0708 - Eccentric

It is certainly good for a sturdy U.S. citizen to live for some years on Anguilla. Slowly, slowly, the truth seeps in that not everything accepted as good and right in the U.S. is similarly accepted here, nor are manners the same at all, nor is business done the same way or for the same purposes. The OO often says that every Expat living on Anguilla is eccentric, a charge denied with some heat by compatriots. but, they are wrong. This is a place where an Expat not practicing a profession must find his own interests and fill his own hours. An example is The OO, who faithfully reports to you every week, because he likes to, not because he is is paid. Or take our Staff colleague the Revered Investment Guru, who is about to spend the next week in dawn-to-dusk instructing of two college students in risk/reward investing. Now, admit it – is that your idea of a tranquil retreat to a small Caribbean island? Admit it, it is not.

Daily life here constantly teaches that the U.S. values aren't universal. Business is conducted not just to make money, but to confer status. The grocery store magnates run their stores for their own convenience, stocking items they approve, and becoming agitated when something inconveniently sells out. Stores aren't happy with a sell-out, and firmly resist re-ordering the item, saying it "ain't worth the trouble". Think about this reaction – it isn't because the store owner disdains making money, it is because the customer is telling the owner what to do. This is just not accepted in Anguilla. No one wants to be told how to do their business, public or private. For example, many here like to play music in their cars at deafening volume. That's OK, perhaps, except that they park, roll down the car windows, and leave the music – if such it be – blaring. If you don't like that, too bad. But, the other side of the coin is that you too are perfectly free to do what you want, where you want. The coin has two sides.

In the States these days, the goal of efficiency
rules. Monthly statistics report how some strange measure called "productivity"is doing. The ideal is to do more and more in less and less time. That is just not Anguilla. This last week here, Monday, Thursday and Friday were holidays. To get in the mood, the Post Office closed at noon on Tuesday. The hard-working lady who cleans the Objective Observatory is no dummy, and arranged her two week vacation to end on Monday, so her first work week back was only two days. Productivity suffered.

One strong similarity between Anguillians and Americans is that both think their way of doing things is right, and they are not interested in being instructed otherwise. It well may be that most of the world is not ready for a Capitalist Democracy, but that doesn't affect U.S. foreign policy. It well may be that an island that depends on tourism could make itself kinder and gentler for tourists by naming its streets and giving out house numbers. Not Anguilla, though, where the idea of changing the way anything is done is violently rejected, particularly if some non-Anguillian is doing the suggesting. This characteristic is most evident in the bureaucracy, but is prevalent in all walks of life. A street light on the corner by the Observatory has been turned on day and night for 13 years. That's not very conserving, but the most surprising thing is the light is in front of a handsome big house owned by the Minister in charge of infrastructure, including street lights. The motto here is: "As it was so shall it be".

Perhaps Readers who are big city dwellers will not understand, but life here has ample rewards to match the minor irritations of getting anything done. The sky, the sunsets, the quiet balm for your soul of being completely free to so what you want, when you want, that is worth much. So is not doing anything you do not want to do. Isn't that a priceless freedom, too?

Next time: MoralTruth [OO #709]

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