The Misery and the Miracle

Remember me? I am the woman plagued by Real Estate Misery, also known as: R.E.M.

We are no closer today to having our own home than we were in 2005 when we moved to the island. Plus, a large portion of our housing funds has slid down a hill. And the prospect of comparable replacement land seems discouraging. (We looked long and hard to find Wit's End, in all her glory. We have not seen anything that even comes close to having the same amenities. Plus, Real Estate seems to be rapidly escalating in price here.)

Poor Mr. Wizard, he has been looking at a miserable face recently.

So he has been experiencing R.E.M. also, but his is an opportunistic infection he obtained from me. Anytime I begin to discuss a return to the US, The Wiz grows pale, begins panting and breaks out in hives. (These are the hallmark signs that R.E.M. has been transmitted.)

My R.E.M. has recently been complicated by having our ancient vehicle, endlessly in the repair shop. The Wiz loves his relic from an earlier transportation era, but it does breakdown. I, however, have really been missing the posh and reliable vehicles from our life up North. Not reliably having transportation recently has been a nuisance. And since we are amidst a holiday, I fully expected not to see The Beast until mid week.

Hence, my misery index increased dramatically. Then a remarkable thing occurred Sunday morning. A call from the repair guy!

He had worked on our vehicle all day Saturday (which was a holiday!). It was fixed, and because of the delays with getting it repaired, he charged us next to nothing for the repair.

The repair he spent a holiday to complete.

On a Saturday.

(Stunned silence)

Now, if you have never lived in the US, maybe you don't appreciate what a miracle has occurred here. Let me explain.

In my former home:

• The repair would never have been done on a Saturday. Or on a holiday. Period.
  
• But let's say that, against all odds, work was done for you beyond regular hours. You would pay triple time. No question.
• And your car would certainly not be returned to your home on a Sunday morning. Yes, friends, The Beast was brought to our door. On a Sunday morning!
• And the repair guy apologized profusely for not getting it done earlier.

I gave him a great big kiss. I probably would have given him more if the Wiz weren't standing there.

I am thinking that maybe our car repair dude should be canonized. I may have to talk with the local Bishop about him. He has performed a miracle which is beyond my American comprehension, a miracle of holiday weekend car repair at low prices. I wonder if he can perform other miracles? I am thinking about instant weight loss and age reduction. Or even better, healing of the Wit's End landslide. That would be the greatest miracle of all. Our R.E.M. would be immediately cured!

livingdominica: I sure hope the car starts this morning...

Rumors, Pilgrims, and Saints

We heard a rumor yesterday, and it was about us. Dominica is a gossipy little place, like a small town, so I would like to clarify something for the record. We have not received money from the government for Wit's End, nor have we requested any monetary compensation. We have requested to have our land replaced with a piece of similar size and amenities. So if you hear how "the government is going to give them a lot of money", please correct the rumor. We don't even want money. We just want to have a place to put a house and have an organic farm like we intended up at Byack. Besides, nothing could compensate for the heartache this situation has caused. We just want to get on with life.

I did hear a funny story from our neighbor up by Wit's End. Some tourists came up and asked for him by name after reading the blog. After hearing this, I wonder if I should promote Wit's End as a pilgrimage spot? We could build a little shrine and ask for donations. Or turn my shack into the shrine! (I would be more likely to get rich from this than from asking the government for money, I think.) There must be a patron saint for landslides...

By the way, a saintly person has responded to the request for a washing machine for Life Goes On and has offered to make a generous donation toward the purchase. I am so touched and excited by this gift. Not only will this gift help Mr. Rasta, but many others in the future will benefit also. Illness always means a lot of laundry, in my experience.

livingdominica: just hoping for some land so we can build our house and garden...

Wit's End Update

More slides, no stabilization started. We hear that the Cubans are now to look at it. I believe this will be the fourth group of foreign engineers to visit the landslide; including Canadian, French, Chinese, and now Cuban. It is a veritable United Nations up at our land. Are you familiar with the crass American anacronym SNAFU?

livingdominica: here is the more civilized version for our genteel Brit friends. Situation Normal All Fouled Up.

A Visit to Wit's End

We owned a farm high in the mountains of Dominica where we planned an organic farming venture. Unfortunately, a massive landslide occurred after the hill beneath our land was undercut just prior to Hurricane Dean. One life has already been lost to this feat of engineering. What is left of our property is now unstable, unbuildable, and unfarmable.

When we bought this property it had many trees that have now also been lost to the slide. You could dig down over two feet and still find the richest topsoil imaginable, perfect for organic farming. And we had a local farmer enthusiastic to start work on our chemical free farm.

But that dream may be lost.

We finally went up again to view the damage at Wit's End. The views remain breathtaking, some of the best on the island.

But landslides continue on a nearly daily basis according to our neighbor, David. His ears are sharply attuned to the sounds of crashing slides, since he will probably lose his brand new house.

David's situation is additionally sad since he acts as foster father to a couple of Dominican children. These kids had just begun to settle into the security of a stable home, but now have to listen for the sounds of the hill falling away beneath their house. It makes your heart ache to see these youngsters who have already gone through so much only to face this.








This is the cliff left after the slide was cleared. This entire area used to be underneath our farm. I have heard this road may actually be opened to the public without the hill being stabilized. I hope that is not true.












The slide has now advanced up to where the build line for our house was located.

We have been out avidly looking for land, only to find that we will probably never again find the special combination of attributes that made Wit's End.


livingdominica: When we die, I hope we will finally go live on our farm at Wit's End and call it Paradise.

Happy Acres

Gee, I hope our next land doesn't look like this.



I have a good friend who always talks about she and I ending up in Happy Acres (a fictional institution for the mentally ill who can no longer cope). So maybe our next land should be Happy Acres. I have come up with some other names, but none have the sweet ring of Wit's End. I really loved that name. Bill Wilson, who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, called his office Wit's End. I stole the name from ol' Bill.

So, Clever Readers, here is your big chance to name our next shrewd land deal. But please. No Sliding Acres or Volcano Ridge. Here are some thoughts I had:

In Stead Of
It's About Time
Last Laugh
Long Wait
Y Worry
Retread Acres
Plan B
Dirt and a Roof

And here are the Exciting Prizes!

I will send the person who submits the winning name a gift from Dominica. Or, if you are on the island, I will buy you lunch.

livingdominica: so, what have you got to lose? Enter our contest today and win exciting prizes or a Creole lunch. This contest is not available to employees of livingdominica or their subsidiaries. (That means you, Wiz.) All decisions are final, and clever names not chosen still become the property of livingdominica. I mean, who knows how many names we will need before we finally get this right....

Instead Of

Apparently the government has officially declared Wit's End dead. No usable land is left from the original acreage. Maybe we should have a funeral for this dream spot. We could all sign the side of the shack that, amazingly, is still standing as the land slips away. We could play "Taps", or "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. Or round up a Jing Ping band! If you would like to deliver the eulogy, let me know. In lieu of flowers, send school supplies to the Ministry of Education.

So we are once again looking for a property that might fit our needs. Maybe we will call a new piece of land "Instead Of". I am not sure "Wit's End II" would be prudent. We did see a couple of nice pieces today, but it is very hard for me to operate out of an adult, rational problem solving mindset at this time. Things have been too emotional, too difficult since Dean blew through. I am just sooo ready to have this drama behind us. Just gimme some dirt with a roof over it.

Of course there are lots of people who are in worse shape than we are. Up next to Wit's End, David and his Rasta neighbor are about to watch their houses go down the hill. I wish someone from the government could arrange to move those houses to safety. But the government is pedaling as fast as they can. There are so many needs to try to meet on this island right now.

livingdominica: ok, everyone join in the responsorial: "Dirt and a roof, dirt and a roof. All we need is dirt and a roof..."

More Wit's End Landslides

I imagine the engineers trying to stabilize the Byack landslide now have a full appreciation of the name we gave our land. And I suspect they are ready to kill the guy who thought making that first cut in the hill without building supports was a good idea.

Since the hurricane slide, the crew had once again removed the earth from the road with heavy equipment. More sliding occurred before they could do the protective terracing. Same song, different verse. Word from engineers on the project is that our neighbor David will probably lose his brand new house, and our entire property will be used to "bench" back from the road in order to have things open for tourist season. So Wit's End will be no more. A loss of nearly 5 acres.

There are major tourist attractions up the road from Wit's End which desperately need this project done before the season starts. The livelihood of this neighborhood hinges on tourist dollars. A combination of loss of crops to the hurricane and the loss of tourist income would devastate the mountain villages around the Arial Tram, Titou Gorge, and Freshwater Lake.

Another landslide has blocked the water inlet in our area, so we have been without water also. Fortunately, we have some water stored from our preparation for the hurricane. But this has been a good reminder to always have plenty of stored water.

livingdominica: What can I say? It is never dull here....

Wit's End Landslide Update

News Flash from up by Wit's End...The Prime Minister visited!

(For those of you arriving late to this party, my beloved husband, Mr. Wizard, and I bought almost five acres of magnificent mountaintop on Dominica, which we aptly named Wit's End. About half of our land has already been lost in landslides following road excavation below our land coupled with Hurricane Dean. Proper stabilization has still not been started, although one life has already been lost and homes are threatened.)

Our nearest neighbor at Wit's End, David, is an elderly gentleman from Britain who is now living with suitcases packed in case his house begins to slide. He has lived in his brand new home less than a month, and the landslide has now progressed to just beneath his house. He reported today that the Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Agriculture all visited up by us. He mentioned to the officials, the lovely American couple who bought next door (That would be the Wizard and I) and the P.M. said he was aware of us.

We have an appointment for Friday with the Minister of Public Works.

livingdominica: My shack is still standing, though.