February 26th, 2017

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Sunday February 26. Do`nt worry be happy……

Sunday, February 26th, 2017

This is how the pastor Msgr. Eromodo Muaves, in the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral sang the first part of his sermon just like the late Bob Marley Montego Bay`s favorite son. And that is today`s gospel message: Matthew 6: 24-34. Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?

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It  was the first English mass I attended since departing from San Diego November 1st. Lots of  singing, some of my favorite. Here I am not the one eye in the land of the blind, but I managed to get  some compliments nevertheless in the high notes of “And I will raise you up in the last days”, which I  hope I`ll be able to maintain for a few more years. I used to worry a lot in my former working life: “Did  I answer the customer`s inquiry, have I paid this supplier, etc”. People, ask me what I am going to do  when I get too old to sail. That is way too far away for me. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges and  blessings. The announcer asked at the end of the mass for first tome visitors to stand. One parishioner celebrates her 95th birthday this week. We all sang her happy birthday, then anyone celebrating a birthday in the upcoming week was asked to stand up. The man right behind me was born on February 29 1940, just like Arthur Wijnans my continuous friend since 1972. He will need to wait until 2020 to birthday.   Yesterday evening I met Stephen Riviere, the oldest son of my longest continuous friendship with Norm Riviere. Norm arrived in Brussels in 1967 with his family. We were colleagues, working in the European sales office of the Weyerhauser Company. His only daughter, Jessica, is the same age as our Lisa. Stephen was born in 1959. I met two of his three sons in Wilmington, N.C. where Norm and his wife Betsy live for the last 25 years. Stephen lives in Jamaica for over 35 years. He has a tourist guide business an.d specializes to guide groups of German, French and Spanish speaking tourist, since he speaks these languages fluently. I enjoyed my visit with him very much. He is married to his (second) Jamaican wife and is totally assimilated in the island culture and particular dialect.

I am leaving on Monday morning for Grand Brac in the Cayman Islands with the two German boats here. This afternoon Birgit came to bring me a birthday cake. She was not certain that I would be with them on Tuesday, I think we will. But what a sweetheart….

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