I was laying in my bed in the United States thinking about my cousin Christopher Famous, and how he got beaten up by a fellow Bermuda Sun columnist, Elaine Murray. It was two in the morning, and I had just read I Believe in Bermuda, Not Investing In St. Kitts. In case you do not know, that article was a somewhat scathing response to cousin Christopher’s There Is Much to Learn from Our St. Kitts and Nevis Roots. That article urged Bermudans to invest in St. Kitts and Nevis. In my view Christopher got beat up, yes, beaten up badly, but it was only the first round that went by him, and he had to come back strong. So I wrote cousin Christopher an email, and promptly advised him that I was looking at an Ali vs. Frazier kind of fight. I playfully urged him to take Ms. Murray to St. Kitts, buy her some rum, and hook her up with some Kittitian sugar cane. Forgive me Elaine if you are happily married for the sugar cane to which I refer is not a plant. As Christopher’s corner man, I know we cannot beat you with words so I hope we can beat you with love.
To be honest, there is no way in hell, Christopher can win this fight. We are telling Bermudans to bank on St. Kitts-Nevis, and in so doing, are encroaching on Bermudans national pride. Still I am hoping that Christopher can turn this fight around where he does a version of a rope-a-dope and make it a Rumble with Murray. In case you do not know this already Christopher, you are basically telling fellow Bermudans to leave their parents in Bermuda, and go and live with their cousins in St. Kitts-Nevis. So somehow, Christopher, you have to get the "parents" to force the children out of the house, and only bad politics can give your prompting impetus. Yet, some seriousness, and most jokes aside, cousin Christopher has raised an interesting issue. That is, no matter what walk of life from which we come, many of us have the urge to retrace our roots, and invest our hard-earned money in far flung places. Bermudans do. Kittitians do, and so do Americans.
I love St. Kitts-Nevis. I have family who live there, though I have since left the shores many years ago. I am hardly an authority on St. Kitts and Nevis any more. In fact, some people think I am now more American than Kittitian, though my politics tend to be supportive of developing countries, more so than advanced countries, in the North South debate. Ironically, St. Kitts-Nevis is now considered a High Income: nonOECD economy by the World Bank, along with countries such as Bermuda, Singapore, Monaco and the Russian Federation. So maybe it is not so poor, and not so backward, eh Bermuda?
Oh, yes, I am a Kittitian, and like Christopher, these days I also feel a passion to retrace my roots. Ironically, that feeling has nothing to do with the Parish of St. Paul in St. Kitts-Nevis where my Grandfather is buried, but more to do with where he was born, in Portugal. Last week when the temperature got down to below zero in Pennsylvania, I turned my iPad to Faro, and noted it was about sixty degrees Fahrenheit there. One day my dream is to spirit away to a Faro, and then to Madeira. Oh, yes, I have conflicting emotions too, Christopher. Do you feel me, Elaine? I want to invest part of my life even further afield than the Americas.
From the Bermuda Sun, I learned that there are many names common in Bermuda that are also common to St. Kitts and Nevis. I am sure, like me, some Bermudans may have Portuguese, French, African, British or Scottish roots, and similar views abound. You may be tempted to trace those roots far and wide.
One day too, I have to come to Bermuda. I will learn more about your beloved country, and my lovely cousins. I will see more than what is now advertised in the New York subway or on National television in the United States. Perhaps, Elaine would welcome me with open arms. She would take me to a local bar and offer me a shot of rum… and of course, I will act like a gentleman. I am already convinced I love Bermudans, so the cut of sugar cane will be left to stir the drink.
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