The Wisdom of the Islands

One of the best things about visiting the Caribbean is meeting and talking to the people. We never do the cruise ship beach excursions. If beach bumming is our agenda du jour, we simply find a cab driver, ask him to recommend a beach that is 1) uncrowded, 2) has chairs we can rent, and 3) has a restaurant. We've never been led astray, and they always come back to pick us up at whatever pre-arranged time we agree upon.

We always use these opportunities to talk to the cabbies about their lives and the local customs, economy, etc. And it's always eye-opening. We've met a bus driver who was the national road cycling champion of Barbados. As he drove us over the steep, mountainous roads, he told us that he'd won the national title in the morning, racing 110 miles over these same tough climbs, then surfed in the afternoon with his son.

On this trip, we met a cabbie in Antigua who has toured the world with a famous steel-drum band. He's been to the US, Korea, the Middle East, Europe - all over. But the best part about these conversations is what it teaches us about life, economics and faith.

One cabbie, in St. Martin, offered this insightful gem on living within one's means: "If you hang your hat where you cannot reach it, you will have great difficulty. But if you hang your hat where you can reach it - no problem."

Our Antigua cabbie told us that things were better now that they had a new government and were paying taxes, something I've always groused about. But he noted that before, while there were no taxes, the government had to borrow for everything, and basic things like road repairs and improvements were too often deferred. Plus, as he noted, "Someone always holds you in the palm of their hand." Sort of like Japan and China hold the US today.

He offered another eye-opener too: Cuba - our enemy, the repressive Communist regime - offers full-ride scholarships to its colleges for all Caribbean residents. No strings attached. They complete high school on their home island, go to Cuba for six years of college, then are free to return home, bringing their education with them to benefit their home country. I'm not ready to sing Fidel's praises, but I see Cuba in a different light than before.

A final insight from this man came when my wife asked about health care. He noted that they have subsidized care, with doctors often educated in those same Cuban colleges - some of them Cuban nationals who've moved to Antigua. He told of visiting his children in New York City, which he does for six months out of every year, and having to go to the dentist there to have a tooth pulled . The bill was $1,600. "Here," he said, "the same tooth would cost me $150."

I'm not convinced national health care is the only solution for the US. But I do know this: somewhere, between $1,600 and $150, there's a workable solution.