Nevis Part I: The Arrival

I guess all things do happen for a reason. The years 2002 and 2003 were strange for me. I was doing mostly adjunct work and delivering USA Today newspapers to make ends meet. I was financially and emotionally in a funk, so when I saw an ad for MUA (Medical University of the Americas), I thought "why not"? I always wanted to be a real doctor, right? I knew of medical schools in the Caribbean from a previous meeting with Dr. Fredricks in 1993, when I considered going to Saba, his first school. I was working part time as a convenient store clerk, delivering papers and teaching a class at South University in Columbia. I got a call while at work and I had been accepted to teach/attend MUA in Nevis! Of course, now I know they take almost anyone w/ a Ph.D. who is willing to move to Nevis, but I thought it might be the right time for me to turn things around. I was losing confidence that I would ever find another full time professorship anywhere in the SE USA, so I committed to MUA, borrowed enough money to get there and set my mind to it! Leaving my family behind was very, very difficult, but I could not afford to move us all there. My wife, daughter and I drove to Charlotte for my early morning flight on Friday, April 30th. I was terrified of what I was actually getting into w/ MUA and Nevis, but I had lived in Canada for a while, had travelled in the US quite a bit, so I was kind of looking forward to the adventure. The morning I boarded the plane, my daughter began crying for me and I almost turned back... but I made myself move ahead toward the plane. From Charlotte to Suan Juan (PR) was uneventful. It was neat to be in PR and I found a great deal on some Vodka at the duty free shop! Once we began to board the plane from PR, things began to change. First of all, the plane was the smallest I had ever been on and we were all there, but there was not a pilot! Apparently, he was running quite late with another flight..(apparently time is not as important the farther south you go) but finally showed and we took off. The flight was only an hour or so, but in that small, noisy plane, it seemed much longer to me! Finally, got to St. Kitts and landed safely....... went through the proper lines and began the wait for my luggage. It is hard to describe the feeling when you are still waiting for your luggage an hour later and realize it isn't going to show! I had neglected to bring a carry on w/ essentials, so all I had was a brief case w/ paperwork and the clothes on my back. Sure, the guy said, your luggage will be on the 1 pm plane tomorrow! So I got a cab to downtown, got a room based on the recommendation of the cabby and tried to relax. The room was a huge suite and cost only $79 USD, so I felt good. Looking off of my balcony, I began to take in my surroundings on my first trip to the Caribbean. It was quite a culture shock... chickens and dogs roaming freely through the streets... I felt as if I had gone back in time somehow, but it was nice. Oh yeah, and HOT! I walked down to a corner cafe, up the steps and found a table with a breeze coming off the ocean and ordered a burger/fries for my first meal in the Caribbean! I ordered a Heineken, but the lady said it would be $8 and I almost died! Well, that turned out to be EC currency so I began to try to learn the conversion stuff, downed my first Carib and ate the burger (not very tasty). Since I had some vodka and cash was at a premium, I got some OJ, when back to the room and relaxed on the balcony. Got a decent nites sleep and looked forward to getting my luggage and trying to find where I was to live on Nevis. Checked out at 12, got a cab back to the airport... 1pm plane was late of course, and didn't have my luggage.... 2pm plane (late) didn't have my luggage.... was informed the next plane due was 7pm.. began to feel some panic setting in.. no luggage, very little cash, didn't know where the hell I was supposed to live and didn't want to leave St. Kitts without my stuff. Well, I decided to spend the day near the dock, listen to some music and drink some $1 Caribs! Made it through the day, got back to the airport... NO PLANE, NO LUGGAGE... wow! The lady said I should go on to Nevis and my luggage would be sent, so I head back to the dock to catch a scheduled ferry to Nevis... it backs in to unload and we are then informed that they are NOT MAKING THE TRIP BACK! Wow, this day is turning more and more into a tourists nightmare... I finally manage to locate a cheap motel ($40 USD), put it on my Visa, get my first Caribbean dinner and try to relax until I get the early ferry to Nevis on Sunday morning. The motel was an older, 3 story structure with small rooms and a community bathroom. It was the Star of India, complete with restuarant and bar downstairs. The owner was quite nice and brought out my plate. I was very tired and frustrated at this point, but managed to eat and choke down another Carib... the food, as I was to find out over the next several months, was a generic chicken dish served in most every place I ate on Nevis or St. Kitts. It was tasty enough, but I quickly grew tired of it while on Nevis. Bright and early Sunday morning, I walked back to the dock, heat already building from the early morning sun, get on the ferry and finally head toward Nevis. Arrive in Charlestown about 50 minutes later, get off and find a very deserted town... I didn't have a clue where I was supposed to live. MUA had arranged an apartment for me somewhere and all I knew was the guy's name. My cell phone had long since quit working and I had no change for the pay phone I found on the street. Feeling pretty damn bad about now.... wasn't sure just what to do, when a nice Nevisan pulled up in his Cab (minivan)! Turns out, he knew my landlord, called him and found out where I was to live and off we went. My first ride on Nevis and I had no clue what to expect. Roads were narrow, curvy and fairly well maintained.. Nice looking country side, saw the beaches, ocean and things didn't appear to be too bad. Hey, there was the airport (didn't even know they had one on Nevis), then just as we got around the airport... BAM... the roads became terrible (potholes everywhere), the countryside became more depressing.... just past the Newcastle police depot, we turn up hill (left is downhill to the beach) and drove up what I thought was a sidewalk! Finally found my landlord and he told my cabbie to drop me at Julie's house a couple of turns up the road. FINALLY, get to the house, find out I have the converted basement that wasn't much bigger that my office is now and realize, I am in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of nowhere, I am living in a stranger's basement in the middle of a goat pasture on the side of a mountain... no car, no clothes, no toiletries, no family, no phone.... well, my arrival on Nevis definitely left something to be desired, but at least I had cable TV in the bedroom...... I was very lost, lonely and homesick...

Got to go for now... taking Thurs, Friday and next week off for the holidays.

Part II of Nevis the adventure will pick up here.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Good day!

Santa's on his way!

I am not sure how much of a head start Santa has to get so that all deserving kids get their presents by Christmas morning, but I suspect he is loading up now and will move on out soon!

Heard a silly (stupid) story this morning on the radio. Seems that in New Zealand (or Australia?), mall Santa's are being told not to use the traditional "Ho Ho Ho" for young kids. Guess why? Well, apparently it has been determined that after all these years of Santa booming "Ho Ho Ho" to kids, it might now "SCARE THEM"! Yeah, that's right, Santa can't say Ho Ho Ho to young kids now over there so as not to frighten the kids.... the world just keeps getting more and more idiotic doesn't it? Or is it just me?

tomorrow is my last day (1/2 day really) before my Christmas break. I will take Thursday until Jan 2 off for a well deserved break from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Actually, once I get to my office, my work day is fairly cushy, as long as I have prepared ahead of time for my lectures and labs. I get to spend most of my days in a nice, quiet, third floor corner office in front of my computer. I guess I am lucky, because I really enjoy it! Sure, the whinny, complaining student occasionally becomes a pain in the a--, but mostly, it is fairly smooth sailing. Yeah, having done this stuff for umpteen years makes it loads easier, but things change so quickly in higher ed, we have to stay on our toes.

I hope to begin the Trilogy of Nevis tomorrow. Part I: The Arrival, followed by Part 2: An Island called Nevis and then the finish, Part 3: Life after Nevis. Even if it doesn't make for good reading, it will allow me to put it all in perspective, healing from the horror of it all and revealing in the few good moments of the whole thing.

Later,
Good day

Bad news on a cold Monday morning

A second of my colleagues in my division has lost a close family member. First, Kendricks lost his brother in a car wreck, then his Grandmother passed and now, Michelle's Mother has died from a heart attack. Losing my own Mother is this mix definitely makes me feel others loses more than I normally would have. Michelle is a lot younger than I and her Mom had not been sick, so the shock must have been tremendous. I still miss my Mom and think about her a lot, things she would like to see or hear, fishing with her again, seeing her joy when she spends time with my children, listening to her stories about the deer, hummingbirds and other wildlife she encountered near her house.... I guess there is never enough time to spend with our parents while they are with us, but once they are gone, that time you thought you didn't have for the drive up and back, etc, seems so meaningless...

Cowboys got beat bad, so I don't think they will make the playoffs this season, but the Carolina Panthers are in a good position to win their division. The UK Wildcats gave us fans a spot of hope for the season by dumping #4 Louisville really hard on Sat.!

These are our last few days of this semester. My class grades turned out pretty good, as I only gave one D, no F's. I will probably work through Wednesday (1/2 day), the take off until after New Year's. Sometimes being away from the office and the day to day routine makes it tough when you come back, but not having to make the drive every morning and getting to sleep later and watch YR and OLTL is quite nice. Oh yeah, seeing McKenzie open her presents on Christmas is a blast too!

Good day!

Icy nite in SC?

I saw something really cool yesterday morning, at least to me. I had logged onto the USA Today weather site and saw a US Precip. map and most of the east US was covered by this huge cloud mass. I noticed that the very tip of Western TN was clear, and since that is where we live, I went out into my front yard, looked East and saw the tailing edge of that huge front moving Eastward! The sky above us was perfectly clear and sunny, but that huge dark mass moving to the East apparently had some really bad precip. Ice in GA, SC, NC and surely farther North East. I hope our home in Columbia weathered the storm OK, although it doesn't matter to us here if the electric went off there or not. If it did, my next bill should be less there right?

Got to mention one of the most idiotic things I have heard a grown man in a position of authority say in a while (excluding GWBush). Donovan McNabb is a very successful 'black' quarterback in the NFL and has been for a few years now. He has dealt with the press and the T. Owens disaster with poise and class and never got involved in the word games that the media likes to perpetuate. He has played hurt during many games and has given fans of the Eagles lots to cheer about. Well, the head of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP wrote an article that bashed McNabb and accused him of being a sellout to his race. Want to know the basis for this attack on McNabb? Apparently, Donovan has decided to quit scrambling and running so much during games and has tried to become a more traditional drop back passing QB! NAACP guy says that McNabb is disrespecting his race and trying to "act white" by not using his talents as a running QB, ala M. Vick! Donovan responded by saying that if a white guy had wrote this, he would feel that it was a racist comment, but since someone of his own race did, he then took it as an attack on him as a man. My thing is that it is so stupid of anyone to criticize a professional QB for running and scrambling less, white or black. As a QB playing hurt much of the time, McNabb is smart not to want to increase his chances of more injury by running. How often as Vick been hurt and on the sidelines? NFL teams pay millions of dollars for players called RUNNING BACKS! A QB is much more valuable to a team as a play caller, leader and passer and if he is too banged up to play, then he is useless. If the folks of this wonderful nation of ours could just stop looking at fellow citizens as either white or black or other and stop using tired stereotypes and generalities, we might just be able to bring the US back to world prominence again, once we get that ignoramus GW out of office! Oh yeah GW, you keep saying we are going to remain in Iraq until we have achieved victory, but I have never heard you say what a US victory there means! When will be know we have won? And what the hell are we trying to win? Get our troops home, stop spending billions of taxpayer dollars for a war only you really wanted to begin with and lets start rebuilding and protecting the USA!

Oh, yeah, may get around to Nevis: The arrival this afternoon.

Good Day!

Rainy night in Georgia!

I don't know if it rained there or not, but 'rainy night in Memphis' isn't the name of a song and doesn't have the same ring to it! Yeah, we are getting some rain today, high near 50, so it will be a drab, gloomy kind of day for Memphis Mania. Giving my Micro final at 11:30. I made the exam so easy so I hope there are a lot of B's and maybe an A or two. I don't think I have had an A on a exam in Patho or Micro this term, without the curve points added that is! It looks like everyone will pass Micro, most with B's. I will try to find one or two 89's or close to give a couple A's to, but I don't really care, it just balances out the overall grades a bit and smoothes the curve.

I keep hearing references to Christmas, Holiday Trees etc and still don't get where this stuff is coming from. Sometimes I think some small town paper or maybe a big city reporter gets wind of some rumor or such, then writes an article that is mostly his own views (forget the facts), this gets published and picked up by more media outlets and finally we have a national story or movement that isn't even worthy of notice! Could that be? Makes sense to me, because I thought MOST U.S. citizens where Christians, and as such, should be appalled that Christmas might be demoted from a Federal Holiday to just a religious holiday, or references to removing Christ from Christmas! Now, if someone suggested removing Santa from Christmas, you get my vote. That ol' fat man with a beard and goofing red suit costs me HUNDREDS of dollars each year, so him, I could do without! We typically end up spending a minimum of $500 on McKenzie during Christmas, then my son and wife have to have something, so it adds up quickly! Oh well, we will survive!

I really think that Americans just have it too good and too easy in this country of ours. If we had to struggle daily just to survive, as most of the people in many underdeveloped countries do, we wouldn't have time to fuss, fret, whine, complain and nag about silly, mostly unimportant things! What if we had to worry that the next car coming down the road was going to explode in our block and blow the hell out of us? What if we lived in a small, poverty stricken nation were the only way we could eat was to either grow it or steal it? In perspective, US citizens should be spending all this idol time giving thanks to God that we have it so good instead of finding more and more things to become offended about, right?

Good day!

Patho done

I survived teaching my first Pathophysiology class. I really enjoyed it because it was a challenge for me. I had to learn, or re-learn, some material on diseases that I had not dealt with for quite a while and had to be quick on my feet to answer some of the excellent questions the class came up with. Overall, the class final average was 79.4, which is good for a class that large and difficult.

So, Tooky Williams got the injection this morning at 12:35 or so at San Quinten. Governor Arnold did not intercede so Tooky is no longer among us. I had never heard about him until the last few days, but apparently, he has done some good things while in prison. After hearing his story, my first thought was that he is more of an asset from prison that many, many people that are out here running around free! I used to be a very strong advocate of capital punishment, but now I find myself wondering what God would really have us do. Clearly, those who murder, rape, molest and commit other dastardly deeds against society need to be dealt with in a manner that will remove them as a threat and send the message to others that those kinds of acts will not be tolerated, but I don't know if capital punishment is the answer anymore. I have heard that it costs more to put a prisoner to death than it does to house one, so those who say "kill em" to save tax payers money may be off base too. Anyway, I need to pray and study on it to see where I stand now on the issue of capital punishment. Of course, where I stand won't matter much to anyone but me, but at least I will know, right?

Nevis Part I: the arrival is coming soon!

Good day

FINALS

This is a good week to be a college Prof. Classes are over, give a few final exams, calculate grades and bingo, your week is accounted for. For most profs, this week carries a built in excuse to do little else, since we have to "prepare and grade final exams", then "work on final grades". That goes a long way this week in terms of accounting for your activities as a prof. Truth is, about an hour after an exam in complete, I have them graded and the final graders determined using Excel. Thank goodness for scantrons and computers! So I will have a lot more "casual" time this week. Not having to come in so early or at all and having not lectures to prep for. Of course, students go crazy this week worrying about their final grades. And frankly, it is tough to have a student for 14 weeks and have to tell them they failed your class and will have to repeat. If it is the second time they have taken the class, then that is the end of their career at BCHS. Big responsibility, but we do the best we can to teach, tutor and advise so that students manage to get through our programs if they are willing to put in the time to study enough. I hope not to have to fail anyone in Patho and I don't think anyone in Micro or API is close to failing (Below a C). I will keep you posted.

Cowboys won! Panthers lost (boo) and my UK Wildcats got beat again by a big rival, the Indiania Hoosiers (booooooo). At 5-3 already, this season appears to be headed toward the type that UK fans aren't used too.... maybe as many as 8, 9 or even (heaven forbid) 10 LOSSES! UK basketball fans are spoiled. As the winningest NCAA team all time and second with 7 National Championships, we expect a final four team every year and a championship every few years. Even a sweet 16 team is a losing year if we don't win a regional championship.

We'll see.

Good day.

Reflections

Something about my Saturday morning commute that is so much more pleasant.. oh yeah, that's it, all those other maniacs I encounter during the week are still at home! But really, the drive into Memphis from the east can be beautiful, as it was this morning, when the sun begins to rise over the Eastern horizon and begins to reflect off of the taller buildings along the Memphis down town riverfront... wow, I was coming in at just the right moment and angle to catch the reflective beauty of the morning sunrise. What makes it more panoramic is the fact that you are driving in dark while the reflections are lighting up the downtown skyline!

Anyway, I like it. Next semester I won't have a Sat class, so all my commutes will be with other idiots. That is funny, because when I was speaking to a few colleagues and students about the approaching bad weather last earlier this week, specifically a chance for snow, the fact that southerners can't drive well in bad weather came up. Without fail, everyone of them said something like, "these idiots in Memphis can't drive in snow"! I got news for you boneheads.. YOU ARE THE IDIOTS!

And, I am picking up a night APII class at SouthWest TN CC next semester, which I hope turns into a long term steady flow of extra income. They pay pretty well and the additional monthly checks will be greatly appreciated in the Gearheart house. I guess I take what I do for granted, but getting paid to teach AP is like stealing money for me! I enjoy it and I don't have to actually work too hard to make pretty good money at it. I imagine that at this point in my career I have the experience and resources to make teaching much less of a chore that it really can be. Paperwork, record keeping and other clerical type chores are part of it, but preparing a good lecture and actually having the knowledge and communicating skills to deliver a good lecture are learned over time. Being knowledgeable enough to answer unexpected questions, or at least faking a good answer, is a learned skill also. I also think that some part of me likes the control I have in my class room. I am in charge, the MAN, so to speak and there are very few places on times in life that people really have any control. That is why home and family are so important to us... a place and people where we can relax and not have to have control to be comfortable. In the workplace and out in the world, we have to be guarded, protective and always on guard, and for most people, there is no real control out there so we feel more vulnerable. At least for that lecture, in that classroom and with those students, I am in control. Feels good at some sublime cerebral level!

Well, got of tract there a bit. Got to try to finish my Patho final exam now. Did 50 questions Friday evening at home and hope to finish the other fifty today.

Later,
Good Day

Final Exams!

Final exams start Monday. It seems like the semester is going to last so long when it first begins, but when it is over, it seems like it went so fast. I think that is how life is too. Youngsters feel like they will live forever and kids can't wait to get older, but when you reach 50ish or more, it seems like it all went so fast and you realize how little precious time there is left! Well, I intend to make the most of mine and try not to screw up anymore like I did when I was young and thought I was invincible!

18 degrees in Memphis when I left for the office this morning, but we are due for a balmly mid 40's tomorrow and plenty of sunshine.

Friday afternoon + payday = well, it doesn't mean get crazy like I used to, but it is a nice feeling. Got to go to Walmart now and pick up my daughter's xmas stuff, then keep it hid from her until Christmas morning. Other than losing my Mom, I think I have enjoyed this holiday season more than most in my past. I just wish folks would leave Christmas alone and let those of us who love this time of year really enjoy it. For a nation founded on individual freedoms and on Christian values, we sure can get caught up in some crap when political correctness is allow to dominate our society and government.

Later,
Good day

Cold

Now it is cold. 22 when I left for work this morning at 6:30. I guess some of that "artic air" is pushing this far down from up Nawth!

Couple of idiotic, personally aggravating items to get off my chest.
First: how can 2 people out of a population of 20,000 cause city government to force a business to stop advertising a product? In SpringHill TN, outside of Nashville, a woman runs a salon and has a flashing sign to advertise some of her products. On item advertised is something with the word "sexy" in it. Two citizens of this fine town complained that the word "sexy" was offensive, so the town told the woman to stop advertising this product! How utterly and extremely stupid is this. The word sexy should not offend anyone, particularly since sex is used to market most every item sold in the US today, even MILK, and it is all over TV, Movies and in songs now! What is so offensive to me is that in American today, only a few folks have to voice a complaint about something and "officials" or others will jump to quell the storm. I don't get it.

Secondly: What is this mess I am hearing about changing Christmas? Drop it as a Federal Holiday? Lose the reference to Christ? The term Christmas tree is offensive to someone? What is happening to our society? Some folks must just sit around all day trying to find new issues to create problems or complain about. We should start calling it a "holiday tree" and refer to this time of hear as the "holiday season", not using the word Christmas because it might offend a few non-Christians! Well, I for one say to hell with 'em! I have never, ever thought to complain about beliefs and practices of religions different from my own. This country was founded in part on religious (Christian) principles and the motto of the U.S. is still "In God We Trust"! I have felt for years that this country was someday doomed and destined to utltimately fail (see Roman empire) and from my viewpoint, we are well on that tract already and when we finally do something so stupid as to remove "Christ" from Christmas and Christmas from our culture, we are finished! The holiday is a celebration of the BIRTH OF CHRIST for crying out loud! What this country desperately needs now more that ever is strong, honest, dependable leadership at the top! GW has destroyed so much of what past leaders have developed and protected, at home and abroad! US citizens need to wake up, realize we have made serious mistakes in how we have let political correctness and "touchy feely", hypersensitive folks have too much power! It is OK if we don't like on another, but we need to respect each other and know that some things you say or do may not sit well with me and visa versa, but having my "feelings" hurt is not a reason to make law or policy changes! This country was founded on a "melting pot" type of situation and we have been proud of that, but now, it seems that our differences are causing more and more problems. What the hell is wrong with Florida State using the nickname "seminoles"? What is offensive about the Atlanta "braves"? Soon, Notre Dame can't be called the "fighting Irish"? PETA or some group has complained about the USC teams being called the "fighting gamecocks". Will the Georgia "bulldogs" become offensive to dogs? There has got to be an end to all this PC crap. There are too many things wrong in the world that needs to be fixed for us to waste time on "cry babies" and politically correct garbage. We are polluting the environment, running out of fossil fuel, the earth is heating up, more Ozone is missing, our mineral deposits are depleting, we can't stop HIV nor the bird virus, millions of children wake up every morning hungry, without proper clothing and schooling..... there are so many serious problems that the human race needs to deal with that we can't continue to slide down this slippery slope that PC has created!

Well, I got a bit carried away there, but I feel better now.

Good day!