March 20. 2011
In crisp black, white, red and gold uniforms, the Nassau
Police Marching Band stepped smartly down the street, the drum major at the lead
with his big baton. They performed a number of traditional and
nontraditional tunes and marched in intertwining circles. The behind the
scenes leader, dressed all in black gave subtle hand signals. The
percussion section wore leopard skins draped over their chests and
shoulders, the head centered in the back. Everyone, even the local people,
snapped photos and videos, many with their Blackberries.
This is a far different, more techy Bahamas than even 2 years ago.
Along side the parade, people danced and clapped their hands. One
very noticeable local woman, endowed with a very voluptuous backside,
bounced and bopped wildly in tune to the music. Many children were
there. A "bounce house" had been set up for their fun. Besides the
parade, the police were hosting a "steak out", serving grilled steak, BBQ ribs,
and chicken dinners. After the parade, the Nassau Police Pops band set
up. They played Bahamian music and even the elders were moved to
dance. The lead singer rewarded each lady with a brief serenade.
Everyone there was friendly. Several black Bahamian teenagers came by to
welcome us. Everyone was respectful to us and to each
other. Children ran around throwing "popper snappers". Some
skipped stones on the water. During one of the breaks, I met an older
white Bahamian gentleman, Mr. Fox. He was babysitting his grandchildren,
4th generation Long Islanders. He told me he was a water diviner, able to
locate fresh water with a stick. He also told me some of his "bush
medicine" home remedies. When I told him where our boat was anchored, he
knew the boat: it was anchored right in front of his business, the
Hillside Grocery. He told essentially the same story as we heard from
William, our final ride to Salt Pond after the immigration visit. William
also claimed that the Hillside Grocery was his business, started 6 years ago, he
bought a small rundown building and tore it down to build a modern
grocery. He even talked about cutting back the hill to make a flat
building site. So, who really owns the Hillside Grocery? My guess is
that Mr. Fox is the owner. Few black Bahamians own businesses.
William is either a partner with Mr. Fox or manages the store for him.
Probably the latter.
We'd shared a BBQ ribs dinner. While it was tasty,
it was served cold. They were burning Campari wood to smoke the
food. When the day long event came to an end, many went next door to the
Long Island Breeze Resort to continue the fun. We stayed for a while then
returned to the boat with friends Aime and Nancy and watched the "Pirate Bob
Party" video. The rally officially over, many boats left the harbour to
return to Georgetown. We planned to stay til Tuesday, then head north
and try our luck at fishing. We had a few more visits to fit in
before then. A big fishing boat, Stephanie, came home
on Saturday, bearing snapper, hog fish, and lobster. We might stop up and
buy a few lobster.
