- A Changing Island -

    From time to time I am introduced to someone who is visiting St. Barths on holiday.

    Small talk follows, during which they usually find out that I've been living here for more than twenty years.

    "You've seen a lot of changes, haven't you ?", they ask.

    This is a pretty reasonable question under the circumstances, except for one thing: it is always asked with a tone appropriate to a discussion of the recently deceased.

    I smile at them, and they smile back with knowing sympathy.

    Then I reply:

    "Oh yes, when I first came here, during the summer the grocery store would offer you the choice between frozen chicken wings with freezer burn, or, if you were willing to dig, frozen chicken wings without freezer burn."

    "Back in the good old days, you could drive to town - if you had any gasoline - and wait for half an hour - if the post office was open - to make a phone call from a cramped wooden booth that smelled like Michael Jordan's jogging shorts."

    They keep smiling, but a trace of doubt flickers across their eyes.

    "But that's all changed now. Since I've been living here, they've widened the roads, installed an incinerator for the garbage, built a desalinization plant to relieve the water shortage, and rebuilt the port facilities including a new commercial wharf. They've built a new airport terminal, a new fire station, a new post office, and a sports complex complete with stadium and public swimming pool. I don't know how they pay for all this, but it hasn't cost the people who live here a centime. "

They begin to look a little defensive.

    They open their mouth to say something, but I interrupt.

     "That's not all. We've got a splendid new facility for generating electricity, a new telephone system that works beautifully, we just got unleaded gasoline, and a new medical clinic is in the works. You're right, there have been a lot of very dramatic changes since I arrived."

    "Of course, not all the changes have been for the good, but you can ask just about anyone else who lives here about the drawbacks of development. They'll be glad to tell you all about it. Just say, "There seems like a lot of construction.", or, "Who are all those scruffy characters hanging around the snack bar in St. Jean ? " They'll happily bend your ear for hours. Listen, I'm sorry, I've got to rush off. Nice talking to you."

    We say goodbye. They're polite, but it's clear that they've been disappointed.