Where does the mail go?

March 26, 2006

Dear Sir,

Referring to the letter from ?Frustrated? on March 21, I too am very frustrated with the mail. At one time I could send a letter or card to the UK and it would arrive there sometimes within four days and no more than a week. Now it takes three to four weeks. Where does it get to all this time?

I have to laugh at the sign in the Post Office: We go the extra mile to be pleasant and respectful to all our customers, to sort the mail accurately and efficiently, to deliver the mail on time! On whose time?

I?m tired of excuses

March 29, 2006

Dear Sir,

I found the letter in today?s RG signed ?For an open and free press? to be very well written, and I wholeheartedly agree with the writer. I, too, heard the callers to David Lopes? show that day, and was embarrassed for how ignorant the callers sounded. As a black person, it annoys me how colour is the first thing to come to of some people?s mouths.

Now this brings me to my letter, which I intended to write anyway, and again based on a topic on Mr. Lopes? show. Today they were talking about disruptive young people (and in particular the CedarBridge incident), with one man going off on a diatribe on the various reasons children misbehave. Again, as a black female, I am so sick of hearing that kids go awry because of government, or society, or because the parents are poor and work 24/7, etc etc. Some people may disagree, but I say none of the above. It is just a cop-out to blame government, society or whatever because our kids turn out badly.

First and foremost, no matter how poor a person is, the best thing you can do as a parent is set an example! That is in everything-your lifestyle, the way you dress, walk and talk. I cringe sometimes when I see some parents out with their kids-loud vulgar and untidy ? and just picture those kids in ten or twenty years. We talk about how some of these kids dress well, has anyone had a look at these parents? Then we have parents out there partying with their kids, smoking and drinking with their kids ? and then we expect to see the kids turn out any better?

As for the excuse of being poor, that is no excuse! As for parents working a lot, that is no excuse! Living in cramped quarters is no excuse! We have many immigrants living here, poor as church mice, living in cramped quarters, and their children act just fine. They are decent and respectful, because even though they are poor, their parents are instilling values in them in the hope that their lives will be better. So what?s our excuse as Bermudians?

When I was growing up, there were a lot of things we didn?t have, but we survived. It didn?t kill me, it didn?t kill my siblings, and we turned out just fine. There are many politicians and prominent black people in our society who grew up poor. It didn?t kill them ? and look where they are right now. Plenty of parents in times gone by worked two, three jobs ? it?s nothing new! Their children turned out fine, because what time they did spend with their children was good, quality time and they instilled values in their children. It?s not always about ?quantity? it?s about ?quality.? But if Momma?s living with a man who?s not your daddy, and you know you have one daddy, and your brother has another daddy, and your sister has another daddy, and Momma?s out partying, and homework is not being done, and the kids are basically raising themselves...what can we expect here!

Enough of the excuses! It?s not the UBP?s fault, it?s not the PLP?s fault, it?s not the teacher?s fault, it ?s not the garbageman?s or whoever?s fault! Our kids are just going down the drain, and we keep wanting to blame the ?white man.? Does the ?white man? force us to make the bad decisions we make, or to act the way we act? Do they make our sons sit out on walls, rob each other, beat each other and chop each other with machetes? Do we see their sons chopping each other with machetes? No! Go into town on any day of the week, stop outside KFC and who do you see fighting or walking around being idle? Do you see their kids ? no they?re at home doing their homework! Then who do we blame when our kids fail!

Mr. Editor, this all may sound harsh, and you may not wish to print this letter, but enough is enough! That is the problem, we try to sound polite, or politically correct and sweep things under the carpet. But the time is now to ?get real?, the time to be polite is over! We know injustices have been done to us as black people in the past ? I?m not denying that nor would I ever want to. However, we just cannot continue to use that as an excuse for why we cannot success TODAY.

Scale back harbour plan

March 30, 2006

Dear Sir,

I am sure everyone has read articles on the ?$639 million scheme? for the Hamilton waterfront.

I am old enough that such a large and disruptive scheme will not affect me, but it is certainly going to affect my sons and grandchildren?s generations for at least 20 years. Not to mention the tremendous overrun of the $639 million. No one is naive enough to believe that $639 million will be anywhere near the final cost if you include the cost of moving the cargo operation to another location. That move alone would be in the millions. At this time of Bermuda?s history and current problems it would make more sense to drastically scale down this ?facelift? and put money towards the two areas where it is urgently needed: Housing and health care should be receiving attention before other matters.

If it is planned to dredge the harbour to build additional waterfront space. The consequences will be dramatic in terms of disruption to the port and the resulting limit to the safe turning basin for the ships using the port. I believe the pilots have already addressed this problem with the developers. This issue should be carefully studied.

I am not a financier but I do know that the money has to come from somewhere and am sure that funding from the Hamilton Corporation and the private sector using the new facility will result in additional funds being required which the Government (Bermuda taxpayer) will have to pick up.

All the grandiose schemes undertaken in Bermuda have ended in gross overruns of which we are well aware and this scheme will follow when the final total is arrived at in 20-30 years? time.

In the meanwhile, think of the eyesore created for our visitors when they witness the non stop activity of machinery and equipment working in the harbour and the way the waters of one of the most beautiful harbour in the world will be stirred up during the many years of construction.

No! Bermudians do not want this highly disruptive plan to go ahead.

Tidy up the waterfront as is. I am sure that a scaled down plan can be achieved without the cost and disruption to the city and harbour.

We will keep a close eye on how this goes forward from here and hope that all concerned Bermudians will do the same.