My mother and father (Ron and June Armstrong) arrived on Bequia in 1980 to take up residence in “Angels’ Rest”, their cozy little house in Friendship. Since the day they first stepped foot on the Island they had aimed for early retirement, and were now ready to devote their lives to the Bequia Mission, a charitable organization they had founded. They were wonderful people who contributed to Bequia selflessly, and the entire Island loved and admired them.
Mom and Dad had never seen the Pizzeria, and as telephones were so scarce and overseas calls difficult and expensive to place, we had communicated only by letter. They were worried about how I was coping, all they knew was that we were selling baked goods in order to raise money for equipment. They didn’t know we were having great success doing it, or that we had started serving lunches as well as breakfast.
My parents adored the restaurant and stopped in pretty well every day. I started creating daily lunch specials I knew would please my Dad, I knew what kind of food he loved and went out of my way make him happy. They were SO proud of me, and were generous in their praise of my efforts. They liked nothing better than to sit and chat with other customers over breakfast or lunch and I enjoyed having them there.
One day there was a cruise ship in port, something Bequia did not have the infrastructure to support. Those of us with businesses locked our bathroom doors on such days, it seemed that every passenger venturing ashore immediately had the urge to pee. Water is precious on Bequia, it is gathered in our cisterns during the rainy season and has to last us through the dry season. Each flush of a toilet is water down the drain, hence the locked doors! Bequia did not have a public washroom and business owners couldn’t afford to have their facilities abused. Buying water was to be avoided, it was very costly as well as a major pain in the backside.
I was sitting in the dining room with Mom and Dad, taking a break before the lunch rush. We watched together as an elderly couple came wobbling up the steps. They were sweet, the man helped the lady up the steps, then she helped him. They smiled and nodded when they sat down at the table next to ours, and informed us that they were on the big ship in the harbor. When Monty arrived to take their order they asked how much a bran muffin and a cup of coffee would cost in U.S. dollars. When informed it would be $2.00 U.S. they ordered one coffee and one muffin to share. We smiled at each other – it was so warming to see such a cute little couple wanting to share a muffin together on Bequia!
The cute little couple burst our bubble when they turned to us and said, “ We take three cruises every year, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned it’s that these Niggers will try and take you for every cent you have! We go ashore at every port with $2.00, and if we can’t be satisfied with our $2.00 we go back to the ship!”
After her initial jaw-dropping shock, my mother turned and snapped, “Well you’re about to be disappointed because I’m going to cancel your order! My daughter can be making a lot more than your $2.00 at that table, you are taking up valuable space!”
The other patrons, having heard the exchange, stood up and cheered.
I somehow stumbled across your blog and am delighted I did. Your dad baptized me some 64 years ago in Ajax and performed the marriage ceremony for me and my husband some twenty years later in Richmond Hill. (I have some funny photos of your dad and I on the church steps as I think I was changing my mind). I will always think of your mum and dad very fondly as they were also friends of my parents, Veronica and George Dunn. The story of your life is so very interesting and I am also pleased to see how very happy your parents were when they came to live there. I remember hearing of the plane crash and how sad that was. Best wishes to you and I will work my way through all your stories.
How nice! My Ajax claim-to-fame is that I had my tonsils removed there by Dr. Gove when I was 2, my very first memory in life. It would be really funny if Dr. Gove delivered you!