The Last Word

Mixed Blessings

by Barrie Quappe
Host/producer of "Cayman Crosstalk" on Rooster 101.9FM

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Recovery, rebuild. These words are now our lifeline to our future. Meanwhile those of us who cannot live in our homes, who have suffered great business losses or feel guilty for our wonderful fortune of having everything survive, will vacillate in our emotions daily.

Emotions about being grateful for life, for another sunrise and for friendships that are now evident in bartering and gifts. These are all good.

The challenges are to understand our new reality. The reality of finding breakfast. Finding a shower or finding clean clothes. Island Cleaners opened this week where you can drop off your regular laundry and it is laundered for you and some clothes that received salt-water damage and were aired right away are being rescued.

Right next-door is Lutz’s restaurant, where you can get an excellent hot meal and freezing cold drink. Honduranian cooking with a Caymanian flair. I’m sure by now everyone is familiar with the reality of long lines. Lines at the grocery, lines at the bank. Lines for a telephone and lines for water, ice and gas.

Seeing familiar faces is very reassuring. The Grapevine, Paradise and Hammerheads are now the “stop and see” places in George Town. One of the recent pressing problems is working vehicles. We all want to rebuild but if we cannot transport people and goods, we are stopped in our tracks!

Tracking your insurance claim takes a lot of your time as well as our efforts to rebuild and I hope that in the months ahead, employers will continue to be considerate of employees needing time to rebuild their lives. One of the wonderful outcomes I think has been that some workplaces have provided childcare right at work!

Others have also designated a staff member to cook lunch so the staff can concentrate on work and not worry about getting something to eat during the day. For some, this is their only hot meal of the day.

While we all move forward with determination, I would ask that we continue to help not only ourselves but our family and friends as we can. You never know who knows someone who has something to barter with you. This is how we built Cayman to start with and we can do it again.

Finally, try to be understanding. We are all going to have extreme sadness; we are in mourning for what we have lost. If your sadness persists, do seek advice from your physician as depression can be treated.

With love, determination and Caymanian resiliency we will not only recover but rebuild better and stronger with the knowledge of the harsh and painful lessons taught by terrible Ivan.

Contact Barrie Quappe “Newstalk” radio show, Rooster 101.9FM. E-mail barriequappe@hurleysgroup.com  

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