“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.’ ~ Michelangelo.

Growing up in the country is so different from the city.  One major difference is that in the country you ‘call to’ everyone as you pass them by.  If you tried that in the city you would be thought to be mad! For a child who moved from Manchester, UK to Chapelton Jamaica, it was an easy transition.  I imagine moving in the opposite direction may not have been so easy, for many more reasons.  But it soon became second nature to say ‘Mornin’, or ‘howdido?’ as you met people on the street.  I had been warned by my parents that when I was asked how I was, I was to say ‘very well, thank you,’ as just to say ‘fine’; ‘OK’; or ‘alright’ would be deemed to be rude.

This friendliness and display of manners was not limited to your immediate village.  In Jamaica, if you walk into a doctor’s waiting room; or a hairdressing salon; or a shop, you ‘call to’ everyone.  The good thing about living life this way, is that conversations can be started easily, and soon you are finding friends and relatives wherever you go. 

For a family driving a second-hand car through the center of the island heading to the beach, this neighborly way of life soon introduced another fact of country living in Jamaica.  If you break down at the side of the road, soon there will be a crowd of onlookers, a few of whom will turn out to be of a mechanical mindset.  To be honest, I am speaking of a time in the 60’s, but I suspect the same is true today.  I must warn you, that any Jamaican man you encounter will be a self-declared expert on most subjects, but fortunately there will be enough who are genuine mechanical geniuses (with or without the correct tools) who will be able to identify the problem and in some miraculous way, fashion a solution and have you on your way.  Yay!!

During the rainy season, the unpaved grounds where cars would be parked, could turn into a muddy swamp in no time.  My father, having no experience of the tricks of parking in such environments, or perhaps upon leaving a venue after a downpour, could very easily find himself stuck in the mud, wheels turning uselessly, getting deeper and deeper.  Along would come willing hands to direct, supervise, and push the offending vehicle to drier ground, probably getting very dirty in the process.  But once a car was on the move again, smiles all around!

In more recent times, we have been visiting a more rural part of South Florida, looking to buy a plot of land for retirement (a magical word that I have been practicing saying out loud more and more).  This has taken us to some scenic places, some out of reach places, and some hard-to-find places.  But thankfully, we have the GPS to guide us.  There are many developments in Florida that have ‘roads’ plotted out, carved into lots, with houses here and there.  Most of the roads are named; some are paved; some are scarcely used and are grass-covered.  Unfortunately, the GPS cannot distinguish between designated roads that are well used and safe, and designated roads that are essentially a path to nowhere.  So it is an adventure.

Last weekend we ventured into a development, our GPS confidently telling us where to turn, but when it said we had reached our destination, it was evidently wrong, for the supposed empty lot with another empty lot beside it was developed and occupied.  So we passed and waved at a family parked at the side of the road (this is country, after all) and went a little further to where it ended at a canal and prepared to turn around.  And that is where we got stuck, literally, up to our front bumper in soft, sugar sand.  There was no going forwards or backwards, the only movement was down.

And then we saw the vehicle that we had passed down the road riding to our rescue! The cavalry approached!  And despite the fact that neither party had full command of the language of the other, cooperative efforts soon ensued, men gesticulating wildly at each other, an English command sprinkled among the Spanish sentences. This was a challenge, and the men were up to it.  Even one of the women helpfully strode off into the bush to find a dry coconut bough or two to try to place behind the tires for traction.

It eventually took another truck (I don’t know if they were friends of the first rescuers, if they were called or just happened to be close enough to join in) and the ingenuity of people who had grown up in Castro’s Cuba, a place where 60-year-old cars are rehabbed daily to run as smooth as a brand new model.  They had a sturdy nylon strap, a truck with a hitch, and once we had located our screw-in tow-bar we were finally hauled out of the sand and onto firm ground.  Much to the delight of all parties, and the kids who had waited patiently at the side of the road while their parents rescued us.

I was touched to see that neighborliness is alive and well in these divided times.  The fact that we were strangers to the area and did not speak the same language did not matter.  As we parted company and offered ‘a money’ to thank them, the man who had first arrived to help told us no, ‘Cubans no tienen hambre’ (Cubans are not hungry!). and waved us off.  Another young man who had arrived in the second group, told us we could stop by the house any time, ‘just knock the door’! There was a neon orange SUV in the driveway ‘you can’t miss it’!

In these times when the most cruel acts of savagery can be enacted upon neighbors who knock on doors or cars who pull in to the wrong driveways; it is good to remember that these are the exceptions, but thanks to social media and cable news, they can seem to be everywhere.  I just read one of MLK’s quotes this morning, reminding us that acts of good will overcome acts of evil every time.  Although it may be challenging, the New Testament order to ‘Love thy neighbor’ will have to carry us through.

This Friday morning I challenge you to say ‘Good morning’ to random strangers as you pass them on the street.  Live as if you are living in a small community where everyone looks out for everyone, and it is not unusual to help a stranger in distress.  And look out for those unpaved roads, they may be sinking sands!

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.