEC as WalMart: St.Marys. In other words the chow hall is where you see everybody but it’s better than WalMart because you sit with friends and make new friends over meals rather than just sharing a passing hello over shopping carts. It is family time extended. Somehow when I am home in St. Marys (with the exception of Wednesday night spaghetti and holiday meals) we don’t sit down as a family often enough. There are a couple of TVs mounted high in the chow hall (too high for the sound to be heard) so TV doesn't distract groups from conversation and no one seems to be in a big hurry to go back and watch their shows anyway. Plans are made for afternoon (after work) walks and that brings me to another thing about this place.

Waving-everybody does it whether they know you or not. People walking wave, people riding bikes and driving golf carts wave and people driving cars and trucks wave. The base taxi drivers and bus drivers are wavers too. There are all kinds waves from princess styles, pointing types, and the standard side to side hand wave. When someone extends their hand it isn't generally a talk to the hand sort of thing. Everybody waves. There is an underlying friendly quality here.

And the waving thing has begun to rub off on me. When I’m back in St. Marys I find myself doing it all the time. So next time some stranger waves to you as you’re driving down the street (in St. Marys), well you never know who it might be. It might be me-stranger things happen!