Jumping to Conclusions
on George Hamilton (Jamaica), 15/May/2011 03:13, 34 days ago
800x600Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-CAX-NONEX-NONEMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}THE SECRET MISSIONI'll let you into the secret. This is the painting I went to get on the north shore - Bunty and I admired it a while ago but no decision was made to buy it at the time by Mr. Economical. Another reason for it being right at the top of the blog is to space the pictures around, no big secret about that.BEFORE REALITY CHECKThe great thing about blogs is the learning process.Because the blog is about Jamaica, I therefore learn about this island where I volunteer.In my last blog, I was all set to whimsically ask whether Johnny Cash might travel to Sligoville.I abandoned this thought process because there two Jacksons in Jamaica to which Johnny more relevantly and feverishly would travel.Without ever being to Sligoville I had the preconceived notion that Sligoville was a pretty small place.For example, I pictured driving along a country road and passing a sign saying“You blinked so you missed Sligoville”.But there’s more to this community than I ever imagined.For example, according to the Internet:Johnny Cash could drive there to post a letter.He could also talk to police to discuss the legal ramifications of his recording royalties.He might admire the view including Kingston, the sea and surrounding areas.He could practice in the stadium for upcoming world cricket championships.He could buy a $2,000,000 US house there.He could be held up in a traffic jam according to the Apr 6, 2011 RJR news“Transportation grounded to a halt in Sligoville, St. Catherine on Wednesday morning as scores of taxi operators and residents joined forces to protest against the poor road conditions in the area. The protesters who used debris, including tree branches, to block the main road said for years theyhave made repeated representation to the government to repair the road but to no avail. According to one resident the situation has taken a toll on their motor vehicles . . . people are frustrated and the traffic is being diverted from flat bridge to here and this road cannot accommodate that volumeof traffic.”http://rjrnewsonline.com/news/local/frustrated-residents-protest-sligoville-st-catherineYou know what?Maybe neither Johnny nor I will be going to Sligoville for a while.Maybe I’ll go to the north shore along the A3 road to Annotto Bay and then go either east or west from there along the coastal road to my secret destination.AFTER REALITY CHECKI had mixed feedback on whether the main road through Flat Bridge was completely or partly closed, or even whether it had ever been closed at all.So just in case it was completely closed and this slowed down my secret mission, I decided after all to go the Sligoville route.Well the lesson for today is that you shouldn’t trust what you read but check things out for yourself. Even for what you are reading now, if you have concerns at all, by all means contact the Jamaican tourist board and they will be delighted to see you personally.It crossed my mind today that there are times when the Internet experience lets you down.Your eyes can read the blog words and see the views through the photo uploads, but your ears won’t feel the effects of a three pop ascent into the hills, not the sound of millions of crickets, cicadas or other small wildlife, nor will your mouths taste the fried snapper and fried festival that I had for lunch.Comparing a Johnny Cash hypothesized situation above with a real-life scenario reveals the true picture:I didn’t see a post office or police station, so I take it on trust they still exist. The stadium must have been placed in that location because it was the only flat part of Sligoville?Johnny would have to have pretty special eyes to see over hills and around mountains to have any hope of ever seeing Kingston, the sea and surrounding areas. I should have taken my photo from the top of Red Hills.The outside of the stadium was a high cement wall but it was not very big and a bit disappointing.I can’t imagine international sports stars practicing there.I never saw the $2,000,000 US house but that was to be expected– why pay all that money and be in open sight of your neighbors?Even the roads were not all that bad. For a truly bone-jarring experience the road to Robins Bay has got to be the winner, while the unpaved side road at Treasure Beach that dislodged the rental car bumper deserves an honorable mention. The Sligoville road was kind of average - sorry folks.One quite unexpected thing was that Johnny would definitely have unexpectedly gone to Sligoville.If he had arrived in the east at Kingston's Norman Manley International airport, he would have had to go through Sligoville to get to Jackson, because it’s only two kilometers west of Sligoville and on the direct road from Kingston to Jackson.The town sign does not say it all. You think there are no Jacksons, but there are really two. There is the Up Jackson on the road behind and to the left of the sign, and then there is Lower Jackson. In a way they are pretty close to each other - just two thousand feet, but vertically.There have been way too many words in this blog so I'm closing it off. I arrived at the north shore and accomplished my secret mission as indicated above. Here are some other paintings from the artists studio.The general collection on the wall. The look pretty impressive as a mass display of artwork:The work in progress. It must be good because I am not 100% sure what it is. Great art will outsmart an accountant any day of the week:Then I made my way home on the other main road turning off for the hills at the roundabout just before Annotto Bay. The drive home was pretty uneventful.That makes sense because all the exciting events were happening in Toronto yesterday and today. Welcome PVYC and congratulations to your parents!