usvi-on-line
St John... It's All True
-
TouristTrapCheryl
- Posts: 268
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:43 pm
- Location: Salt Pond, St John USVI
St John... It's All True
My home is.
My home is where homeless cats know they will be fed,
where dogs sleep in beds, and where every so often
goats come by and help with the yard work.
Where hummingbirds and bats get stuck on the ceiling
and where birds called Bannanaquits roost in the
chandelier. Where small falcons intent on protecting
their fledgelings, erroneously attack
one hundred forty pound dogs.
Where a pack of cigarettes, left on the coffee table in the living room,
becomes an ill-advised snack for a wild donkey.
Where one might be awoken by
a tickling sensation on one's cheek caused by a Gongolo
as it uses it's one hundred feet, along it's five inch body,
to crawl out from under the sheets.
Where a green caterpillar will metamorphose into
a yellow butterfly right before your very eyes.
Where the pair of mongoose who come onto the back deck
to eat the leftovers in the dog dish aren't mongooses
but are "mongoose dem".
Where one might find oneself
dislodging a live snake from the stove.
Where money will come your way if you touch the "money bug",
the vivid green insect impersonating a leaf,
that just landed next to you on the couch.
Where late at night in the dark kitchen,
getting a cold glass of water, one might trip on a crab,
be it a land crab or a hermit crab the size of a tennis ball, or both.
Where sticks get up and walk.
Where other sticks get up and fly.
Where standing at the front door you will know
almost every single person that drives by,
and where you wave at every single person that drives by
whether you know them or not.
Where across your backyard you overlook a place called
"John's Folly" which is just one valley over from a place called
"Hard Labor" and one valley shy from a place called
"Salt Pond" where, during a drought, you go to collect salt because
it is the best tasting salt you will ever know.
Where the wild deer across the street
will take one look at you and have the good judgment
to steer clear of you, and your carrot,
choosing instead to disappear back into the bush.
Where you eat "cactus candy"
off the cactus by the front door
and you eat the elusive "dragon fruit"
off the cactus by your back door.
Where life is so simple that the worst inconvenience during the
frequent power outages is not having electricity to run the fans.
Where you will probably know
the person who answers the phone
when you dial a wrong number.
Where your ears are as important as your eyes
as you drive along twisting and turning roads
and where it is common to have a car with no windows
and where a car without windows or doors is not unusual.
Where there are no traffic lights,
only a handful of stop signs.
Where streets only one lane wide
are not one-way streets.
Where for a few nights every month
you don't need to turn on any lights
or use a flashlight when you go outside
because the moon lights your way.
Where the infrequent, and therefore much welcomed,
rain comes right inside your house because
instead of closing your windows and doors
you just keep things that shouldn't get wet away from them.
Where you can come home from work late at night
and find your dog at the top of your driveway
sleeping on the blanket that he dragged there
from your bed shortly after you left for work
but before it rained.
Where your friends' driveways can be so steep
that the cup in your car's cup-holder tips so far back
that the drink in it spills out.
Where a breeze,
carrying the scent of the sea,
can come through your house so hard
it will blow your salad off your plate.
Where you share your floor with
leaves fallen from trees outside your window.
Where dropped food or spilled drink
will be cleaned up over night by ants.
Where lizards disappear by changing color. Where long lizards,
that look like snakes with feet, slither under rocks as you walk by.
Where other lizards that look like miniature dinosaurs
challenge each other over territory by doing push-ups
while extending a bright red flap of skin from under their chins.
Where small beige lizards with three black dots down their backs
not only extend a red flap of skin from under their chins
while doing push-ups to settle their skirmishes,
but also stick their tongues out at each other.
Where geckos, often mistakenly called lizards,
look like rubber toys stuck to the wall with suction cup toes
and who blink their large round black eyes at you one at a time.
Where it's possible to not realize that a five foot long iguana
is resting in the tree branches overhead until it poops on you.
Where you might be lucky enough
to glimpse two small very bright green lights
gliding across your nightstand before they fly off
into the infinite indigo night sky.
Where you can walk into a bar and know everyone,
and know that you could ask any one of them
to help you with any problem,
and yet you know not one of their last names.
Where the sky meets the ocean,
both of them sporting shades of blue
that no existing adjectives can describe.
Where you turn on your faucets
and out comes rain
that fell from purple clouds
the night before.
My home is where it's always
"Good Morning",
"Good Afternoon" or
"Goodnight".
My home is St. John. -c
My home is where homeless cats know they will be fed,
where dogs sleep in beds, and where every so often
goats come by and help with the yard work.
Where hummingbirds and bats get stuck on the ceiling
and where birds called Bannanaquits roost in the
chandelier. Where small falcons intent on protecting
their fledgelings, erroneously attack
one hundred forty pound dogs.
Where a pack of cigarettes, left on the coffee table in the living room,
becomes an ill-advised snack for a wild donkey.
Where one might be awoken by
a tickling sensation on one's cheek caused by a Gongolo
as it uses it's one hundred feet, along it's five inch body,
to crawl out from under the sheets.
Where a green caterpillar will metamorphose into
a yellow butterfly right before your very eyes.
Where the pair of mongoose who come onto the back deck
to eat the leftovers in the dog dish aren't mongooses
but are "mongoose dem".
Where one might find oneself
dislodging a live snake from the stove.
Where money will come your way if you touch the "money bug",
the vivid green insect impersonating a leaf,
that just landed next to you on the couch.
Where late at night in the dark kitchen,
getting a cold glass of water, one might trip on a crab,
be it a land crab or a hermit crab the size of a tennis ball, or both.
Where sticks get up and walk.
Where other sticks get up and fly.
Where standing at the front door you will know
almost every single person that drives by,
and where you wave at every single person that drives by
whether you know them or not.
Where across your backyard you overlook a place called
"John's Folly" which is just one valley over from a place called
"Hard Labor" and one valley shy from a place called
"Salt Pond" where, during a drought, you go to collect salt because
it is the best tasting salt you will ever know.
Where the wild deer across the street
will take one look at you and have the good judgment
to steer clear of you, and your carrot,
choosing instead to disappear back into the bush.
Where you eat "cactus candy"
off the cactus by the front door
and you eat the elusive "dragon fruit"
off the cactus by your back door.
Where life is so simple that the worst inconvenience during the
frequent power outages is not having electricity to run the fans.
Where you will probably know
the person who answers the phone
when you dial a wrong number.
Where your ears are as important as your eyes
as you drive along twisting and turning roads
and where it is common to have a car with no windows
and where a car without windows or doors is not unusual.
Where there are no traffic lights,
only a handful of stop signs.
Where streets only one lane wide
are not one-way streets.
Where for a few nights every month
you don't need to turn on any lights
or use a flashlight when you go outside
because the moon lights your way.
Where the infrequent, and therefore much welcomed,
rain comes right inside your house because
instead of closing your windows and doors
you just keep things that shouldn't get wet away from them.
Where you can come home from work late at night
and find your dog at the top of your driveway
sleeping on the blanket that he dragged there
from your bed shortly after you left for work
but before it rained.
Where your friends' driveways can be so steep
that the cup in your car's cup-holder tips so far back
that the drink in it spills out.
Where a breeze,
carrying the scent of the sea,
can come through your house so hard
it will blow your salad off your plate.
Where you share your floor with
leaves fallen from trees outside your window.
Where dropped food or spilled drink
will be cleaned up over night by ants.
Where lizards disappear by changing color. Where long lizards,
that look like snakes with feet, slither under rocks as you walk by.
Where other lizards that look like miniature dinosaurs
challenge each other over territory by doing push-ups
while extending a bright red flap of skin from under their chins.
Where small beige lizards with three black dots down their backs
not only extend a red flap of skin from under their chins
while doing push-ups to settle their skirmishes,
but also stick their tongues out at each other.
Where geckos, often mistakenly called lizards,
look like rubber toys stuck to the wall with suction cup toes
and who blink their large round black eyes at you one at a time.
Where it's possible to not realize that a five foot long iguana
is resting in the tree branches overhead until it poops on you.
Where you might be lucky enough
to glimpse two small very bright green lights
gliding across your nightstand before they fly off
into the infinite indigo night sky.
Where you can walk into a bar and know everyone,
and know that you could ask any one of them
to help you with any problem,
and yet you know not one of their last names.
Where the sky meets the ocean,
both of them sporting shades of blue
that no existing adjectives can describe.
Where you turn on your faucets
and out comes rain
that fell from purple clouds
the night before.
My home is where it's always
"Good Morning",
"Good Afternoon" or
"Goodnight".
My home is St. John. -c
Last edited by TouristTrapCheryl on Fri May 21, 2010 12:21 am, edited 11 times in total.
-cheryl
-
baseball0717
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:50 pm
- Location: GEORGIA
-
Wanda Creech
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:47 pm
- Location: Raleigh,NC
-
Berlingirl
- Posts: 499
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:09 pm
- Location: New England
Where you can come home from work late at night and find your dog at the top of your driveway sleeping on the blanket that he dragged there from your bed shortly after you left for work but before it rained.
Very sweet...
Great morning read...life is precious and short and your obviously very much at home in your STJ element! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hoping for a USVI ticker in 2013!
Beautiful thoughts and reflections, Cheryl. The one thing that impressed me the most about your post it the peace that I can palpably feel and the love that you feel for this singularly beautiful place on the planet. Those of us who can only "live" there a few weeks a year love this island as well but those of you who make STJ your home are lucky indeed. Thank you and God bless. 
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islandmaari
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 12:10 pm
- Location: durham, nc
Wow, Cheryl, I don't know whether to envy you or be thankful. I don't have any exotic bugs to rub for money, or who sit next to me on the couch and watch TV, or any ugly little creatures to trip me in the middle of the night when I go potty or get a glass of water. I do have a goodly amount of cats that I make sure have a meal every day, and try like the dickens to keep them from populating the neighborhood. I do have a racoon (must be a Mongoose dem cousin) that comes and steals the left over cat food on the front porch in the evening that I put out for my little feral feline friends.
Very nice post, and I am looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you at the BB in June!
-Bert
Very nice post, and I am looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you at the BB in June!
-Bert
The liver is evil, it must be punished!
