Witness to a kindness
A Beaconite witnessed a wholesome moment in Cane Garden Bay Sunday. The bartender was wedging a lime in a Corona for him when a man approached the bar and asked her about her bracelet, a thin black plastic band with “F*** Cancer” written on it in white lettering. The bartender said the bracelet was given to her as she is going through chemotherapy. The man expressed sympathy, relating that he is in remission for cancer himself and recently lost his father to the disease. He imparted words of wisdom and encouragement in a thick Texas drawl. The bartender prepared him a bucket of beers and stopped uncapping them midway to listen. The Beaconite waited for his bill but was taken aback by the man’s sincerity, and he watched as the bartender slid the bracelet off her wrist and gave it to the man. He nodded stoically in appreciation, paid and left. Amid the waves and the shrieks of beachgoers and the music playing and the cocktail blender whirring, two complete strangers connected over troubling times, like the ones many people escape to these islands to forget. Such kindness almost seems scripted and unreal, but it was something the Beaconite could drink to.
A tale of two tails
A Beaconite is learning that dog-sitting can be a full-time occupation. Despite already having a bond with two 7-year-old pups, moving into their home to watch over them while their “daddy” is abroad for two weeks has proved exhausting at times. The more cunning of the two dogs follows him from room to room with an accusing doe-eyed stare which appears to plead, “What have you done with my daddy? Why are you in my house?” The other is a lot more hippy-trippy, but she has a bit of a health issue at the moment that requires 15 minutes each morning playing Animal Hospital. To the dog’s great displeasure, the Beaconite has to administer medicine in a slightly disgusting way (which won’t be detailed here) while her sister watches with a superior look that seems to proclaim, “I could do that sooo much better.” Luckily, the natural outdoor beauty of Nature’s Little Secrets gives a chance for escape. The joy of being able to take the pups to beautiful beaches and watch them frolic in the surf is lovely. And it’s also a wonderful moment when the Beaconite descends the stairs each morning to the rhythm of excited tails banging against the back of the dogs’ sleeping sofa as if they are giving him a round of applause just for being there. All the same, he hopes their daddy comes home soon.
Month of love and pain
While February is generally viewed as the month of love — with Valentine’s Day driving an uptick in sales of red roses and fancy dinners — a Beaconite finds herself each year entrenched in a very different kind of love: grief. When she passes shops selling bouquets — many of which feature plastic hearts and stuffed bears marketed specifically for the Feb. 14 holiday — she wonders if there are any bouquets of purple flowers in bloom. Purple was always her grandmother’s favourite colour. She thinks of growing up and seeing her grandmother’s room full of purple flowers in February — the month of her birthday. And she reflects on the year she went from shop to shop hunting for purple flowers the day before Valentine’s Day in the hopes of finding some to display for her grandmother’s funeral. But amid her grief, she also realises around this time of year that the memory of this matriarch is ever-present. In day-to-day life no matter the time of year, a flash of a memory or a thought of her grandmother arises. This, she believes, is part of being human: loving those who have passed on and keeping them in your thoughts long after they have taken their last breath. So while romantic love is indeed the focus in February, the reporter thinks there is still room for the embrace of other kinds of love as well this month.