APRIL 1978..MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

AS SOON AS WE BOARDED THE PLANE FOR JAMAICA, WE FELT SO HAPPY AND UP-LIFTED.........FLYING "AIR JAMAICA,' WE FELT LIKE WE WERE ALREADY ON VACATION.........EVERYONE ON THE PLANE WAS IN A GOOD MOOD...HAPPY, AS WE WERE ON OUR WAY TO SUN AND FUN!

THROUGHOUT THOSE YEARS, I TRAVELED WITH A MAN CALLED JAL, WHOM I WILL REFER TO AS "J" IN THIS JOURNAL.  HE WAS A MAN THAT WAS FROM INDIA, AND HE WAS 15 YEARS OLDER THAN ME.  HE WAS A PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS, AND HAD HIS DOCTORATE FROM COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY, FROM THE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.  I WAS AT THE TIME, LIVING WITH HIM, AND WE ENJOYED TRAVELING TOGETHER. I WOULD CALL HIM A VERY 'CONTINENTAL' TYPE OF PERSON, WELL VERSED IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS...A VERY INTERESTING MAN, WHO TAUGHT IN SOME OF THE BEST UNIVERSTIES IN OUR COUNTRY, AND WAS A WELL KNOWN LECTURER, TO THE STATE POLICE, IN NEW JERSEY, AND TO THE MILITARY MEN, AT NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.

AND SO, WE ARRIVED IN MONTEGO BAY!  WE STAYED IN A HOTEL CALLED, "THE MONTEGO BAY CLUB RESORT,' WHICH WAS OVER-LOOKING THE OCEAN.  I REMEMBER CHECKING IN, AND THINKING HOW VERY BLUE THE OCEAN LOKKED!.........IT WAS A TURQUIOSE BLUE, UNLIKE I HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE!

OUR HOTEL ROOM WAS AN EFFICIENCEY, SO WE HAD A STOVE, ETC....IT ALSO HAD A BEAUTIFUL BALCONY OVER-LOOKING THE OCEAN.

I'M NOT REALLY A BEACH PERSON, BUT I DO ENJOY WALKING ON THE SAND, AT SUNSET, WHEN THE TIDE IS GOING OUT........WHEN THE SUN IS DOWN, AND I CAN COLLECT SEASHELLS!......OUR HOTEL WAS IN 'DOCTOR'S COVE BEACH,' WHOSE WATERS WERE KNOWN FOR IT'S HEALING PROPERTIES....WE DID GO O THE BEACH SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DAY..I HAD A BIG, WIDE STRAW HAT ON..........THE WHITE SKIN OF MY ARMS TURNED BRIGHT RED, IN THE CARIBBEAN SUN...WE A SAT UNDER AN UMBRELLA, AS J SNAPPED PICTURES OF ALL THE PRETTY BEACH BEAUTIES WALKING BY!

SOMEONE BROUGHT US A FRESH COCONUT, HE HAD JUST PICKED FROM THE COCONUT PALM TREE,,,HE SPLIT IT, AND WE DRANK THE COOL , FRESH, COCONUT JUICE,,,,YUMMY!....SWEET AND REFRESHING, AS NOTHING YOU HAVE NEVER TASTED!

AND SO, WE WERE BARELY SETTLED IN OUR ROOM, WHEN THERE WAS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR..........IT WAS MOSES.  HE CAME TO WELCOME US HERE, AND HE WORKED IN THE HOTEL  HE OFFERED TO TAKE US TO THE TOWN IN THE MORNING, WHERE WE COULD SHOP FOR SOME GROCERIES AND SNACKS. MOSES WAS TALL AND THIN, AND BECAME OUR FRIEND THROUGHOUT THE TRIP.

AFTER MOSES LEFT, THERE WAS ANOTHER KNOCK AT THE DOOR....IT WAS PEARL, THIS TIME.  PEARL WAS A WOMAN AROUND 45 YEARS OLD.........SHE ALSO WORKED IN  THE HOTEL, AS A HOUSEKEEPER.  SHE VOLUNTEERED TO COOK US A NICE HOT MEAL., OF JAMAICAN FOOD, LATER THAT WEEK.................

J AND I LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND SMILED.......THIS WAS BECOMING AN INTERESTING TRIP!

AND SURE ENOUGH, THERE WAS A THIRD KNOCK...THIS TIME IT WAS ANOTHER FELLOW WHO WORKED AT THE HOTEL, WHO OFFERED TO BUY US SODA, AND SNACKS, SO WE WOULD BE COMFORTABLE........

THAT'S HOW IT ALL BEGAN!...I SOON BECAME USED TO "JAMAICAN TIME."  THAT IS EVERYONE IS LAID BACK AND TAKES THERE TIME...TIME AND PEOPLE MOVE SLOWLY....NOT THE RUSH-A-DAY WORLD OF AMERICA!

AND SO, IT WAS DINNER AT THE HOTEL, AS THE SUN-SET, OVER-LOOKING THE OCEAN.........PALM TREES SWAYING IN THE BREEZE.........THE WARM, BALMY CLIMATE.........YES, SO RELAXING!

AFTERWARDS, IT WAS ENTERTAINMAENT IN THE LOUNGE.......THE LIMBO DANCERS, AND MUSIC...........

THE DAYS WERE SPENT BY THE RELAXING POOL, AND WALKS ON THE BEACH AT SUNSET..............

WE WENT TO THE STRAW MARKET.........BUYING LOTS AND LOTS OF STRAW HAND-MADE THINGS..........BASKETS, AND HATS, AND JAMAICAN DOLLS....AND THEN WE BOUGHT HAND-CRAFTED BIRDS, AND A VOODOO MASK, IN THE OPEN AIR MARKET.

MOSES DID TAKE US TO THE TOWN THE NEXT DAY!..WHAT AN EXPEIENCE RIDING THE OLD BUS TO TOWN, WITH THE LOCAL PEOPLE, HALF HANGING OUT THE WINDOWS...HOT AND STUFFY, THEY WERE NOT AIR-CONDITIONED BUSES!  PACKED WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN, AND VERY NOISY, I MUST SAY!

WHEN WE GOT TO TOWN, WE MET A WOMAN IN THE STREET SELLING SUGAR CANE...............YES, FRESH SUGAR CANE..........BIG , LONG STALKS OF GREEN SUGAR CANE....PICKED FROM THE FIELDS....WE BOUGHT SOME, AND MOSES SHOWED US HOW TO BITE INTO THE RAW SUGAR CANE!...IT WAS SWEET AND DELICIOUS!

AFTER THAT, WE WENT INTO THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE, AND BOUGHT SOME SNACKS, AND SODA IN GLASS BOTTLES......SOMEHOW, THE SODA IN GLASS BOTTLES IN THE CARIBBEAN ALWAYS TASTES BETTER!

PEARL DID COME TO OUR ROOM, LATER THAT WEEK.  SHE BOUGHT ALONG ALL THE LOCAL FOOD, AND COOKED US A DELICIOUS DINNER OF LOCAL FOODS........AKEE AND FISH, BEANS AND RICE, AND PLAINTAINS..........IT WAS ALL SO  VERY YUMMY!

I LIKED PEARL A LOT, AND SHE LIKED ME............AT THE TIME, I HAD LONG, BLONDE HAIR.  SHE LOVED TO COMB MY HAIR, AND BRAID IT...SHE ALSO MASSAGED COCONUT OIL IN MY HAIR........PEOPLE FROM THE ISLANDS ALWAYS LIKED AMERICAN MADE GOODS.........SO SHE ASKED ME FOR THE BEAUTIFUL TORTOISE SHELL COMBS I WORE IN MY LONG HAIR, TO HOLD IT BACK..........I GAVE THEM TO HER.  I LIKED HER A LOT.  I ALSO GAVE AHER A DESIGNER SWEATER SET I HAD TAKEN ALONG WITH ME...........TO SEE THE HAPPINESS IN THIS WOMAN'S FACE, WAS ALL THAT MATTERED TO ME.....

AND IN THE EVENING, WE WOULD SIT ON THE BALCONY...MANY A NIGHT, MOSES JOINED US, OR THE THIRD GUY........DRINKING SODA....OR MAYBE A RUM AND COKE, FOR THE MEN (NOT ME, AS I DON'T DRINK).....AND EATING SOME SNACKS.................AND IN THE BACKGROUND, I REMEBER I COULD HEAR THE JAMAICAN BEAT OF THE DRUMS...COMING FROM THE FOREST OR MOUNTAIN.........OR WAS IT JUST MY IMAGINATION?................YES, THE MAGICAL, MYSTIQUE OF THE ISLAND.....I IMAGINED THE SOUND WAS THAT OF VOODOO DRUMS, IN THE NEAR DISTANCE.................THE ALLURE OF THE ISLAND.....THE SOUNDS, THE SIGHTS, THE SMELLS...............THE RELAXATION...........THE BALMY BREEZE.  FOR A FEW NIGHTS, I EVEN SLEPT WITH THE GLASS SLIDING DOOR OPEN IN OUR ROOM..............IT ALL FELT SO MYSTERIOUS, AND SO "ISLANDISH!"

BEFORE WE LEFT JAMAICA, WE HAD THE CHOICE OF VISITING, ON A DAY TRIP, EITHER OCHO RIOS, OR NEGRIL.  OCHO RIOS IS KNOWN FOR IT'S WATERFALL, OVER WHICH ONE MUST WALK ON THE ROCKS.  SO, WE INSTEAD DECIDED ON NEGRIL.

WE BOOKED THE DAY TRIP TO NEGRIL THROUGH THE HOTEL.  WE HAD ANOTHER COUPLE WITH US.....WE FOUND OURSELVES IN A VERY OLD CAR, WITH A VERY OLD MAN FOR OUR TOUR DRIVER.............EVEYONE WAS A LITTLE ON EDGE!

THE OTHER COUPLE SAT IN THE BACK SEAT, AND I SAT BETWEEN J AND THE DRIVER, IN THE FRONT............THE TRIP WAS THROUGH THE WOODS, AND THROUGH BACK ROADS........IT APPEARED THE MAN HAD TROUBLE DRIVING..,HE SEEMED TO ALWAYS BE HEADE FACE ON TO THE ON-COMING CAR.  AT ONE POINT, I DID NOT THINK HE WOULD SWERVE OVER IN TIME, TO AVOID A HEAD-ON COLLESION, SO MY INSTINCTS TOOK OVER, AND I GRABBED THE STEERING WHEEL, AND GENTLY GUIDED THE CAR TO THE SIDE, TO PREVENT AN ACCIDENT.  J WAS NEVER SO ANGRY AT ME FOR DOING THAT.,.,BUT THE COUPLE HAD AGREED I HAD PREVENTED A MAJOR ACCIDENT FROM OCCURING.........LATER, I EVEN OFFERED TO DRIVE BACK, BUT THEY WOULDN'T LET ME!

NEGRIL WAS AN INTERESTING PLACE TO SEE..........IT IS KNOWN FOR IT'S HEDONISM..............AND SO, THE BEACHES WERE FILLED WITH TOPLESS WOMEN.  J MADE SURE HE HAD BROUGHT ALONG THE POWERFUL BINOCULARS WE HAD....HE WAS BUSY WATCHING THE WOMEN ALL DAY, IT SEEMED!

AND SO, OUR TRIP TO JAMAICA WAS SOON OVER!  THE 7 DAYS HAD GONE QUICKLY....

HOWEVER, BEFORE WE LEFT, MOSES AND PEARL HAD BEGGED FOR US TO TAKE THEM BACK TO AMERICA WITH US............AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, I REMEMBER THERE WAS SOME UNREST IN JAMAICA, AND "THE ELECTIONS" WERE TAKING PLACE...........SO, AT THAT TIME, A LOT OF PEOPLE WANTED TO LEAVE .  MOSES HAD OFFERED TO BE OUR CHAUFFER, AND TO HELP AROUND THE HOUSE.  PEARL HAD OFFERED TO BE OUR COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER.  THINGS CHANGED AFTER THAT ELECTION, AND PEOPLE WERE HAPPY TO STAY IN JAMAICA.........WE DID RECEIVE LETTERS FROM MOSES AND PEARL, BUT LATER LOST CONTACT WITH THEM...........

AS I SAID, OUR TRIPS WERE FILLED WITH MEETING INTERESTING PEOPLE..........WE ALWAYS MET PEOPLE OF THE ISLAND/COUNTRY...........WE BEFRIENDED THEM, AND ALWAYS LEARNED SO MUCH DURING OUR TRIPS, ABOUT THE CULTURE OF THE PLACE, AND THE PEOPLE.  J LOVED TO TALK POLITICS OF THE COUNTRY WITH THE PEOPLE WE MET....THEY WERE ALWAYS INTERESTED IN US, AND WE WERE INTERESTED IN THEM...............

AND SO WE FLEW BACK HOME, AND I WENT BACK TO WORK AND SCHOOL.  ON THE WAY BACK, I WAS ALREADY PLANNING FOR OUR NEXT TRIP....THIS TIME IT WOULD BE TO ENGLAND, AND GREAT BRITAIN..........I WAS ALREADY CALCULATING IN MY HEAD, THE MONTHS, AND WHEN TO GO..........I DECIDED THAT WE WOULD TRAVEL NEXT DURING JULY, 1978...JUST 3 MONTHS AWAY!

.......... I HAD TO DO IT, BECAUSE I SUDDENLY LIKED THIS THING CALLED "TRAVEL!"

 FRAN