Here's Wishing you a happy holiday from the Sunny Caribbean.
Photo taken around 5:30 a.m. today Christmas Eve. The only lights I have up are the rope lights around the coconut tree. That's as Merry as I plan to get. I have to work for the next two days, my only employee and God sent, is taking Christmas & Boxing days off.
Where the Heck is Belize? And who the Heck cares?
I didn't buy any Ham, any Turkey, any stuffing, it's just me. No husband, no child. My son lives in Kenya with his father, I'll see him in the summer. All my other immediate siblings are in First World. I'm not much bothered by spending it alone, I have a lot of friends, WISH WILLY already came by and told me to join his party sail to the reef tomorrow. Ragga Gal invited me to her Raggamuffin Party tonight at the new bar above Chan's Supermarket.
Sounds good but I have to WORK tomorrow! (this is where you feel sorry for me)
Sorry for all the flashbacks, but this reminds me of one time I motored out on a sailboat across the reef to the deep blue on a Christmas Day with a bunch of my best friends at the time. Most who are now married with children. We were young and carefree.
The sea was dead calm. No wind. No sail. We anchored, played Caribbean Music and spent the time laughing while sitting on little life vests in the water (which by the way make a pretty good floating water stool and only requires little balance) bobbing...just enough where your neck sits up above water. Both hands jut out saluting the Sun God, a rum punch in one, a cigarette in the other, my sacrifice to her on this day.
I've never had a conventional Xmas since I moved back to Caye Caulker. It's just another working day in the Caribbean, all the tourists are here, this is our chance to capitalize on the tourist dollar. Just another day in Paradise.
Not to worry about Turkey, Ham & Stuffing say's cousin Rose who lives across the street from the PoPo (police) Station. Uncle, the same one married to Aunty BigLittle, is big shopping for plenty "swine" as the Rasta's say (at least the ones who don't eat pork and want to make it sound disgusting) "You gonna eat that dirty swine and raise up you colesterol"
Cousin Rose is Cheif Chef cooking up a storm of delicious side dishes too like cranberry & stuffing and whatever else goes along with a Christmas meal.. She's an excellent cook.
She promised to bring over a nice plate for me like she always does. Thanks Uncle (indirectly) for the Christmas Dinner. Thanks Cousin Rose for thinking of me. My employee promised me a plate too and before tomorrow is out, I will probably have 5 plates of turkey & ham with trimmings sitting on my counter. Hope I have a big appetite.
"Caye Caulker the way it was....
Not on the way to anyplace or coming from anyplace "
My dad says that when he first arrived on Caye Caulker in 1964 when it was still the Colony of British Honduras, it was known then as one of the four corners of the earth by the really determined backpacker. Not so anymore, we are getting well known through our Tourist Board aggressive promotion in recent years that trips to Belize can even be seen as prizes on "Wheel of Fortune"
Our lives are changed FOREVER but some things still remain the same.
Where the Heck is Belize? And who the Heck cares?
There use to be a T-Shirt in the 70's, 80's & 90' which was a best seller in the gift shops. It would have on one side "Where the Heck is Belize?", and on the other side "Who the Heck cares?"I don't see this shirt being printed anymore.
The Stars have arrived!
Traci Ullman, a British comedian who had the Tracy Ullman show on HBO for a while, did a skit one week where the maid ran off to Belize with her husband. When her friend asked the infamous question of "Where the Heck is Belize?" Traci answered "It's the butt hole of Mexico". When you think about it though, you get the geographic location in a second. 
ON HBO!!! I was mortified! I wasn't too happy with that joke and I love Tracy Ullman shows but she nearly lost me as a faithful fan. Then I find out that Tracy Ullman loves Belize and has a condo in Ambergris Caye, the island a few miles North of me. Guess she didn't want too many people "discovering" her little corner of paradise so she didn't pretty up the country.
Jimmy Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker are known to do an impromtu jam session on Christmas Day in San Pedro island. Big fans of my neighbor island. Jimmy Buffett even wrote a book which was mostly set in Belize.
Ran into Tommy Lee Jones at the SandBox sand floor restaurant next door one X-Mas too. Same with Dennis Quaid, except this was at a restaurant in the city. When Dennis walked by our table to go to the bathroom, my dinner companion said "Hey Dennis, you got a minute?" to my embarrassment. Then to my surprise, he pulled up a chair and sat down for about 10 minutes. I invited him to Caulker but he was only in town a short time on a medical mission and was leaving later that day.
Leonardo DiCaprio has also just bought an island "Blackadore" a few miles North of Caye Caulker. It is about 18 acres and he is making it a totally self-sustainable eco-friendly green resort island. Hey Leo, I'm single, you're single. Shout me up in Caulker. HeeHee. Now wouldn't that be the best Christmas present ever.
Other siteings in Belize of Juila Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Benjamin Bratt, Harrison Ford, even Bill Gates partner the one with the Mega Yacht that if sold, could pay off our entire national debt. He dropped by too.
So anyway, here I go off on another tangent. The stars have discovered us, it's one popular butt hole now.
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