The "Crisis in Paradise?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Clicked on my desktop link to the Daily Herald newspaper to take a look at what is going on in the Caribbean Islands.  The lead article popped up and ... BAM!  The story was about the closing of Maho Beach and Sunset Beach Bar on the island of Sint Maarten and extending the runway of Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) towards the ocean.  For years Carol and I have visited the Sunset Beach Bar to eat lunch and watch the planes land directly over the beach.  

One of the very first photos I took at Maho Beach.

I have posted a few of those photos on this blog as well as a few stories about the runway and the daredevils that brave the jet blast from jets taking off.  The Herald story went on to say that they would create parking for 100 private jets and the project would be solely funded by PJIA and the passengers that arrive and depart from the airport.  A "Last Blast Party" would be held this afternoon at the Sunset Beach Bar.  A special charge of US $75 would be introduced for both departures and arrivals at the airport.  Holy Cow!  Another $150 to fly to paradise!!  Needless to say, I was upset as was Carol when I told her about it.  She even went as far as saying we might have to find another favorite beach destination.  I then got on TravelTalkOnline forum to see if there was anything posted on it about the article.  Comment after comment were posted about the story.  Then I realized the nature of the responses and started to breath a sigh of relief.  One comment read ... Phase 3 Project Extension to Runway 10 "Alpha-Foxtrot-Oscar-Oscar-Lima" (I made bold a few letters to help you).  Another comment read ... "There have been several reactions from tourists.  'Incredible, idiotic and mindless' were terms used by longtime timeshare owner and former lap-dancer April La Primier of Boca Raton, Florida" (translated to read April the first).  Yes, I was reading the story on April 1st and it all was a hoax!  Thank goodness!!  We can now visit our favorite beach once again.  The story was so real-life and so many people were posting about it that the Daily Herald pulled the story from their digital site and issued another story titled "Many people taken in by Maho April Fools' joke."  In it they showed a plane flying across Maho Beach and stated that People will hopefully be able to enjoy this view for years to come. Evidently the newspaper received a few letters from concerned people as well as workers at the airport received calls and tour operators on the island got calls from concerned tourists.  And, the newspaper article wondered how many people may have showed up at the Sunset Beach Bar for the big party in the afternoon.  How can they top that story next year?  Or maybe they don't want to chance another disaster like the one they created this year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.