0572 - Aftermath

As our well-informed Readers surely know, there is a place in Iraq called Al Qaaqa, where immense quantities of Saddam's munitions used to be stored. Apparently, while the Anguilla Water Department was managing the invasion, the site wasn't secured and a lot of this stuff was trucked away. Our Chief Proofreader was struck by the name, and took down his trusty copy of Slang and Euphemism by Richard Spears, 2nd Ed. Memory served correctly, and Ca-ca, or Caca or Ka-ka were all listed, all with the same (and appropriate for Iraq) meaning. When the OO was growing up, proper mothers always used euphemisms for all bodily functions, and the most proper of them used euphemisms for the euphemisms, tending to confuse the toddlers. We judge from reliable sources that the word of choice is now "Poo" instead of "Qaaqa". This may or may not be important progress.

During the recent months of confusion, we somehow failed to note the existence of the Donald Trump Talking Doll. This looks like the real thing, downsized, and has the vocabulary you might expect. We take it as one more example of the wonders of competitive capitalism. This is not as significant an example of economic progress as the discovery that a chemical in bat spit is helpful in treating stroke, but you have to take the Trump with the bat spit.

Not to be outdone on the fields of propriety, a new night club called Rumza has opened on Anguilla, and has advertised its harsh dress rules. No baseball caps, no shorts, jeans must be "nice", and shirts tucked in. Finally, and we never saw this one before, "Pants must be worn at the waist." [Nothing is said as to jackets and ties, or exceptional frontal decolletage for the ladies.] We shall obey, of course, as soon as we can find some nice jeans for the Staff.

We also note that in Texas, the new sex education texts omit mention of condoms, and teach only abstinence. This is admirable, no doubt, but does nothing to prevent the spread of AIDS. We defy the proponents of this policy to go see a patient suffering from Kaposi's Sarcoma (a horrid cancerous result of AIDS that looks like black rot) and still consider themselves moral, upright, and caring. Poo. [See first paragraph above.]

Speaking of Anguilla, and we were, the signs are that there will be a big tourist season. A number of huge and ultra-expansive rental villas are open, and more on the way, which means the wine prices will not be reduced this season. An impressive golf course is well under way, opening next year, and of course villas are being hawked along the fairways. We do have one caveat for our visitors this season. The Anguilla airport (named Wallblake, designator AXA) is not open at the moment. People at lunch today reported that some American Airlines staff up North didn't know that. Of course, you will fly into St. Martin and take the ferry over to Anguilla, a short journey. The ferries now charge US$12 one way, up from $10 in previous years. Serious inflation.

So that's our report from Anguilla. The Water Department (perhaps on a quick trip home from Iraq) still has all the roads around the Objective Observatory torn up, with dangerous open ditches to trap unwary drivers. A new shopping center is opening. The weather is welcoming, and warm.

On medical advice, we have sort of given up watching the TV news. Anything of note happen up in the States this first week of November?

Next time: Memorabilia [OO #573]

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