Tonight it is breezy and cool. Anyone with air conditioning, must have it
on to warm up, cause I am seriously thinking of putting something warm on my
tail. Brrrrrrr!
By the way, I have current, water, cable, internet and phone tonight ALL AT
ONCE. Nothing is mash up! Yippee! This is very rare on
this island! I feel extremely spoiled and privileged. I can hardly
decide what to do first. But on my shopping list is a can for gasoline for that
new generator I am anxiously awaiting. I even shopped at Qwomars in Road Town,
for possible covers and containers to keep my new little generator cozy,
clean and out of the elements between uses. I didn't buy anything since I
left the measurements at home. I hit
Qwomars on a good day cause they had just got in a shipment of
plastic containers in every shape and size. One was so big, that all my
belongings would have fit in it with room to spare. Mermaids don't own
much.
My last little "shared" generator that I had use of half the year, was
kept covered by an upside down jumbo bucket left over from my hand laundry
washing days. I used to have a nice little red gas jug, but I loaned it
out, and around here, once you loan something out, you rarely ever
see it again.
Note to self: look around home to make sure there is
nothing "borrowed" that I forgot to return.
You can bet I am going to take VERY GOOD care of that little generator.
I've been saving up a LONG time to get this. It's supposed to be quiet
too, so I am excited about that. OK, enough of my drooling and wishful thinking.
(
But
here's a pic of the little beauty, I am expecting!) It's supposed to ship
yesterday or today, and I am ashamed to say, I am praying it makes it here in
one piece and purrs like a happy cat next time da current done mash up and I got
things to do.
Looks like this weekend is going to be a wet one, but we hope not what with
carnival ready to crank up. I remember years ago, on a clear night, back
when the carnival village was free, and hordes of people stood along the sides
of the road, trying to catch rides into town. I think about 90% of the
population was in the carnival village when the heavens opened up and in minutes
the place was just flooded while folks ran and screamed, cramming their way into
the back door of the cooking booths, elbow to jowl while it rained so hard, you
couldn't see across the carnival village. Some folks had brought umbrellas,
others that were carrying take away food boxes were holding them over
their head. Many hapless folks that were too far away from the booths when
it happened and had to endure the rains without shelter.
A friend of mine, another female boatie, who could be a cut up and a
klutz at times, saw me and began running towards me in the rain, but she
slipped and fell during this deluge and landed on all fours. I ran over to help
her up and she looked up at me while still down and said "Wanna dog paddle with
me to the chicken shack?"
I remember what a hard time later, we had catching a ride back to our
harbor that night, what with our dripping wet clothes. Taxis would shake their
head NO at us. Finally we caught a ride in the back of a pickup
truck with a driver that immediately floored the accelerator and drove like we
were late for The Second Coming We were white knuckled attached to
the sides of the truck, giving each other that "Are we gonna get killed?" look
when she whispers "I think I left my stomach a mile back..."
By golly, we were nearly dry by the time we got home and ever so grateful
to still be alive.
Anyhow, I digress, back to the weather:
Yikes!
One sailor in Sopers Hole, West End, Tortola reported gusts
of 50-55 knots last night. I met him at the dump.
Yes, I know meeting new friends at the dump sounds strange. But here on Tortola,
you must carry your garbage to a public dump or dumpster or public can. I like
to carry mine out everyday, what with this tropical climate, I don't like to
leave mine languishing at home much.
Anyhow, there being some public cans half way between me and the
dinghy dock, I met a new boat owner this afternoon over garbage. He hobbled
over, as if he had leg trouble and tossed a small soft smelly bag of
garbage in the can, mine made a horrible crash and clang, but at
least mine was odorless. He said "Good Afternoon" and I said the same.
I smiled and said "Are you on a boat in the harbor?"
He replied "Does it show that much? I just bought a boat, stayed
aboard for the third time last night. I think I aged ten
years overnight."
Knowing how the cats and I cowered under the covers while that mini
hurricane swirled and twirled around us in the middle of the night, I gave him
my best innocent look and casually said "Get much wind in the harbor last
night?"
"Holy #$%! Did I get much wind?"
He gestured toward the garbage can where he had just tossed his odoriferous
bag, "I woke up to that *&^%$%^&, leaped out of my bunk, slammed all the
hatches shut, fell down because the boat was heeling, yes heeiling! In the
harbor! On a mooring! No sails up and the wind so strong that I
am heeling over! I throw on some shorts and climb my way out to the
cockpit.
"I'm out in that *&^%^&* tossing anchors out port and starboard
while this driving cold rain is freezing my at #$!!%! off! I sure
didn't want that mooring to break loose and send me out to sea in THAT
$%^&*&^%$!!!
All the while he is pointing at the smelly small bag of refuse he had just
tossed in the can.
"Crawl! I had to crawl my way back to the cockpit, clinging onto
everything to keep from being tossed overboard and my
window-meter (I think he meant wind speed meter) but I chuckled when
he said "window-meter") was hovering around 25-30 and all of a sudden, it
shot up to 55 and the boat lurched aft really hard, started heeling over again
and a loud bolt of thunder shot out! I thought we had broke loose
and I was going to sea at 3am, in 55 knots of wind!
" THAT'S when I at #$%^&*(% in my shorts!
This was punctuated by him shaking his finger at the garbage for emphasis,
and a wild eyed stare as he looked at me intently, as if just noticing for
the first time I was a mermaid who was now laughing so hard, I almost
#$%^&*%$ in mine too...
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