Charlie, after all those years of dreaming of performing at Mystic you're going to inflict Fresh Water Whaling on them? Well, at least you won't have to worry about going back. Frees up your future summers...

Don't forget Thirty Dirty Sailors. That's a whaling song too.

We went to a fiesta today. It was my first since I got to the island. They have a fiesta pretty much every month somewhere on this island, our own village has two a year, but I have never managed to get to one.

These are religious holidays honoring the patron saint of each village. They gather at the church for prayers and then meet at various homes for a big feast. We went down to Malesso with Gordon and met Larry and his wife, Frank, Sandy, and a few other people we know. There was an enormous amount of food. A bar served drinks. A DJ spun the tunes and people sat and talked and danced and talked and ate and ate and ate... I'm full.

There is a train of thought that island people in the tropics are not very industrious. Like all generalizations this one is false. Unmotivated people are everywhere. There are a lot of problems on this island but most can be attributed not to a lazy disposition but to poor choices for management of the infrastructure. Nepotism runs rampant here. You cannot get elected unless you are a member of a large extended family. Almost every conversation between people who've just met bears on their family ties and who they know in which walk of life.

All that being said the islanders really shine when it comes to planning a party. The main table was made up using at least three six foot tables. There was almost no room on it to lay down your cup to fill your plate. At the other end was the dessert and salad table made up of two six foot folding tables. That too was groaning under pies, cakes, puddings, and other delectable concoctions.