End of the Map

Anton Chekhov believed that every element of a story should contribute to the whole. "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise, don't put it there." A month ago, I was sitting in my driveway, talking to my neighbor. We were talking about fights in Barbados. I was curious to know how the men here typically behaved when a fight broke out. Did they throw fists? Was anyone quick to grab a knife? How often did shootings happen? Ever see some wild shit? She laughed and said that none of those things happened all that often on the island. She went on to note that of the three or four fights she had witnessed in her life, all of the men picked up a rock to use as a weapon. "Huh," I thought to myself at the time. "Good to know." Fast forward to this morning. I've been trying to get a new routine down since restrictions have loosened and gyms were allowed to re-open. I settled on this: wa...

One hundred and fourteen miles east of Barbados sits the island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. St. Vincent is the name of the largest island in the archipelagic chain that constitutes the country, which gained independence from Britain back in 1979. It was also in 1979 that the country last saw the eruption of La Soufriere, the volcano that casts a shadow over Georgetown and Fancy on the northern end of St. Vincent. La Soufriere hadn't made a peep in forty-two years. That changed last Friday. La Soufriere erupted early in the morning hours of April 9, spewing gas and ash as high as thirty-three thousand feet. More than sixteen thousand people were ordered to evacuate at that time. What to do with the residents has become a stumbling block for the country. Cruise ships have offered to help but many of those weren't ready until the following Monday. Many citizens refused to evacuate. And of course, this all sits against the backdrop of the covid-19 pandemic (thank good...

This afternoon, I finished my training and I leashed my dog and I walked to the beach and I stripped to my underwear and I threw myself into the waves. That's all. Happy weekend, everyone.

The current rules for quarantine in Barbados dictate that each new arrival spend five days in isolation before being re-tested for covid. I say re-tested because each new arrival is also required to produce a negative PCR test result upon touchdown, so travelers to the island will be tested twice in the space of eight days. Thanks to the unpredictable weather of the American Northeast, snow and ice delayed my flight for a few days, meaning that I was tested twice in six days prior to leaving. These details will become relevant in a minute, I promise. The afternoon of Friday, February 12th will be a memory that sticks with me for a long time. I had been in quarantine at the Moonraker since the previous Saturday afternoon, and I had taken my second covid test. I was waiting on my test results because I was desperate to leave the spartan confines of the beach shack for the more comfortable amenities of my posh apartment. There is a lot to love about the Moonraker, and my dog and I visit t...

A note about Roo, and dogs -  Rousimoff is my dog's full given name. I named him after Andre Rousimoff, who you will remember as the professional wrestler Andre the Giant. Andre was my favorite wrestler as a kid, and he had a guest starring role in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Princess Bride. Like Andre, my Roo is a gentle giant. He may weigh ninety pounds and stand on his hind legs at just over five feet, but he is a huge teddy bear. I'm not sure exactly what breeds constitute his mix: his coloring and tail are all German shepherd; his head is unmistakably retriever; his spotted black tongue seems to indicate Chow. He has a very gentle disposition. Everyone who meets him remarks on how chill and calm and friendly he is, and I take great pride in that. Like all puppies and the people who adopt them, we went through our share of growing pains. Furniture lost to nascent teeth. Carpeting lost to untrained bowel and bladder. Patience lost to barks that signified I didn...

 Rain is drizzling down, dripping and dropping in dribs and drabs outside my window. A flat repetitive, arrhythmic plop announces the meeting of raindrop to aluminum railing. A soft smack of a kiss marries raindrop to tile. A gentle patter nurses Raindrop down the gullet of Flower. Today, the wet of the Caribbean has taken over. The Lighthouse Look Apartments sit on Lighthouse Lane, in the city of Atlantic Shores, in the parish of Christ Church, in the country of Barbados. Having graduated from quarantine at the Moonraker, Roo and I now find ourselves here. No spare surf shacks, these. Appliances are all modern, and nicer than the items I possessed back home. The internet is top shelf, and all U.S. content is available to stream. The shower has pressure. The beds have blankets. I have air conditioning and a free laundry room on-site. There is nothing here to want. Except to leave! As mentioned previously, Roo and I arrived just as the government announced a nation-wide lockdown. "...

I step out on to the patio after my first night at the Moonraker and I let my eyes adjust to the brightest sunlight I've ever experienced. I can't say "seen," because first of all, it's so bright you need to shut your eyes. You feel the sunlight, immediately warm on your skin, and then hotter and hotter as the seconds pass. And this will sound crazy, but the sunlight reveals aromas. Everything around me is warmed in the sun's rays, so plants and animals don't hide shyly like in the woodlands of the American northeast. Plants shed their leaves and pollen and excretions and dews. Animals leave their hair and waste and drool on the soft, tufted grass and trees. The picnic tables are spotted with the drillings of insects. My feet are tickled by the occasional passing gecko. Roo lazily makes his way out onto the grass and flops down in the heat. There are other dogs onsite here - permanent residents named Bella and Rex. Their attitude toward Roo is initially st...