0645 - Complexity

Our learnéd colleague, The Revered Investment Guru [The R.I.G.], has provided both the word of the week and the kernel of today’s reflections. The word is “Coulrophobia” and means “An extreme fear of clowns.” The R.I.G. says the stock market is afraid of the clowns in Washington. The American public also has this fear, with the Bush Approval rating sunk to 30%, and the Congress (both parties) even worse. So, we need not talk today about Stateside trashings of the budget or Constitution or norms of civilized behavior. Instead, we consider living on the small island of Anguilla, and ask whether life here is truly less complex than up North. The answer, in the best U.S. Senatorial manner, is both Yes and No. [Please do not ask The OO to run for U.S. President, although he is more qualified than some we could name.]

Some things on Anguilla are both soothing and simple. Men need not wear ties to any restaurant whatsoever. The last time The OO wore a tie, it was printed right in the office here, and carried a head of a crowing rooster and the initials of the Sea Rocks Rooster Sanctuary (The OO is the Non-Executive Chairman). It got a laugh. But, men usually wear shirt and pants, or even shorts. Shoes are usual and socks optional. Simple.

Other aspects of life here are far more complex. Shopping and supplying the insatiable needs of our Staff is tough. The root causes of the complexity of these tasks are triple: first, Anguilla is a small island, and stores do not necessarily stock the tens of thousands of items complex life requires; second, the stores run out of things and may not re-stock for months or even years; and third, the Anguillian enterprise is not driven by the same objectives, as, say, Wal-Mart. Example of the first two problems: our Steward has discovered that dried cranberries (“CRaisins”) are most tasty when bottled in fine mixed rums for a few months. All the CRaisins for sale at Albert’s (the biggest grocery) were purchased, bottled, rummed, and either given away or consumed. Now there are no more CRaisins for sale – “They finish”. Lots of items are Finish. Lots.

Running a store here is a status, not just a livelihood; the storekeeper here is not driven just by passion to make profits. The drugstore, for example, will not stock Mentadent toothpaste anymore because the proprietress thinks it too expensive for a large family. A large grocery will not order a good horseradish sauce because every time it is ordered, it is sold out right away – “It isn’t worth the trouble”. You see, the objective is to be fully stocked, not to sell. Hardware is quite a problem. A new store starts stocked, but as items are purchased selections get spottier. This is quite annoying, if, for example, you bought a light fixture that needs special bulbs.

Of course, you can always order from abroad. Or, you can take a ferry ride to St. Martin. Stuff ordered on the Internet can be sent to the Post Office’s forwarder in Florida and shipped over by the “Home Shopping” service provided. You don’t want to try to send via FedEx or UPS usually, because they don’t believe Anguilla does not have street addresses and they won’t send to a P.O. Box. The solution is to give FedEx an imaginary street address – that works fine, because they call you up.

Medicines (don’t ship them as “Drugs”) are difficult. The small pharmacy at the hospital will stock only a few pills, French pills are available in St. Martin, and there is always the option of ordering from the States. Again, complexity rules. But, we smile and shall prevail. Anguilla is worth a few CRaisins!

Next time: Comparative [OO #646]

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