
But on so many nights, the wind blowing afresh directly off the sea, the stars shining brightly and the scattering of lights along the seashore as it curved away towards East End, we would sit in our loungers and marvel at the scene. When the moon was full, it rose over Bodden Bay and the waves and ripples were touched with silver.
If we were forced inside, we had no TV, rarely listened to the one radio station and had ample time to read, play scrabble or rummicube or do crossword puzzles. I devoured books by the hundreds. Being a student of Eschatology or Endtime Prophecy, I was very familiar with the many scenarios which Christ laid out as being in existence at His return. One line that had always puzzled me was, “There shall be signs and wonders in the heavens.” Luke 21:11
At night, reclining on our “Moon Loungers” (only Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun) I pondered that saying and then as I was looking straight up, caught my breath. There it was, a satellite in Geosynchronous Orbit, passing overhead, like a moving star. Twenty minutes later, another one passed overhead in the same trajectory. Now if that isn’t a wonder, I don’t know what is. 24/7/365 Satellites are winging across the sky, like miniature moons, reflecting the sunlight back to Earth from their shiny surfaces. On top of that, there were dozens of high-flying jets, flying regular routes from North America to South America. They too were lights in the sky and as used to them as we have become as human beings, they are truly a marvel and a sign of the times.
The absolute best part of living on Manse Road was our friends. There was such an electic mix of people from everywhere. Two doors down, an American couple who were native Californians, lived in a beautiful yet simple house which was breeze-filled. Tom and CeCe were lively, gregarious folks who loved to travel, had amazing stories to tell and were hospitable to the nth degree. Many happy nights were spent dining at each other’s homes along with the Bartons a couple from Britain. John and Felicity were happily married, loved life and were a joy to be around. The six of us developed enduring friendships which last to this day. Sadly, John passed away a couple of years ago, but his memory lives on.
In fact, in many ways Tom, Cece, John and Felicity had much to do with our moving onto the road. John and Felicity had been finishing the building of their beautiful home when we had taken the drive that fortuitous day and seen “Morning Glory Cottage” for sale. I felt that if someone was going to invest that kind of time and effort into what was a marginal area, he must see something that others had overlooked. But Tom and Cece had seen the same things. Their well-kept house and obvious commitment to living there were not lost on me that same day. All of us as it turned out had lived in Condos, given up on it and decided to take the plunge into home ownership.
However, both couples surely thought we were completely insane taking on the rehabbing of the 100 year old cottage. There were major problems with the roof, the house leaned out of plumb and looked like a pigsty when we bought it. The party we threw to facilitate the removal of the last 50 fleas was a chance for our neighbors to see the inside of the house.
As Felicity said in her high, pretty voice, “My dears, I think you’re very brave!”
She was right. The inside was a hodgepodge of fake wood paneling, all the rage circa 1970, but dark and ugly here by the sea. One bathroom had a mustard colored tub and shower and sink. The kitchen was a cramped hell hole. There were huge cupboards which housed the washing machine, sticking out into the living area, totally obscuring the sea view.
In the middle of the floor was an access to the cistern which was useless, the cistern being cracked beyond repair. The access hole had a six inch lip which was a real ankle breaker. All of the interior doors were louvered, which is fine if you aren’t trying to air condition rooms separately. I remembered the renters had complained that the window air in the Master Bedroom didn’t work well. I took one look at the louvered doors and knew instantly that was the problem.
One major thing we had learned from our Caymanian carpenters and workman who had valiantly worked on the exterior; Reusing and recycling. We never threw anything away unless it was termite infested. All of the furniture inside was stained a hideous “Antique Green”, another carry over of the rehab in the 70’s. The furniture itself was fine, just butt-ugly in color. We re-stained everything a mahogany color, repainted all the drab brown walls in pink, got rid of all the extraneous cupboards, knocked out part of a wall so that sunlight and air and a view reached the kitchen and tiled the entire house with sand pink tile from Spain, laid on the diamond.
I kept the louvered doors and sealed one side of them with finished veneer plywood to keep the beachy look but allow the house to be compartmentalized for air conditioning. Over the veneer we hung top to bottom mirrors, which visually opened the rooms up from the inside and served the practical purpose of checking oneself out before entertaining or going to town.
All of the ocean facing windows and doors were trimmed in white casings. This framed the view and along with the pink interior walls, caused the view to explode. Cece would come in and say, “Tom why is their view so much prettier than ours?” Tom would go ballistic and say, “Dammit Cece it’s the same view woman! We only live 2 houses down!”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the dark wood frames on their doors and windows and the black screened porch sucked the life from the aqua colors.