07-31-2017, 06:52 PM
Nice topic OT!
I feel much the same as you. I will buy a meal, a beer, etc but I don't just give out money because they ask for it. Unless you really know the person who knows what the money will really be used for as you said, drugs, etc.
Jamaicajeanne, we have gone on the One Love crawl multiple times. Lenbert is a great guy and has done many things to help smaller businesses, the needy and gets people out of the compounds like Sandals, Beaches, etc (which is great). He has even started classes to educate they youth in things like wedding planning in hopes some of the AI business can be more local to support local folks.
You mentioned giving gifts to kids. Well I am certainly guilty of that. My wife was a teacher and could get discontinued books. I would take them and hand them out from the bus. That said Lenbert would always be on a side road in the community (not the main road) and no kids would have to cross any road to get the books they simply walked up to the bus that was parked on their side of the road. I also would buy reading glasses for the older folks and hand them out. I mean you can get those here for a buck and I would get various prescriptions, 100, 125, 175, etc. Most of the older folks knew the prescription they needed.
When we first started riding their might only be 4 or 5 couples. His business has grown and now it seems the bus is extremely over crowded and we stopped going.
Last time we did ride we went with some people, that like OT and others, on this board really knew the running's in Negril. They asked Lenbert to stop at Rag-a-Bones aka Red Dragon and he did. It was a place we had never been to before and the owner when I talked to him said Lenbert would stop their if you asked him to but they would "not" raise beer prices. We also went to some other place past Just Natural, small bar on the rocks with blow holes in the rocks and a rough sea and I believe he did raise prices as Lenbert had to have a discussion with him before we could go to the bar.
That is when I saw the other side of the business. Like Westenders said it is his business and of course he has to make money to stay in business but the over crowding plus pricing has made me question the crawl.
Since we didn't go last year I cannot commit to what is going on now, hopefully all for the better as Lenbert really is a great person!
Westenders, the things you point out are a serious problem for sure. Not sure how that is fixed? There was a revolution by the people and they got their country back but like many other nations that did the same the end result has not been so good. Would it have been better in the long run if they had stayed under some other countries rule? In some ways maybe, in other ways not so much. It is just a shame to see a country that was depressed by an overlord get freedom and then squander it under a differing type of political overlord of their own country.
Well just my 2¢
I feel much the same as you. I will buy a meal, a beer, etc but I don't just give out money because they ask for it. Unless you really know the person who knows what the money will really be used for as you said, drugs, etc.
Jamaicajeanne, we have gone on the One Love crawl multiple times. Lenbert is a great guy and has done many things to help smaller businesses, the needy and gets people out of the compounds like Sandals, Beaches, etc (which is great). He has even started classes to educate they youth in things like wedding planning in hopes some of the AI business can be more local to support local folks.
You mentioned giving gifts to kids. Well I am certainly guilty of that. My wife was a teacher and could get discontinued books. I would take them and hand them out from the bus. That said Lenbert would always be on a side road in the community (not the main road) and no kids would have to cross any road to get the books they simply walked up to the bus that was parked on their side of the road. I also would buy reading glasses for the older folks and hand them out. I mean you can get those here for a buck and I would get various prescriptions, 100, 125, 175, etc. Most of the older folks knew the prescription they needed.
When we first started riding their might only be 4 or 5 couples. His business has grown and now it seems the bus is extremely over crowded and we stopped going.
Last time we did ride we went with some people, that like OT and others, on this board really knew the running's in Negril. They asked Lenbert to stop at Rag-a-Bones aka Red Dragon and he did. It was a place we had never been to before and the owner when I talked to him said Lenbert would stop their if you asked him to but they would "not" raise beer prices. We also went to some other place past Just Natural, small bar on the rocks with blow holes in the rocks and a rough sea and I believe he did raise prices as Lenbert had to have a discussion with him before we could go to the bar.
That is when I saw the other side of the business. Like Westenders said it is his business and of course he has to make money to stay in business but the over crowding plus pricing has made me question the crawl.
Since we didn't go last year I cannot commit to what is going on now, hopefully all for the better as Lenbert really is a great person!
Westenders, the things you point out are a serious problem for sure. Not sure how that is fixed? There was a revolution by the people and they got their country back but like many other nations that did the same the end result has not been so good. Would it have been better in the long run if they had stayed under some other countries rule? In some ways maybe, in other ways not so much. It is just a shame to see a country that was depressed by an overlord get freedom and then squander it under a differing type of political overlord of their own country.
Well just my 2¢
Beer is proof God wants us to be happy, Ben Franklin