No Man is an Island

It's odd that I happened to miss the Atlanta protests, where people finally got off their hindquarters and made their will known to the politicians. This week, my wife and I were on our one week cruise to the Caribbean, so I'll have some comments about the protests next week.

Getting to our boat required a long drive from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. Thank goodness the price of gas took a dip to under $6. On the political boards, there are still some naysayers who say "there's no energy crisis -- prices will fall down to their earlier levels! Look! Gas is under $6 for the first time in three months!"

What these people don't realize is that the summer driving season is over. Gas prices generally fall this time of year and I don't think we will see $3 gas for some time to come -- if ever again.

Pump access is still touch and go. It's at least easier to find out which stations have no gas because you'll see a big sign that says "NO GAS TODAY"! Access is better but those stations are deserted when they can't sell gas. The food inside is at such a high markup that there's no "convenience" to be had by doing one's shopping and gasoline purchasing in the same place.

It affected my wife and I on our trip into Florida. The middle part of Florida isn't very well habited, and with our gas gauge going down below the 1/8 mark, we pulled into some town which was big enough to have both "gas" and "fast food" signs on the exit sign. We get there, however, and both gas stations are closed!

So we hit the road. And we look for another exit. And we look. And we look! It's about 20 miles to the next town and the "empty" light is staring at us. I'm starting to freak out, muttering, "boy, I hope we can get gas" and my wife is saying, "don't panic". Finally, after what seemed forever, the next town had gas -- it was at $6.20 a pop, but we were glad to have it.

As we pulled out, I was aware that there were simply fewer cars on the road. I imagined what it would be like to be stuck out in the middle of the Everglades, out of gas, and waiting for some car to stop and give you a lift. Sometimes, I felt as if we were the only people on the Interstate in Florida.

(* * *)

We finally made it to Fort Lauderdale and embarked on our cruise ship. The reviews said that the ship was generally full of older people, very few kids, and very quiet -- which was exactly what we wanted.

Our itinerary of stops included Half Moon Cay (sort of a private island), San Juan, St. Thomas and Nassau. As we sat on board, we noticed that there were fewer people than expected. The ship was about 3/4 full, and we noticed it in the dining areas.

Most of the wait staff was from the Philippines and Indonesia. They would stand around, waiting to be needed. It was clearly slow on board. We asked one of the pursers what he thought was going on.

"Some of our passengers cancelled their reservations. They were too sick to travel, or they just couldn't afford getting to the ship before she sailed."

Dining room service was "four to a table". We talked to some other older couple, with an animated older man in a red shirt leading the discussion. He was a Florida retiree, and an ex-New Yorker.

"There was another couple that was supposed to go with us. They bailed out. His wife got sick and his kid's out of work, so he moved back in. They'd been putting off going to the doc due to the fact that bills were tight. It was one of those chest infections, but it turned into pneumonia. Now, she's in the hospital and their whole trip is scuttled."

We talked about the Energy Crisis. It was really all anyone could talk about. The man went on:

"These politicians, you see -- they ain't going to do nothing. They don't know what to do about it, and if they did know what to do about it, no one would want it done. People ain't going to give up on the idea that they can go everywhere they want, drive everywhere they want, do anything they please real easily."

"I don't know," my wife said, "you think the riots would convince some people."

"As long as it don't affect them directly, people ain't convinced. Rich man runs this country. One of my buddies in New York, a stockbroker, was calling this a 'price correction'. I said, 'Look, this price correction is gonna correct this country right into a casket if someone don't do something.'"

My dad continued. "People these days -- they're getting angrier. More ticked off, killing each other over stupid stuff. You heard about that oil refinery engineer that was killed in a bar in Texas. He died in an argumentover the price of gas! You take people's gas away from them and there's gonna be some trouble."

We talked about the current President, the war in Iraq and the administration. "I think it's going to be really bad for the politicans. The country is so split up, blue state-red state that there's no one party to blame. And people blame their politicians first when life goes bad."

"They'll find someone to blame," said the guy. "Me, I'm worried about getting a Hitler."

(* * *)

After the beautiful Half Moon Cay, our first port of stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico.

However, the cruise company gathered all of us to the auditorium the night before. Rather than see some musical numbers, everyone on board was given information about the current state of affairs in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is very dependent on imported oil and the economy hadn't been doing well before the Crisis. The government, trying to save money, rolled back government salaries about 15-20 percent. Unemployment in Puerto Rico was in the double digits, and the GNP had gone into "negative growth" for at least the second straight quarter. Puerto Rico was undergoing stagflation and a recession.

People had taken to stealing water and electricity, and the government had taken on riotous crowds, dispersing them with tear gas and rubber bullets. The word bandied about by the ship's officers was "explosive". In short, we could get off at San Juan if we wanted to: but if we didn't get back on board on time, the ship was definitely leaving without us -- and if something really bad happened, they'd leave sooner. The cruise line absolved itself of any responsibility if we disembarked.

From what I heard, only a few people got off the boat. What it was like for those people, I have no idea. We stayed on board.

(* * *)

The next stop was St. Thomas, of the Virgin Islands. At least, St. Thomas wasn't "explosive". It was a free trade port that made most of its money through tourism.

For years, St. Thomas had been subsidizing the price of gasoline. In effect, the goverment of the Virgin Islands lost money for every gallon of gasoline sold. Now, they had decided to cut their losses: they would still subsidize the cost, but only to a certain limit. As a result, gas prices began to go up on St. Thomas.

Furthermore, for a long time the poorer residents of St. Thomas had been stealing electrical service -- tapping off the main lines, so to speak. The government, reversing its policy of looking the other way, was now arresting people for stealing from the grid. The Islands had to save money, and they had to get rid of the freeloaders. There had been several violent altercations between islanders and police, but these were on the individual level. The people of the islands were angry, but there were no mobs or rioters.

I already knew from places like TravelGoogle that we should stay near the shoreline. St. Thomas had a drug problem, and you really didn't want to go more than two streets inland if you could avoid it. The further inland you went, the more likely you were to bump into drug addicts.

While my wife and I were walking along the shoreline, we were approached by three men, islanders, who asked us if we had any spare change. They looked pretty ragged. We said no and begged off -- and these guys must have followed us a mile down the shore. I don't know what their problem was -- they didn't ask for more money. But it was very scary. Silently, my wife and I walked all the way back to the cruise ship with these guys hot on our tails, only turning back when we reached the dock.

(* * *)

My wife and I debated as to whether or not we really wanted to get off the boat at all in Bermuda. However, the ship's crew encouraged us. "Bermuda is the best place. If you can, you have to get off at Bermuda, even if you get off nowhere else."

So we did -- and we didn't regret it. Bermuda was really an island paradise. We enjoyed the beaches, the restaurants, and the bar scene. I got the chance to purchase some authentic "Bermuda shorts" and felt like a real islander after I put them on.

My wife wanted a margarita, so we stopped at an open beach bar. We met an older gentleman with a British accent who struck up a conversation with us. "I think I'm getting desperate to speak to another tourist," he said.

Despite the peaceful, calm atmosphere of Bermuda, the bars and shops seemed virtually deserted. The gentleman explained why.

"It's not you Yanks who make the economy of the Caribbean turn -- it's European visitors, and European visitors have dropped to virtually nothing. The islands are going to take a tumble. Bermuda is among the most prosperous of the islands -- it's British, you know -- so the effects will be felt here last."

He then told us a story that we found really disturbing. He stated that there used to be private fishing charters, but they had dropped off precipitously. With the tourist economy collapsing and with gasoline prices soaring, with the rise of unemployment throughout the Caribbean, the islanders were turning to an old financial standby.

"Piracy", he said. "A year ago, you could get on a luxury boat, with a crew of about two or three. Rich gentlemen from Europe and America, out to go fishing. Can't do that anymore. There are pirate boats out here, waiting to attack such a vessel, board and rob the passengers -- sometimes, worse."

"Can't the government do anything about it?"

"They're trying. But I fear that piracy will become a way of life out here. The pirates will become more bold, and seek larger targets. Now, the British Navy or the US Navy could clean out pirates in a jiffy, but they're a bit busy right now halfway around the world."

He continued. "I predict that in a year from now...if things remain the same...many of the island governments will go bankrupt. You think the UK cares that much about Bermuda? They care about themselves, first. Same for the US and its island possessions. The islands are just going to have to be left to fend for themselves until everything can be made right again."

I told him that we knew this was the last major trip we would make in a long time (except for Thanksgiving). He said, "Well...enjoy it while you can. It was a great run while it lasted."

(* * *)

And the Angels lead the Giants 3-2 in the World Series. I'm praying for an Angels win.