Johnny-cake, Johnny-cake, Johnny-cake Roll

That is the title of a old book my dad gave me when I was a kid. I can remember him reading it to me once or twice, and me reading it in my room many times. A country boy named Johnny whose biscuit fell off the table and rolled across the rural landscape, meeting and greeting the old-South along the way. Maybe the cake was named "Johnny"? I loved that book...

... and had forgotten it until yesterday when I see a menu item, "Journey Cake", which my Belizian friend re-pronounced "Johnny Cake", explaining it was like a flat round flour-based item, not sweet, that you eat a breakfast. Sounds familiar.
I ate two Johnny-cakes for breakfast and grabbed two for the plane ride home. There is nothing new under the sun, and the connections between us all are endless.

Hat's Off to the Redneck Riviera

I have the hardship assignment of putting together a Feasibility Study and Conceptual Design for a Wastewater Collection and Treatment system on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize. This 15 mile stretch of beach along the east coast of Central America is considered one of the most pristine of beaches in the region, and it is undoubtedly nice, beautiful, culturally interesting, relaxing...

But for one who grew up a 6 hr drive (plus 30 minutes stop in Dothan to pick up a speeding ticket) up the highway from the Redneck Riviera, generally every other beach in the world pales in comparison. I'm only speaking of the quality of the sand and water; the scenery is pure bonus.

"Climate Change" Covers It All

Attended a community meeting tonight hosted by the Belize Sustainable Tourism Board. In 1999, in grad-school, we had an entire course dedicated to defining what 'sustainability' was, as it was a word no one knew, explicitly understood, or could use in a sentence. Times have changed, and the word, once inserted in any topic, under any circumstance, can bolster your chances at people agreeing with you. As in, "I know we want to win at the meet tonight, but we really need to be thinking about the sustainability of the swim team program." It is the modern 'smurf'.

The pièce de résistance, however, is everyone's concern: Climate Change. As in (and I quote from tonight): "It is important that the Peninsula have a Community Disaster Response Plan in case of Natural Disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and climate change."

A quick note: (1) the meeting was very well done, very professional, and successful, and (2) I am a climate change agnostic, neither bowing to it or blowharding it. I do, however, enjoy its amazing abilities.

Miscommunication at its Finest

It is 10:00, Wednesday morning, and I am standing with my Manager and the Country Water Representative at the door to the Town Meeting hall. The closed door. The one with no one except us on either side of it. And while the lack of people milling around the hall may be normal on a typical day, it started to concern us, as we were to facilitate a community meeting, at 10:00am, Wednesday morning, at this very hall.

The Water Rep dives into the topic we were all contemplating: "I do not believe you asked me to set this meeting up. I did not do so; I assumed you set this meeting up." At which point my Manager replies, "Do not look to me," turning his head in my direction, "you need to ask him who set it up."

In the second of pause I have trained myself to take before responding to these situations, I recalled (1) I am not the project manager, (2) I have been told that all official cross-country communications were to go through my Manager, and (3)(most importantly) I had ignored (1) & (2) and had asked the Belize Government Official not present to set the meeting up via a confirmed email weeks before. "I am not positive, but I believe I asked for this to be set up."

I can 'believe' all I want, but I am the junior member of the group, and the ship is going down around me. My Manager flew down specifically for this meeting, and was leaving the next morning. "Maybe we can spread the word and have the meeting later this week with Alan." Not a bad idea, but certainly not a good show for me.

So, we linger a bit, then drive over to the local Water Office, where we see a prominent town citizen, who immediately states, "I'm coming. I'll be there in 2 minutes." It is 10:20am, and as she doesn't seem in a hurry to get out of her chair any time soon, I learn in a slightly more victorious moment of silence that (1) the meeting had indeed been set up, (2) I was not going to lose my job and (3) one must remember to account for Belize time.

The meeting started at 10:50am, and was a general success.