06-28-2014, 07:59 PM
I was nearly at the front gate now, and there were only three things that were going to happen, as far as the girl was concerned: one, she was not going to make it, but at least I would be safely on my way; two, she was going to fall onto the ground and possibly get injured trying to jump on, cause I was hitting the throttle at this point as she was came within inches of jumping on; or three, she would make it just in time as I fired off, but the assailant was in strong pursuit, too, soit was a now-or-never situation.
Well, Jah was looking down on us. Not sure if she had made it or not, I peeled away just before the pursuing guy could get a hold of me, and in a hi-ho-silver move, she ended up jumping on safely just as I started to move. She was MINE, and he was in the dust as I darted forward about five feet before he got to me, then I quickly turned right -- thankfully there were no oncoming cars at the moment 'cause a right turn in Jamaica is like a left turn in the USA -- and as the girl grabbed onto me, I could feel her heart beating like a drum against my back.
She was a young lil' thing, and she was even more scared than I was, but oh how exhilerating the chase was.
Wait a second, I thought to myself. If he runs back and jumps on his motorcyle - a reasonable suspicion -- he could theoretically catch me before I made it all the way up the hill, right?
I was not taking any chances. I pushed the throttle to full gear, as the girl kept exclaiming: "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"
The funny thing is, I was much more calm about the situation than the girl, just because it was in Jamaica and not the USA. I know what all of you are thinking: It should be MORE terrifying in Jamaica, but that's not the way I see things.
Through the years, I've been to Negril about 25 times, and I am NOT a wealthy guy, so obviously I have made a lot of sacrifices to be here, so by deduction, I must really love this place -- and it's true, I do. But on the other side of coin, some bad things have happened to me through all the revelry:
-- I've been pickpocketed for $20 at Scrub a Dub by two guys, one distracting me while the other slipped a bill out of my back pocket.
-- I've had my phone stolen (or misplaced, still not sure), and whomever got hold of it managed to scam a relative out of $500 in a wire transfer by claiming he was me (then I got calls for months saying I had won an award and to send money from the USA, then the same voice offered to return the phone from a ransom amount.
-- I've been accosted by a young male on a motorcycle who threatened to pull a gun out and shoot me in the head if I didnt give him gas money while I was filling up at the Shell station. (I laughed it off.)
-- I had another motorcyle guy with his accomplise on the back try to rifle through my pockets as we both sped along at 40 mph at 5 a.m. with no one around at Norman Manley Boulevard.
-- I've been ripped off in drug deals (or shorted, I should say).
-- I've encountered a 12-year-old beggar in front of the ATM, and I'm sure he was working for an adult (and that is SICK on a lot of levels).
-- I've been given counterfeit money by a jerk-chicken guy for change of a $20.
Oh and I'm not even including several bad experiences with hookers!
At any rate, I was going pretty fast up the hill, and eventually I caught up to Charlie, who greatly enjoyed hearing about the whole scenario and he would tease me about it for the next few days.
We made it back to the hotel OK. Overall, it's just another example of what I tell everyone in Negril: Never let ANYTHING surprise you in Negril.
Ya mon, ya mon, ya mon.
Well, Jah was looking down on us. Not sure if she had made it or not, I peeled away just before the pursuing guy could get a hold of me, and in a hi-ho-silver move, she ended up jumping on safely just as I started to move. She was MINE, and he was in the dust as I darted forward about five feet before he got to me, then I quickly turned right -- thankfully there were no oncoming cars at the moment 'cause a right turn in Jamaica is like a left turn in the USA -- and as the girl grabbed onto me, I could feel her heart beating like a drum against my back.
She was a young lil' thing, and she was even more scared than I was, but oh how exhilerating the chase was.
Wait a second, I thought to myself. If he runs back and jumps on his motorcyle - a reasonable suspicion -- he could theoretically catch me before I made it all the way up the hill, right?
I was not taking any chances. I pushed the throttle to full gear, as the girl kept exclaiming: "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"
The funny thing is, I was much more calm about the situation than the girl, just because it was in Jamaica and not the USA. I know what all of you are thinking: It should be MORE terrifying in Jamaica, but that's not the way I see things.
Through the years, I've been to Negril about 25 times, and I am NOT a wealthy guy, so obviously I have made a lot of sacrifices to be here, so by deduction, I must really love this place -- and it's true, I do. But on the other side of coin, some bad things have happened to me through all the revelry:
-- I've been pickpocketed for $20 at Scrub a Dub by two guys, one distracting me while the other slipped a bill out of my back pocket.
-- I've had my phone stolen (or misplaced, still not sure), and whomever got hold of it managed to scam a relative out of $500 in a wire transfer by claiming he was me (then I got calls for months saying I had won an award and to send money from the USA, then the same voice offered to return the phone from a ransom amount.
-- I've been accosted by a young male on a motorcycle who threatened to pull a gun out and shoot me in the head if I didnt give him gas money while I was filling up at the Shell station. (I laughed it off.)
-- I had another motorcyle guy with his accomplise on the back try to rifle through my pockets as we both sped along at 40 mph at 5 a.m. with no one around at Norman Manley Boulevard.
-- I've been ripped off in drug deals (or shorted, I should say).
-- I've encountered a 12-year-old beggar in front of the ATM, and I'm sure he was working for an adult (and that is SICK on a lot of levels).
-- I've been given counterfeit money by a jerk-chicken guy for change of a $20.
Oh and I'm not even including several bad experiences with hookers!
At any rate, I was going pretty fast up the hill, and eventually I caught up to Charlie, who greatly enjoyed hearing about the whole scenario and he would tease me about it for the next few days.
We made it back to the hotel OK. Overall, it's just another example of what I tell everyone in Negril: Never let ANYTHING surprise you in Negril.
Ya mon, ya mon, ya mon.