On Christmas day we ran across “Rev.” He was standing on the sidewalk that runs through this little fisherman territory in Porti which I call, “Honky Tonk” lane. He wanted to eat a couple of conch for Christmas and was waiting for a ride to go to Boston Bay. He was dressed in all new clothes: a

pair of camouflage jeans with a matching jacket, his locks stuffed into a really fetching sort of bowler hat, and a brand-new pair of Clarks desert boots. They now come with a nifty, fringed leather tag.

As long as I have known him, Rev has had some structural problems with his body. To top that off, a couple of years ago, he fell off his motorcycle and really got hurt. For a while there we thought he was toast. He was lying in bed not able to move anywhere. We really thought he would die. But he managed to get himself to Cuba to get evaluated and a price for surgery set, then managed to raise the money and get it done and go back a third time to get the pins out.

Now when I see him, he demonstrates how well he can walk. It is still somewhat of a lurch, but he is really happy and proud. And yes, he just looks healthy and happy again. “I must tank Jah,” he told me with great sincerity.

All the self-help types tell us to practice gratitude….gratitude, platitude. But Rev made me think about it. It is so easy to sink into the humdrum. When I live in the States I am living at a level of comfort and convenience that is top of the line for the whole world. I know that. I lived in India for a long time. But still, put me anyplace for ten minutes and I will start to complain.

Just before I left India, I was drawing water from a well and washing diapers on a stone. When I got to Vermont my parents bought me a washing machine and it only took a few months for me to be dissatisfied that it was too small!

It is easy to stop seeing your blessings. That is why I like to have guests. As soon as they show up, you see what you have through their eyes. I think that is one of the reasons Jamaicans like tourists so much. Here we are, amid stunning natural wonders and it is easy to stop seeing that an to focus on the ho-hum and the negative. But then tourists come along and their eyes practically pop out of their heads when they look around them and you think, “Hey, I am pretty lucky, after all.” Let’s just sit back and listen to those parrots doing their gang activity thing overhead, or watch the little kids playing in the waves at Winifred beach. “Those big begonias,” I told Dimple, “People pay a lot of money for them in the States.” “And they grow all bout, here,” she said proudly.

Bless up, everybody!