Today we ventured out to Fort Clarence, which is just before Hellshire Beach. It is past a suburb of Kingston called Portmore. We caught the bus from the downtown area, actually we missed the one that would have taken us right to Fort Clarence, but we managed to catch another one. I did not mind the detour, as I had not yet been to Portmore. It is so different from Kingston out there. Flat, hot and dry. And what you might imagine a Caribbean suburb looks like. Lots of one-story, concrete, colourful homes with painted fences and grilles. Lots of people walking around, children playing, even the requisite malls and plazas, complete with KFC and Burger King.

We finally arrived at the beach, which is gorgeous. Turquoise water, soft sand, and not that crowded. We sat under the shade of sea grape trees, me reading a magazine and Brianna studying for her GRE exam, which is next week. We swam and napped. A trio of dogs hung out beside us, and a random fellow also sat right next to us, with not a word spoken. It was kind of weird, but he did not bother us at all, so it was okay. I got a picture of Champagne and his horse Kunta Kinte, who is nine years old. Champagne has been offering people horseback rides for 23 years. After a final swim, we departed for Kingston.

We caught a route taxi, which was a sedan intended to fit maybe eight people max. There were 12 of us, all squeezed in. But we made it safely an caught the bus back to Kingston. The bus route took us all through the suburbs again, adding an extra hour, but we made it back to Halfway Tree in time to walk home while it was still light.

We are going to Fort Clarence today. Pics to follow, as I have not yet been there. Here’s one for the time being.

The sunsets have been spectacular lately and I can’t stop taking pictures. I will miss them when I move to my new apartment in about a month- no view!

Butch Stewart is a big name here in Jamaica. He owns the Sandals chain of resorts, a large automotive dealership and one of the two main newspapers, the Jamaica Observer. To me, it is unclear how he is perceived on the island. He is a white Jamaican and wealthy, of course. From what I have heard and observed, people are grateful for the jobs the resorts provide, but they are uneasy with where the money flows, i.e. back to Stewart. He has also come under fire for the sensational nature of the Observer’s coverage of horrific events like child rapes and murders. The Observer has also been accused of having a homophobic agenda. As a journalist, I agree that the Observer’s coverage is often sensational, gratuitous and can be homophobic. This, of course, is inexcusable, but I must admit the uncomfortable fact that at the same time, there is some good quality, first-hand reporting happening.

It has been interesting for me to observe how the reporters get the stories. There seems to be a lot more on-the-ground collection of information. I think this happens for two reasons: one is that information here in Jamaica, in general, is not adequately recorded and stored, so journalists must actually pick up the phone, visit a site or event, retrieve a document themselves or interview people much more frequently than North American journalists, who can Google everything and find all the documents and data they require online. Also, as a byproduct of this situation, the journalism profession is about five to ten years behind, in my estimation, when it comes to social media and the sharing of information. The second reason, which is speculation on my part, is that Jamaica has a history of transmitting information orally, as opposed to transmission via the written word. So reporters might naturally be more inclined to get out there and seek the story themselves, as opposed to working the phones at a desk all day. I find the Observer’s strength is this firsthand accounting of events.

Another speculation on my part is that it appears Stewart could be subsidizing the Observer’s costs; it is a thick newspaper with looong stories. This is a rarity in today’s news environment. Although print advertising seems to be strong here in Jamaica, so maybe the Observer isn’t a money loser for Stewart. In any case, I am now going to come back to the whole point of this venture into puzzling over Jamaica’s news environment: it must be nice to have your own newspaper so that you can have flattering features written about yourself. Check out this page 3 story on Butch Stewart. This would never fly in Canada or the U.S.

Emancipation Park has become a haven for me. I am there at least two out of three mornings a week, running and shuffling. I am there, usually, before the sun is up, and I am in good company. In the past few weeks, it is taking on soap opera proportions for me, the characters now well-formed in my mind. I tell you now about them. The main characters are Mystic Mikey and Roderick.

Mystic Mikey is a reggae singer. He gave me his CD awhile back and it is now on my iPod. It is good. He has a sweet voice. He is an elderly man, with short, white hair and beard, a lean frame that he carries with surprising ease given his age. He wears running shorts, shoes and a tank top every day, despite the fact that I have yet to see him run. Sometimes he does walk fast, though, but that is to go and chat with someone. He plays ping pong every morning with a group of men who all call each other ‘general’ and ‘boss.’ Mikey is actually good at ping pong. He convinced me once to join him in a game, it was fun! Mikey says he has children in London, he says he has Julian Marley as a promoter for his band, but he also says he is having financial difficulties and that his car just gave out.

Roderick is a photographer. He is always out and about at events. He has a contraption such that he can take pictures and instantly print them out. But times are tough for him too, especially now that his wife has gone farrin (to Florida). He has two children. Roderick is short, stout and runs for three hours every day. He is definitely a shuffler, but a determined one. He tells me it is a good way to keep the weight off the belly.

Mikey and Roderick sort of run the place in that they know everyone. Then there are two subgroups: the elderly folk who stroll around the track. I call them the philosophers. Whenever I pass any one of them, they are talking politics and solving the world’s problems. This morning, someone stated that President Barack Obama must have the highest level of security surrounding him than any other president in history. Can I just tell you that if Jamaica’s politicians came to Emancipation Park every morning, they might pick up some good ideas about how to fix some major problems?

The other subgroup is the one that mills about, in full workout gear, in the middle of the park. A few of them walk around the track a bit, some of them do some stretches and calisthetics, but they mostly just talk. It is delightful when they start stretching and moving though, some of them are resurrecting some full-on Jane Fonda moves.

Some other characters include the old Rasta who jogs around the track, locks flowing almost down to his ankles; the elderly woman, barefooted and in a skirt and cardigan, who walks around the track a few times; the gentlemen (often reading Bibles) who look like they’ve had a rough night and come and crash and snooze in the park as soon as it opens in the morning; the hardcore sprinters who sprinkle drops of sweat on everyone as they pass; the well-groomed and stylish businesspeople passing through on their way to the corporate district and the women who look more like they are dancing than walking (seriously, Jamaican people look cool and like they have rhythm doing EVERYTHING. Not fair.)

There are some serious runners, here and there. Sometimes there are tourists from the nearby hotels. But most of the time, it is mostly people strolling around the track. It is not really an exercising pace, but it seems to work for them, as everybody seems to be enjoying themselves. Despite the laid back vibe, there are always three security guards, who stand at the peripheries and watch everything go down during opening hourse (5:00 am to 11:00pm or 12:00am). And sometimes, the odd outlier decides to walk in the wrong direction on the track (we are directed to only walk counter-clockwise), but that never really throws anyone off, actually.

You can see why I love Emancipation Park so now. It could be boring; after all, I am pounding around the same circle, over and over, day after day, but these people keep it interesting for me. And I now have to budget extra time to catch up with the regulars like Mikey and Roderick.

Last night, Youth Opportunities Unlimited hosted a graduation ceremony for dozens of youth who completed an employment enhancement program. The program was funded, in part by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, and we recognized the hard work of the young people who trained in areas such as computer skills, leadership and digital design. We opened the evening with a prayer and the anthem. Everybody was dressed in their finest, although we had to tell a couple of young men to pull up their pants and pin a young lady’s blouse shut. Oops!

We had a guest speaker by the name of Juleus Ghunta, who I have written about before. We also had a special guest speaker by the name of Evadne Coye, who is an Ambassador to Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General. In addition to these inspirational messages, saxophonist Dwayne Foster performed “We are the World,” which had everyone singing along and swaying in time. A spoken word performer named Randy Mclaren (Kriativ Activis, he calls himself) enthralled the audience with his dub poetry. He spoke about how he is the first person to go to college from his tiny village in St. Thomas parish. He has two more credits to go. Simply the Best Dance crew also thrilled everyone with a dancehall performance. In addition to these more entertaining performers, a board member, Mrs. Scott (YOU’s executive director), and someone from the government agency also spoke about the program, which has helped many of the youth to find full-time employment. It was amazing to hear them speak about how such a program has given them a boost in confidence, as well as the means to navigate the work world. It is a good reminder that those people born with privilege take for granted that they know how to behave in the workplace. One young man came up to me and asked if I could make sure to get a picture of him receiving the certificate, as it will be the first time he has graduated something since basic school (primary school.)

After everybody received the certificates, food was served. Patties, fried chicken, sandwiches, from what I could see. I was rushing off to see the results of the election.

It is a good day, wherever you are in the world. Jamaica is buzzing, most people seem happy that Obama is back in office. Check out his victory speech here. I am going to post later today, YOU had a graduation ceremony last night and I have lots of pictures and inspiring stories.

It seems as though we have been in the midst of an election campaign for eternity. I say ‘we’, and yes, I do mean Canadians, Jamaicans, everybody with access to any and all forms of U.S. media. We cannot escape it. Part of the reason for this is the proliferation of social media in our daily lives, part of it is the fact that the U.S. is still the world’s superpower (ok, lots of political scientists are currently debating this, but let’s just say it still is, at least in terms of cultural capital) and part of it is the fact that most North American homes receive U.S.television commercials.

In addition, several factors, including the influence of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, have created a situation in which politicians basically campaign year-round, even if they have just won an election. So it has become nearly impossible to tune out, although many people manage to do just that. Voter turnout is abysmal in Canada (federally, around 60 per cent and provincially around 40 per cent) and the U.S. (around 50 per cent). There are many theories as to why this is happening. I have read up on these theories extensively. Some of them hold weight for me, some don’t.

But going beyond academic speculation, people either say they simply do not care, they do not have time, or they feel their vote will not make a difference. For me, this leads to larger questions: is our system of democracy and representation broken? If so, do we fix it, and how? If not, are we satisfied with a society in which many of us do not have a say in the political systems that govern our day-to-day lives? Many theorists now talk of a new world order, along the lines of the Occupy movement, which tends closer to a communistic society, one in which capitalism is overthrown. These are overwhelming suppositions. All I know is that today, hundreds of millions of people have a chance to make their voice heard, to represent themselves.

There are always those people who deny the power and importance of voting. And while it is true that an individual ballot cast may not have an impact on the outcome of an election, the aggregate always does. Not to mention the empowerment citizens experience when they engage in the physical action of stepping up to the polling booth and participating in the most fundamental of activities one can undertake in a democratic society.

I always vote whenever I have the opportunity, even if it is an overseas ballot, even if it is for municipal government. I vote as a sign of respect to people who fought to sustain our democratic society. I vote as a sign of respect to those who are vulnerable members of society, who may never have a chance to have their voice acknowledged. And I vote because I can. It’s as simple as that. My American friends, please vote today. I beg you. I won’t even beg you to vote for a certain beloved candidate. Just get out there and vote. If you are still with me and are still inclined to read more about voting, I wrote this op-ed last year when Ontarians went to the polls.

Thanks and see you at the polls!