Bahamianization - Converted

May 1999 Table of Contents

THE SLOW PROCESS OF BAHAMIANISATION
by Bill Durrell

A couple of weeks ago the thin steel cable connecting the pull handle to the front hood latch of my 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel broke. Our guests, the first of two waves, were off to Marsh Harbour. Checking all the vital fluids under the hood had seemed an wise idea.

A vice wrench from the tool rack was able to get a good grip on the 1/4 inch of protruding steel cable and a strong pull opened the hood. It seemed a good idea to leave the wrench locked on the cable for future hood openings.

The old Volkswagen camper was in Marsh Harbour for minor repairs and some parts needed to be ordered from the States. I considered ordering a hood latch assembly and checked the Rabbit workshop manual to see how difficult the job might be. A brief investigation made it quite clear the vice grips were a much preferred option - for this year, anyway.

Our second two visitors decided to use the car for an overnight trip to Sandy Point. While unloading the car after their return I removed the vice grips from their hanging position to the left of the steering wheel needing them for a quick job. My guest seemed shocked. "Is it safe to remove them?" he inquired. "I was nervous all the trip that they performed some vital function and might fall off." When I explained the situation he asked innocently, as any visitor might, "Why don't you just get it fixed?"

When one spends a lot of time down here, listening to visitors' wisdom of how to fix this island up gets very boring.

At Florence's the other morning the conversation lowered to why Templeton, Florence's son, didn't just install a light switch, eliminating the need for the first tall person arriving to unscrew the overhead light bulb at the entrance door. After all, someone said, he spent almost a year at school in the States learning the trade of an electrician. The men talked about this issue and the explanations put on the table showed great imagination if nothing else.

When the group broke up I ventured inside and asked Templeton. "The timbers in that roof are rotten to the core," he replied. "You would be taking life in hand to go up in the attic and do the re-wiring."

It is easy to judge the ways of people who live on this island. Our opinions are from somewhere else. I've been coming here for over thirty years and am just beginning to see the light.

On 26 March, at about 12:30 am, a group of about seven young American visitors trashed the deck at Florence's Cafe. Five chairs were destroyed and they even ripped a Bill Hertz plaque from its place of honour on the railing.

At a crowded evening in Hudson's Delight Restaurant a family from Treasure Cay, impatient with the service, scooped the glasses,
flower vase and flatware off the table, into a bag, and promptly left.

Hopefully, not going on is the Americanisation of Bahamians.

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