The Tribune

What has happened to us?

Where did the ‘we’ go who respected our elders, our beliefs, our surroundings?

How did it all slip away so that one day it was okay to backtalk a teacher, another it was funny to make your little sister cry, another to abuse the environment?

Let’s just talk about the last one, the environment. Seriously talk about it.

Never have we had stricter environmental legislation and welcome rigorous regulations nor more disrespect for our waters, our land and our view. Never have we abused that which we pretend to love more.

Who gave BTC permission to cloud the landscape with oversized signs touting its sunny internet? Who gave Rentokil the right to splatter pictures of dead rodents all over the roadways?

And if BTC has the right to do so, will Cable or ALIV be far behind? Does BTC really believe that a large sign will sway a customer to drop one service and sign up for another? Or does the company not realise that customers base preferences on value and service? Shouting at me doesn’t build loyalty. I have no horse in this race at all but if you are going to offend me with obtrusive signage everywhere I am tempted to translate BTC into Better Try Cable.

Of course, the communications company is not alone is thinking billboard blasting is a sign of the times. Maybe even worse given its messaging is Rentokil.

Hello, Rentokil, have you thought about what your messaging about killing rats and roaches does, the vibes it sends, the picture it portrays to locals and visitors, like we live in a world of rats and roaches and we had better call on someone fast to murder them?

I even saw a Rentokil sign along a beautiful stretch of roadway in Eleuthera. Just what residents or visitors cannot wait to see, the giant image of a dead rodent rising against the backdrop of lush greenery on a Family Island. If you think the rodent is offensive, what exactly is our emotional reaction to dead rodents the size of small TVs? How about reworking your messaging if you really want to make friends and build a better mousetrap?

It isn’t only signs that offend.

Among the most horrific of all infractions that go unpunished is the explosion of boats and barges on the northwestern shore of Arawak Cay across from the old Sand Trap.

In what could be a scenic area, heavy equipment jostles for space with tossed propane gas cylinders, abandoned vessels, barges in every variety of condition, small and large boats that will never see the sea again but whose batteries might still be leaching acid into the water, mechanics’ workshops, makeshift or otherwise, where no one is checking to see how waste is handled. Who is responsible for this area and where did the respect for the environment go? That stretch of waterfront has the potential to be a showpiece though its chances for glory might be well over after the abuse it’s taken.

Or look at Bay Street where too many signs are totally out of proportion for an historic district. Bright paint cannot compensate for years of neglect. The single fastest improvement that would positively transform the face of Bay Street is signage. Just imagine if all the gawdy, tacky signage were ripped out and in its place was white marble and gold embossed historic signage with the name of the business and where applicable information about the building, when it was built, of what materials or how thick the walls are or historic event to which it was a party or important witness. Imagine the Instagram potential, the promotion by selfie.

We can dress up all we want and glorify the 50th anniversary of independence, but if we do not care, truly care, about the people and the surroundings we call our community, we are throwing a party for the sake of throwing a party. If the 50th is not just marking a day in the calendar of history but carving a path for the future, let’s start at home with respect – respect for our seniors, our sisters, our teachers, and yes, respect for our land and our waters.

The Bahamian whose face graced TV

Sometimes a friendly face and a special smile can make a day.

If you follow golf or accidentally turned on the TV last weekend and happened to catch the moment when a tall man with a familiar face presented the coveted US Open golf championship trophy to a joyous Wyndham Clark, that was Fred Perpall.

A Bahamian born in Nassau, Perpall is the first black person ever to head the USGA. He lives in Dallas where he is CEO of the Beck Group, an international architectural, design, construction and real estate development firm.

Although he has lived there for more than a decade, Perpall returns to The Bahamas often, and last year helped make Tee off for Hunger, the golf tournament to raise funds for the Bahamas Feeding Network, a huge success.

That event will be held again this year so watch for details, but most importantly, consider this: Perpall started with middle class but humble beginnings, earned a Lyford Cay Foundation scholarship, attended the College of The Bahamas before going on to the University of Texas at Arlington and Harvard and rising quietly to the top and to head the previously all-white led USGA.

Elsewhere the eyes might have been on the winner of the championship, Clark, who at 29 walked away with $3.6m of the $20m purse. But for Fred’s friends and acquaintances in Nassau, the TV camera captured the star, the man who makes all of us proud just by being who he is and what he stands for.