Paradise Lost But Remembered By A Few

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by Bill Formby

As I sip my coffee this morning I find myself dwelling on the devastation of the latest hurricanes to hit America.  As I drift back to my days in the Marine Corps, I am especially saddened by the plight of the Puerto Rican people. As our less than bright leader pointed out it is “an island, you know, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.” Well, close enough, though it’s in the Caribbean which I guess could be called the Southern Atlantic, but it isn’t, it is called the Caribbean.

At least once a year we would deploy to Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station, which is located near the small town of Ceiba, for training purposes. We were usually there from 3 to 4 months living in tents on the outer edges of the station near the runways. It worked out well for us because we were somewhat of a rowdy group when deployed. A lot of our normal rules were relaxed because the work schedule was horrendous, almost inhuman at times. But hell, we were on a Caribbean Island where it was more fun to be working than it was trying to fight off mosquitos as large as the planes we serviced. Many times we were down there during the fall or winter which was nice because people back home were freezing their butts off and we were getting all tanned and occasionally hanging out at the beach.

One of the greatest things I loved about being in the Marines, and this is likely the same for the other services as well, was the travel to places like Puerto Rico. Getting to learn about people from different places and their different cultures was really nice. The people of Puerto Rico were warm and hospitable. This was especially true if one was taking the time to try to learn their customs, language (my high school Spanish did not get me very far but it did help a little bit), and about the people there. Of course those that lived in Ceiba were somewhat like people in the states that were living in a military town or at least adjacent to one. They loved the money and business that comes from having a base at their doorstep, but not so crazy about all of the chaos that a lot of young people can cause when turned loose on a small town. But it was fun, for us, and I really enjoyed it.

We were only about an hour away from San Juan which was really great because there was just so much more to do, and so many more ways to get into trouble. Here, like Ceiba, the people were so welcoming and maybe even more so because they did not see us very often and we tended to spend more money there. It was there that several people explained to me about the high cost of living on the island. To begin with, it is, as Trump pointed out, an island, which meant that any items had to be shipped there and it was not on regular shipping lanes so the shipping costs were naturally a bit higher. But, because Puerto Rico was a United States territory it also came under United States law called the Jones Act, which requires that any vessel docking at an American port be made and owned by an American company, or pay tariffs on its cargo. Thus, for most all goods are first shipped to the mainland, offloaded and then reloaded and then shipped to Puerto Rico.

A note here is that this applies to all ports of entry to the United States; however it seems to hit Puerto Rico harder because of the shipping cost to the island after it has hit an American port. Then when the goods get to PR they attach additional taxes onto it. One thing I remember from my time there was the cost of Coca Colas on the island. At that time they were like a dollar per bottle in 1962. Considering that one could buy a coke in the states for 10 to 15 cents a bottle. Going into a bar and ordering a rum and Coke it was odd the cheapest part of that drink was the rum. “Rum and coke please, and go easy on the coke.” Weird.

There was one small bar in Ceiba where the woman who owned the place would play you double or nothing on high hand, two card poker for the drink. I still have images of that scene, partially because the woman was drop dead gorgeous and sat at the end of the bar. She always wore a similar outfit, low cut top and a short shirt split all the way up to her waist. It was 151 rum and a splash of coke for two dollars or nothing. Boy, could that woman drink. Me, after 4 or 5 of those, I am not even sure I could see the cards. But, I always had fun.

I have also been reading about the problems in the Florida Keys and how life is likely to be changing there. It seems that Irma destroyed pretty much all of the affordable housing in Key West including the mobile homes and RVs that were being used as homes there. Apparently she did not care for things made with inexpensive sheet metal. But then, Mother Nature was never kind to those types of things. As Ron White said, “It is not just THAT the wind is blowing 135 mph, sometimes it is WHAT the wind is blowing at 135 mph.” Some of the mobile home and RV parks are now just flat land with nothing on them. The biggest problem now is that with the affordable housing gone the working people on the island may not have a place to live on the island and may not want to make the 4 to 6 hour trek everyday to work from Miami or another Key. All of the flat land is being looked at for development of upscale housing that regular working people can no longer afford so finding employees may become impossible for most of the businesses there.

For several years my outfit would stop off at Boca Chica on the way to the Caribbean and stand “Hot Pad” duty, which basically meant setting up a couple of planes with war loads and parking temporarily at the end of a runway ready to launch in the event of an emergency. I did not think we were in danger of an air attack from Cuba, but what do I know? For the most part it was really boring. Two Aviation Ordnance people, two pilots, and two ground support people sitting by two fighter jets at the end of a runway waiting for something that never happened, I mean really, really boring. But, it was all OK, because all the other times were probably no more than 3 or 4 miles from Key West, Duval Street, and Duffy’s Tavern. It was all worth it. Duffy’s Tavern, at the time, had a chair back stool at the bar with Hemingway’s name in a brass plate on it. Supposedly, no one could sit there unless they were a “man’s man” who could hold his booze with the best of them. I think I may have sat there once. I still hold reverence for “The Old Man and The Sea.” I never felt man enough to sit in Papa’s seat.

But I did truly enjoy Key West and its laid back lifestyle. At the time I thought it really cool to walk from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, and to stand at the beginning of Highway One. Now both of these beautiful places, with their casual beauty and charm, are in danger of being forever changed. Key West may become yet another destination and locale for only the wealthy, and Puerto Rico slipping into the status of a third world country. While the country has been ripped by three major disasters the Trump administration has shown itself to be completely ineffective in actually dealing with crises. While I do not think this really comes as a surprise one would think we would see at least some pretense at empathy. That, however, would be asking far too much of the Orange Headed Monster.

About Post Author

Bill Formby

Bill Formby, aka William A. Formby, PhD, aka Lazersedge is a former Marine and a former police officer. He is a retired University Educator who considers himself a moderate pragmatic progressive liberal, meaning that he thinks practically liberal, acts practically liberal, and he is not going to change in the near future. But, if he does he will be sure to let you know.
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Bill Formby
6 years ago

Jess, I am sorry to hear that. Your roots are wonderful, graceful people. They will eventually come out of this mess without the help they deserve from Trump. Those in the small towns are truly good, salt of the earth sort of people who work hard everyday. The fact that the U.S. government has treated them like unknown stepchildren is really bad but they have survived. I have often wondered how different it might have been had they been granted statehood.

jess
6 years ago

I was supposed to go to Puerto Rico this Xmas for vacay to try and find my roots and avoid the holidays this year, mainly avoid the holidays. It’s going to be way too sad to celebrate for me this year, so I was being a coward and getting the fuck out. Instead, I donated the full cost of the trip I planned for me and my bestie to a group that is helping out there. I have only been there once and that was to San Juan with the ‘rents for a vacation when I was in middle school.

Neil Bamforth
6 years ago

What a bloody world.

How the hell have we ended up with leaders who seriously don’t give a damn?

Loved the story of your past though.

Bill Formby
Reply to  Neil Bamforth
6 years ago

I have no idea Neil but we did. I truly feel that for most of us we are literally watching Orwell’s 1984 appear before our eyes. His message that everything is going great in PR is obviously wrong, a lie, newspeak, alternative facts. It has gotten to the point that he and his minions and making up history as they go along.

6 years ago

Puerto Rico is also a beautiful place. My heart goes out to those poor folks Bill. Thanks for this.

Bill Formby
Reply to  Rachael
6 years ago

Yes it is, and may be again at some point. They were unfortunate that this happened while Trump is president. In fact, all of the people who were hurt by the last three storms are unfortunate in the respect. Trump just keeps moving along as if nothing has happened.

Admin
6 years ago

As you know Bill I lived and worked in the Keys for almost 20 years. I still have friends there I cannot reach. As you pointed out it was a beautiful place, but now, I’m afraid not so much.

Bill Formby
Reply to  Professor Mike
6 years ago

I sort of felt like you would Mike. I am just afraid that the Conch Republic may not rise again.

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