posted by Writer on Feb 24
An observation from the Dutch Caribbean.
I’m a man who likes to stay home. The extent of my world travel has been from my couch, remote in hand, watching some travel channel on t.v. in my “Sponge Bob boxers”. Ahhhhh, life is grand.
This year, my wife made me travel with six other couples, of all weeks, during Super Bowl week to the Caribbean.
Never go anywhere with 14 people, unless you’re raiding a dope house or driving Islamic fascists from their rat’s nest – then bring as many guys and guns as you can.
I must admit, the weather and scenery were, to quote my wife; “paradise on earth.” The “trade winds” blow all the time and the more they blow, the warmer it gets. It was a constant 84-86 degree’s at all hours, with no humidity or bugs.
After seeing this lovely place, I thought how could one not believe in a Creator?
I was the rookie of the group and so as not to “get thrown off the island,” I and one other person were responsible for claiming our Palapa’s, as the locals call them (see photo below), so the group could enjoy the ocean and not bake under the Caribbean sun.
To do this, one has to rise by 3:30 am and stagger down to the beach. I was surprised to find how many others, mostly obnoxious liberal’s from the East Coast, were up at that time staking their claim.
The same activity also took place around the pool back at the resort, only people there were clamouring for tables with umbrella’s and chaise lounges.
This was an easy detail for me because I’m an early riser.
It was nice to slide down to the ocean and listen to the waves over the moonlit skies.
Once I claimed my “hooch,”* I would make a pillow in the sand, throw a beach towel over it and hunker down in the fetal position under my wind breaker waiting for the “Cabana boy’s” to arrive by 6:00 am.
Then, I would slip them a Five for the beach furniture we required for the day.
Sometimes I prayed, other times I caught a few winks or just listened to the ocean, which reminded me of God’s unbelievable power.
The thing that really struck me though, was how important it was for people to claim the same “hooch” each day.
A guy got mad at me one morning, because I had the audacity to claim two “hooch’s” while waiting for my partner to show. For a minute there, I thought “he was gonna slap me upside the head”, but he stomped off into the night muttering.
If only American’s were as zealous in claiming and protecting the liberties that God gave us.
“Liberty, equality, fraternity-these qualities of spirit that are God’s alone to give, and cannot be won by force. But once given, they are man’s to preserve and protect, and to defend with his life’s blood, if necessary.“ (1)
“For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand fast, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
(1). The Light and the Glory: Did God Have a Plan for America? By Peter Marshall and David Manuel, p. 254-255
(For those of you who don’t know, a “hooch” is a slang term used by those in the military for their barracks).
Leave a Reply