Page 62 - MIN SJA 26 OCT 2015

DIALUNA 26 OCTOBER 2015 DIARIO PAGINA 35

POWER OUTAGE, BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN US Opinion publico:

When the lights went out on Fri- Usuarionan local ta wordo hopi
day, I didn’t quite get it, because afecta cu aumento demanda di
my computer has a power-pack,
which means it stayed on, but when transporte publico!
I looked around the office, I figured
we’re out of juice. Fear settled in ORANJESTAD (AAN) – E bon, nan sa cu pa añanan
first, is something wrong with the siman cu ta tras di lomba largo nan ta nan cliente, y
electric board? I never even thought hopi usuario local cu ta awor debi cu nan ta wordo
about short-circuiting turbines or in- depende di transporte publico paga mas tanto na dollar, y
stable voltage until I called Nilton Lacle at Diario, who informed me we’re all together in this. I was not pa moviliza sea entre cas y cu nan por gana un tiki mas
alone. It was an island-wide interruption! So what do you do at 4pm on a Friday, when you can no longer trabao, bay docter, of haci placa, nan ta bira lomba pa
sit in the office? You go to the bar, or you wash the dogs, or you tackle any other pending project, you cualkier otro diligencia, nan mes hendenan.
never have time for. So after scrubbing three of my four-legged friends, with the grid still out of order, I a pasa un bez mas den e Si ta asina e cos ta anto
made wine coolers and we went to the beach for sunset. We watched the pelicans, we took pictures, we circunstancia cu e autobusnan mester aumenta e cantidad
struck up a conversation with two other swimmers. We had a great time, just sitting around, no phone, no (bus chikito), ta yena mesora di autobusnan pa tur ruta, of
music, just like in the old days. I suggest at least one blackout a month, to bring us all together for totally den algun bushalte, y nan laga Arubus core no cada ora
unstructured quality time. Thank you Elmar/WEB for the rare treat! pasa completamente yen nan pero cada mey ora, pa asina
dilanti cu consecuencia cu si tur hende por haya transporte
LINDA MEASURES ISLANDERS’ SATISFACTION. Linda Reijnders, a journalist by profession, nan mester warda te Arubus publico ora nan mester.
compiled over seventy personal interviews into one coffee table book, We Are Aruba, on sale in local pasa den nan area, nan ta yega Y corda cu dentro di poco
book-stores. With the English version upcoming, Linda is excited about the cocktail of people and cul- trabao, of cita cu docter laat. e Colombianonan tambe lo
tures, represented in her nicely written and photographed publication. The common denominator of all Esaki ta mas tanto debi cu drenta Aruba masalmente, ora
stories in the book is the high level of satisfaction experienced by those who now live here. Having been e demanda pa transporte cu nan por bolbe drenta sin
born somewhere else around the globe, and having made the decision to call Aruba their home, they are publico a sigui aumenta visa na nos pais.
all satisfied with their life here, and grateful for the opportunities the island had to offer. Having no sense drasticamente den tur distrito, Variosusuariotahopipreocupa
of entitlement, they are all thankful for what they got, having received more than they expected. Can we y na e hecho cu diferente cu e situacion aki, y nan ta
say the same about the true-blue locals, those fortunate to have been born here? Just asking. chofer ta wordo contrata di spera cu esaki haya atencion
antemano pa gruponan di urgente di autoridadnan
OVERRUN BY VENEZUELAN VISITORS. If you visited the supermarket in the past few days you Venezolano cu ta warda e concerni, den sentido cu a
saw the long lines of Venezuelan visitors buying cases of beer which they in turn intend to sell to bar own- autobus den cierto caminda, bira tempo pa aumenta e
ers at a discount, so that they can get their hands on some green-back cash. I see them waiting patiently for of e chofer mes ta busca nan, transporte publico, cual ta e
pick ups, leaning tiredly on their loaded carts. Who picks them up? Where do they go to sell the beer? My na un lugar determina. medio di transportacion di tur
friends at the market report they moved 400 cases in two days. Balashi must be pleased. The supermarket Segun algun usuario, e dia, pa un cantidad grandi di
must be pleased with increased sales. The bar owners must be pleased with the savings. The Venezuelan chofernan ta haci mal pasobra nos ciudadanonan.
visitors must be pleased, as they convert their plastic to cash. The airlines must be pleased with 2,000 nan conoce nan pasaheronan
seats from Venezuela occupied, day in, day out. The airport must be pleased, imagine how much Depar-
ture Tax it is collecting?! So why am I so unhappy? I am unhappy because the whole thing is wrong. It
is against the law to buy or sell or transport or lodge without appropriate permits. It ruins our peaceful,
law-abiding character. The whole phenomenon of visitors hanging in parks, lingering on benches, and
charging their phones under trees junks up our tourist product, and disrupts the island’s Good Orderly
Direction! I even heard that these same Venezuelan entrepreneurs try to sell their discounted beer to other
tourists on our beaches. On the other hand I feel their hardship and the humiliation suffered, I am sorry
for their heartache and I am wondering if indeed it is correct that people always get the government they
deserve. Do the Venezuelans deserve that?

RECORD BREAKING EVENING. I slept with almost two-hundred people the night before last. How
is that possible you say? How can you possibly achieve that monumental deed? I was at the Chamber of
Commerce, 85th celebration event, and in the absence of the prime minister, the room was quiet, semi-dark
and nicely air-conditioned. My sugary rum punch, delivered an energy slump, and my eye lids closed. I
am convinced I was just one of many. In my dream, Daphne Agius Cesareo gave an excellent speech,
I wish I could re-read it. It wasn’t blameful, nor was it bitter, it was to the point, looking at government
with a critical eye. In real life, Daphne is more animated and feisty, but nevertheless her address was well
received. I cannot say the same about the venerated IMF speaker whose message riddled with disclaim-
ers and ambiguities flew right over my head. I understood some of the question and answer session, but
my take-away from Xavier Debrun was the following: Economics isn’t a science. The other take-away
was that our government spends too much, but that was already stated quite clearly by Daphne. Thank
you sponsors Pierre Rafini and the AFAS representative for keeping it short. And thank you Carnival-
dancers-out-of-nowhere for keeping it even shorter. The following is a joke I found on the internet: Why
did God invent economists? To make weathermen feel good about themselves. Did you get it? Because
both are more often than not, wrong. Back to the Prime Minister: He was conspicuously absent. I remem-
ber last time Mike Eman met the business community for a similar event he reprimanded us for being
ungrateful, and unappreciative of his economic maneuverings. Still, I would have liked him to be there,
and to hear for himself that while we want a modern bridge at the Spanish Lagoon and a fancy Awg 440
million Watty Vos Boulevard Ring Road, a beautiful Green Corridor, a monster Hospital, and an up-to-
date container wharf in Barcadera, we know for a fact that we cannot afford it, we cannot possibly pay
for it, and we’re very worried.

DON’T STOP THE CARNIVAL. Joel Bunde, the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency invoked
the hilarity and disaster described in the Pulizer Prize-winning Herman Wouk novel, about an American
running away to the Caribbean to try and reinvent himself as a hotelier in the tropics. Everything that
can go wrong, goes wrong, in the book. Similarly, the explosive WEB/ELMAR cocktail produced a total
power outage just before the Hyatt Regency’s lavish, elaborate, 25th year anniversary celebration. I think
it was just a test, a test for their resilience and preparedness, because the party was fantastic anyway, from
cocktails and food, to music and fireworks. Forty of the resort’s opening team members were on hand to
celebrate their successful journey from opening day to today, and one hundred and forty of the resort’s
employees with more than two decades of service each, mingled with guests and local dignitaries to the
music of Crystal Breeze.

OVERRUN BY KIOSKS. Arawak Gardens added six kiosks to the landscape, to further clutter the
sidewalk next to Casa Tua Pizzeria. As I said before, one or two is cute and essential for bargain hunters,
but lamentably those clapboard huts, wooden shacks, and slum-favelas are multiplying, selling the exact
same junk, made in Haiti souvenirs with the Aruba name etched into the cheaply made product. We will
never become an upscale destination with so much cheesy stuff on display.

MAMA MIMA OPENS AT PARADISE BEACH VILLAS. Mama Mima the Italian Restaurant next
to Maggy’s on the main street opened a branch, rooftop at Paradise Beach Villas on the oceanfront terrace.
We went there last weekend to wish Mama Mima happy birthday. The food was spectacular. I will give
you a full report once I go for dinner.

LAST NEWSPAPER BATI BLEKI COLUMN. If you are a regular reader, find me from now on, on
line and on Facebook. RC@visitaruba.com