We give false impressions of ourselves and what really matters to us by not communicating with each other effectively. In order to do so, we must find time to talk to each other to understand each other’s personalities, views and beliefs, putting ourselves in their places. In the poem “To a Louse,” Robert Burns wrote, “O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.” (“O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us.”)
I will concentrate here on two sets of relationship — those between tourists and residents; and those between contributors to this newspaper and its readers — and urge us all to adopt ways of making them both productive and satisfying.
Tourist couple
An American couple and his wife driving up the Balsam Ghut road to see the views described so enthusiastically by fellow tourists at Lambert Beach Resort spotted a tired-looking elderly gentleman with a stick hobbling down towards them. They stopped and offered him a ride, but he replied that he walked up and down the hill to keep himself fit — whereupon they wished him well and drove on.
Their own enthusiasm had begun to wane at the sight of so much trash along the sides of the road, but was further dampened by their progress being impeded by vehicles moving cautiously towards them through a herd of unaccompanied cattle, including calves and cows, one of which had horns. Their enthusiasm evaporated completely at the sight of the prison straight ahead. As they drove back down, they caught tantalising views through the hedges of the blue sea and tropical beaches below them, but not the island views they had expected.
Meanwhile, the senior continued downhill, jauntily swinging his Pikstik as he walked, but wondering whether he should have accepted their strange offer to take him back up to the prison, as he would then have been able to point out to them the marvellous views of the islands from the road running down its side. Rounding a corner, he encountered six small dogs. The one he had nicknamed “Blackie” limped towards him for a pat, while his siblings hung back, warily. Then a passing vehicle led all of them to chase the whirling silver wheels down the hill into the far distance.
Facebook posts
That evening, the tourists posted their adventures on their Facebook wall, giving equal weight to their transient views of the colourful sea and their encounters with the cattle and a pack of wild dogs that had chased them down the hill. They said that their last day would be spent relaxing in the sun on Elizabeth Beach, praising the fine stretch of sand so close to their apartment.
They did not mention the ugly trash along the public roads. If they had done so, their friends might well have decided to spend their precious holidays elsewhere. However, the tourists were not to know that within days of their departure, the Department of Waste Management had removed all the litter along the road from Jennings Hill to Her Majesty’s Prison and transformed its appearance. Many thanks!
Sailing rally
Our historic heritage includes preserving memories of our ancestors as well as the structures they built, so we must welcome Mabel Wagner’s recent tributes to the team who developed Beef Island, especially Trellis Bay, in the 1950s (“Former resident recalls 1950s VI” in the March 5 edition of the Beacon). By emphasising that they all worked with her husband, rather than for him, she was correcting any impression that Captain Wladek Wagner had done it alone.
The second Wagner Sailing Rally in his memory brought more than 500 Polish sailors and their families to the Virgin Islands, in an immediate influx of cash and invaluable worldwide publicity for our tourism product. Our beautiful environment bolstered their desire to commemorate Captain Wagner’s exploits so much that our guests are already considering plans for a third rally.
I was fortunate to meet two Polish ladies from Wroclaw, a city where my ancestors had lived when it was called Breslau and part of Germany. Sadly, though, comparatively few residents came to interact with our visitors at the ceremonies on Bellamy Cay. Some may have been concerned at the prospect of being outnumbered by non-English speakers, yet they might pay top dollars to holiday overseas. In fact, many of the participants came from Polish sailing clubs in North America and were enthusiastic to return on their own.
Let us all also go out of our way to meet and talk with visitors, telling them about all that our islands have to offer and hearing their first-hand accounts of places we may never be able to visit.
Letters to the editor
False impressions also seem to exist locally over the purpose of letters to the press. Over the years, a large number of writers have taken considerable time and trouble to comment on ways in which life in the territory might be improved and/or its culture preserved with scarcely any feedback as to whether anyone else has even read them.
Indeed, other writers have subsequently covered the same or similar topics without even acknowledging the previous contributions. Left unchallenged, imperfect truths will harden into facts for future researchers.
Therefore, I welcomed Roger Harris’s decision to break his customary silence (“Writer weighs in on varied local issues” on March 5) to comment on another writer’s letter (“Former Beaconite recounts Beef Island bridge’s history,” from Feb. 26). Mr. Harris’s comments served to back up Dean Greenaway’s concern about the threats to our historic heritage, but also exposed the latter’s supporting statements to closer scrutiny.
Mr. Greenaway said that the bridge’s tolls “raised thousands of dollars in revenue annually,” whereas its booth was running at a loss before it closed. However, it could be imaginatively restored into a historic building at little cost and become a tourist attraction again. It might be leased to a professional photographer whose clients would include patrons of the neighbouring restaurant complex when it reopened. They might also opt to be photographed with the nearby Shetland ponies for an added fee.
Responses sought
A healthy interaction via talk show hosts exists on local radio and television, as opposed to the anonymous responses to online news items, many of which are hasty and ill-considered. However, feedback on letters to the press is an aspect of its cherished freedom that is rarely followed here.
Since few readers may have the time or inclination to compose long responses to other writer’s comments, I would encourage the editor to invite readers to submit brief comments on the longer letters previously published.
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