It
was an ordinary day. Downloading photos from my SD card to my laptop.
Photos that I have taken in the past few days of places, events and
people from the islands of the Turks and Caicos. Now on the screen is a
photo of one Joshua MacIntosh, native islander who has one of the
biggest smiles and biggest hearts of anyone I have ever met. Time, age
or race make no difference to him; or me. We share the same ideals,
standards and even laughs, but he does it on "island time." That means
he does it with less stress. Nothing seems to bother him as he sits on
his bench outside his restaurant and bar/grill on the island of North
Caicos. Got to meet him and his friend Douglas when my wife and our
friends Jerry and Just Sue made a stop at his place looking for food.
The outside of the place was painted the brightest lime green and sunny
yellow you have ever seen. As soon as I pulled the car to a stop and
saw that big smile, I knew he was going to be one of my "Faces of
Strangers". He got off the bench that he and Douglas occupied and
stretched out his hand to me. It covered my hand almost two times, but
was as gentle as can be. He stood there dressed in a coral dress shirt
drenched in sweat and long white trousers while I had on a red bathing
suit and gray baseball shirt. I looked sickly white compared to his
dark skin. Didn't matter though, since we both saw through that. Asked
him if we could eat lunch at this place. "Not unless you want it to be
all liquid," he replied as his buddy Douglas laughed. As I talked with
Josh I got to know him a little better. Born on North Caicos and moved
to the Bahamas at the age of nine. Eventually took courses in Vermont
and became a chef. Finally, he moved back to his home country and
opened this establishment I was standing in front of. Pretty proud of
it as he should be. We talked about trying to drive on the roads on
this small Caribbean country. He told us that quite a few were
destroyed in 2008 when hurricane Ike came through with category #4, 135
MPH winds on September 7th. Just lifted the roadway up and pushed it
aside in the low lying areas of the island. Country was devastated and
had no funds to fix it. But, as his face brightened, he said that they
have plans to start with the repairs come this November. I hope for his
sake it happens, since the hurt on his business is pretty obvious.
Then I told him we stopped to look at the Flamingos a ways down the road
and was disappointed there weren't many there. He told us they look
for cooler places this time of year. Then I asked him if he ever ate
Flamingo. Boy did that get him and Douglas laughing. Pointed at me and
said, "We used to eat them all the time until you white boys came
around and asked how we could eat our National Bird. Thought we better
stop. Bad for business, you know, when people find out we eat them."
Just Sue took a look inside his place and said he should have a pole
inside the bar area for dancing. Then the laughing started again and an
offer from him to let her give it a try if she wanted. I asked him why
he had bars over all the windows and doors. "Only way I can get a
liquor license. Any place that deals in money and booze has to have
bars on this island," he said. Well, we are still hungry and he gives
us a good recommendation for "Miss Bs" down the road. "Tell her Joshua
MacIntosh sent you," he says as his buddy Douglas starts laughing one
more time. I take a parting photo and we head down the road, laughing.
It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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