Our students rose this morning before the cocks crowed, amid torrential rains, to start our journey to Kingston to participate in Junior Achievement’s BizTown’s interactive simulated business learning environment.
Our paths were riddled with obstacles from the start. From flooding in our local streets and homes, storm-like rains, overflowed drains, rivers “come down” and overflowing their banks with “chocolate milk” like waters that spread through coconut farms, homes and whole communities, to hillsides bursting with a plethora of waterfalls everywhere. Water pouring out into the streets, forcefully making its path to find tributaries to the nearest river. We saw the water funneling its way through familiar pathways, and where there aren’t any, creating its own path to the nearest point of release; all the while leaving felled trees, mudslides, roads strewn with mud, rocks, boulders from the hillside brought to the roadways by water and/or slides, and debris from places unknown. By any means necessary, water from whatever source derived, find old and chart new tributaries to an outlet leaving damage, loss and mischief as it goes.
To the right, the John Crow mountains peek out from the fog to expose waters gushing through the sides and front, looking like millions of the children’s “bag water” had burst from the seals and had splashed water outward, creating its own deluge. To the left, the hillsides were collapsing as we drove, making our way slowly to our destination, all the while being told by others, “unu mai as well tun bak,” but we pressed on. Our children would not be denied this opportunity.
On both sides in either direction of this parish of nine rivers, Rio Nuevo, different rivers flowed. Most memorable was the Wag Water River that was named by locals because of it’s meandering shape and gusty movements, appearing as a dog’s tail wagging, all the way from St. Mary to Kingston. As I watched this river’s movements all the way past St. Andrew and into Kingston and until it disappeared from my view behind the cement and concrete structures indicative of our arrival into the urban epicenter which was our destination, I couldn’t help but think, what an apt name. She was in rare form and that tail wagged so, as the rains poured incessantly, seeming to give her strength.
Notwithstanding the obstacles, our eager, bright eyed students, armed with weeks of preparation for their roles as CEO, CFO, Marketing Manager, Advertising Agents, Publisher, Chief Editor, Customer Service Representatives, Photographer, Installation Specialist, Sales Repreentative and Cashier of corporate giants like Flow, Yellow Pages and NewsPapers, pressed on to their day at work with our able driver, Mr. Condappa at the helm, steering us through and around all dangers and obstacles; while our teacher extraordinaire and genius with our children, Mrs. Allen, manned the stern to keep our children entertained and in line.
We finally arrived at our destination after 41/2 hours driving to get there. Our children were unhappy and complaining that they were now late for work, and how unprofessional it looked. I was happy to point out my experience at home in New York City while working in Rockland County, an equivalent distance as we were traveling, and braving a snow storm to work in my truck. I shared that our snow storms are equivalent to these torrential downpours in that they both cause damage and delays and would cause the most dedicated of employees to be late for work.
I further pointed out that a manager/’boss’ could interpret their arrival, not as late, but as a reflection of their commitment and dedication to the company and their job/role there; that the ‘boss’ and the corporate headquarters might even view their willingness to brave the dangers they surpassed to get to work, counting the distance they traveled and how long it took, coupled wit the news reporting of the devastation in St. Mary from the rains, when others might have turned back and gone home, as worthy of commendation and reward for braving dangerous conditions to arrive and be present at work, ready to work. To my great joy, they became satisfied and settled with this story and explanation and a great day at work was had by all.
Local Lives, Global voices (The statements an comments here are mine and/or my subscribers. They reflect no government, agency, religious or political affiliation 