Back in the 1970's the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) sponsored trips to warmer countries during the February school vacations. As someone who has always been addicted to traveling, I took advantage of these offers. I went to Jamaica, Acapulco, Curacao, Guadeloupe, and the Dominican Republic. The trips were taken in the last week of February [...]
Back in the 1970's the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) sponsored trips to warmer countries during the February school vacations. As someone who has always been addicted to traveling, I took advantage of these offers. I went to Jamaica, Acapulco, Curacao, Guadeloupe, and the Dominican Republic. The trips were taken in the last week of February and by the time you got back you were nearly into March, and winter's back had been broken.
Any MTA member in Massachusetts was eligible to go, and there was always a contingent of Worcester teachers on the plane. The hotels were right on the beach, and if you preferred, as most teachers did, you could relax for a week, sit in the sun, eat and drink, and recharge your batteries after finishing more than half of the school year.
A few of us got bored with lying around and wanted to see what we could see. We would share a car rental and drive around the island we were on, or in the case of Acapulco, take an eight-hour drive to Mexico City and stay there for a couple of days.
The most interesting side trip was from the Dominican Republic. Jim, a high school history teacher, Melanie, an elementary school teacher, and I discovered it was a one-hour flight leaving early in the morning from Santo Domingo to Port-au Prince, Haiti, returning late the same day.
We took a taxi from the airport and walked around Port-au-Prince. Down by the docks there was unspeakable poverty, worse than what I'd seen in India or Nepal, though I didn't get to Calcutta.
But not that far away was Habitation LeClerc, an ultra-expensive resort for the rich comprised of 35 villas, each with its own swimming pool, overlooking the sea. We walked around this property, which had once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte's sister, Pauline, and her husband, Charles Leclerc. He had been sent to Haiti to put down a slave revolt, but he failed. Haiti ultimately gained its independence in 1804.
Two of the most prominent guests who had stayed at Habitation LeClerc were Jacqueline Onassis, aka Jackie Kennedy, and Henry Kissinger.
As in many third-world countries, one finds extreme wealth and extreme poverty.
After we left there we hired a taxi with a driver who was willing to guide us around the island. He took us into the hills to some rum distilleries, and I bought a bottle of coconut rum. Then we stopped and walked around a village where Haitian men and women were working at crafts. They're quite skilled in woodcarving, weaving, straw-work, and embroidery. Jim bought a small, carved wooden flower pot for his mother.
We came upon a half-dozen women who were sitting on rocking chairs in front of a shop doing crafts. The shop's owner came out and asked if we were interested in anything. Melanie said she wanted a rocking chair like the ones the women were using. They were beautiful, with heavy wood frames and woven straw backs and seats, and they were very comfortable.
The man said he'd have one made and ship it to her. The total for the chair and the shipping was $50.
I took Melanie aside. 'Are you kidding?' I said. 'We're in the hills of Haiti. If you give this guy 50 bucks you can kiss it good-bye. What are you gonna do if he doesn't send it—come back here and yell at him?'
Melanie paid no attention to me, and she gave the man her address and some travelers checks.
We got back to the States, and in the weeks and months that followed every time I ran into Melanie I'd ask her if her rocker had arrived, then I'd chuckle. I may even have joked that she was 'off her rocker' to give that Haitian dude the money.
Four months later, in June, Melanie called me. She asked if I'd go with her to the Worcester airport. She'd been notified that a package had arrived for her.
When we got there we saw a large item wrapped in woven straw. A hole had been cut into it. No doubt a customs agent wanted to see if it contained drugs.
No drugs. Just a beautiful rocking chair in perfect condition.
Melanie had that chair for years. For all I know, she may still have it.
I only tell this story because Haiti has been in the news for the past week. I'm not even going to make a comment. Like Fox News, I report, you decide.