Mud Croc
The newspaper took a casualty Monday when a Beaconite leaped across a drainage ditch on Virgin Gorda onto what he thought was solid ground. He was covering the Easter Monday Parade when he decided he could get a better angle if he shifted off the road and into the bush. Unfortunately, the solid appearance of his intended landing spot was surface level. Instead of being supported by the mud, his right foot sank to the knee, trapping one half of his Crocs in grime and decay. The parade merrily marched along behind the Beaconite while he went elbow-deep to rescue his sandal. His shenanigans did not go unnoticed, though. Two ladies who saw his plight called him across the street. Leaving pungent muddy footprints in his wake, he complied. The pair of women pointed him in the direction of a man standing in his yard watching the parade. Bearing witness to the filthy Beaconite, the man led him to a garden hose around back, insisting that he avoid conserving water. Between the mud, sweat, salt, body glitter and grease, he couldn’t have smelled his best, so the Beaconite did what he was told and washed up as best as he could. Still shouldering his camera bag, he affixed his now-ruined socks to each strap and went back to work. Squelching away from the dripping hose, he shook the man’s hand, which was probably a gross thing to do now that he thinks about it. He isn’t sure what he would have done if it hadn’t of been for the good Samaritan taking pity on his entirely self-inflicted state. The good people of Virgin Gorda are exactly that, and this man raised the bar even further. If you are reading this, good sir, thanks again!
Wrong right
Who drives on the right side of the road? Right? Nobody knows. But the British, Indian, Japanese and Indonesian tradition is that left is right. A Beaconite mused on this predicament as he sat in the right (right?) hand seat of a car thundering up Joes Hill with a driver on the left. It was a scary experience, made even scarier by the reporter’s maximum perspective. There were, at least, 11 possible moments of impact — three of which the Beaconite actually, actively, braced himself for. Thankfully, he arrived home alive. But the experience left (right?) him thinking the only thing more shocking than the state of roads in the territory is the state of the driving on those roads. Right?
Mini moko
While a Beaconite was photographing the Easter Monday Parade on Virgin Gorda — which, as usual, began hours after its planned start-time — she spotted the tiniest moko jumbie she has seen to date. The young boy walked on stilts that seemed to double his height. But even still, he was looking up to most adults. The boy only walked on the stilts periodically throughout the parade. When he did, though, he garnered plenty of applause from various onlookers. Most of the time, he walked on his own two feet with the rest of his dance troupe. It must be jarring, the reporter thinks, for such a young person to suddenly be walking at a height double what he is used to. With fewer troupes participating, this year’s parade was a bit quieter than last year’s. But that did not stop attendees from having a good time. The sun was shining throughout the day and the music was non-stop. The reporter continues to wonder, though, why the start time is always planned hours ahead of when the parade actually begins. Participants, it seems, know this and plan accordingly. She observed several people arriving long after the planned start time, but well before the parade actually started.
