A week or so again I was talking to some of my friends when one of them posed a most interesting question, "What was the happiest time of your life?" On the surface, this sounded like a very easy question, but after some thought, it isn't. There are hopefully several happy times in everyones life. The happiest moment, the happiest day, 
the happiest period of time. I asked for some clarification as to which happiest time they were asking about. They wanted to know the happiest period of time. The most difficult of the three for most people. After a few minutes thought, I replied that for me, the happiest period of time was when I was a teenager and had the good fortune to live in the Bahamas for 15 months. This was from June 1964 until the end of August 1965. I can not think of a better place to be. Swimming in beautifully clear, warm water virtually everyday with the exception of a few hurricaine days. The ex
perience of learning in a different type of school and educational environment. At that time, the Bahamas were a part of the British Commonwealth and therefore the the schools and most of the teachers were from England With the exception of one being from Hungary. This was with out a doubt the best year of learning that I ever had in my twelve years of public education. The English firmly believed in corporal punishment and whippings and caning were the rule of the day. Because of this, behavior problems disappeared within the first day or two of class each semester. Students all rose when the teacher entered the room and stood until they were acknowledged by the instructor. You also rose and stood at the end of each class. There was nothing perceived as wrong about showing respect for your elders and each other. We had a two hour lunch break evryday and quite often would go down to the beach to go swimming. It was not unusual to see someone sitting in class in the afternoon with wet hair. I lived on Grand Bahama Island in Freeport before it became a very popular tourist destination. There was a topless and nude beach, quite informative and educational for a boy my age, drinking at almost any age was tolerated as long as you did it in moderation. Moderation was something that everyone learned in order to keep their priviledges. Instead of a ice cream truck driving through town at night, the was a liquor truck, all you had to do was walk to the end of your sidewalk and the truck would stop. You could order all of your liquors, beers, mixers and ice. Your order completed, he would drive down the street to the next person standing at the curb. We had soft drink machines on the street that sold ice cold beer instead of soft drinks. All you had to do was put in your 2 shillings, 28 cents at the time, pick your desired beer, press the botton, and it would appear at the bottom of the machine. Quite often, after school, I would walk over to a friends house and we would enjoy a BeefeatersTM Gin and SchweppesTM Bitter Lemon. A very refreshing way to end a day of studying at school. The Bahamas were a very interesting mix of instense discipline and freedom. You were free to do quite a few things as long as you did not take advantage of your freedoms. During the time I lived there, whites made up only about 20 to 25 percent of the population. The rest of the population was comprised of Bahamians. These were blacks, potential slaves, that were left on the islands when the American Civil War started. The entire population of the island was less than 10,000 people at the time. The Bahamian blacks were of a different mindset than the American black. They were a very sweet, kind and honest people. The white people on the island were always welcome in th small villages on the other parts of the island such as Hunter, Seagrape or Eight Mile Rock. You were welcome in their bars and could dance with them because in their minds, they did not perceive a difference, you were just another person who had come to have a good time. My father would frequently go out to these small towns and bars to play music with them as he was a dyed-in-the-wool musician at heart. He was always wecome with open arms. There was no racial bigotry on the part of the Bahamians, there was some racism present on the part of the American whites when they first moved to the island but with rare exception, this disappeared after they had been there a while. This was completely diferent from the racial tensions and strife that were so prevailent 120 miles away in th mainland of the United States. Crime virtually did not exsist on the island and almost no one locked the houses when they were away in town. Spending fifteen months in a population where I was the minority taught me a great deal about looking at situations form all sides. At the time, I always thought it was strange that the whites that had moved to the island were there to help 'civilize' the native population. They were introducing the need for posessions, money and competion between individuals. This was something that previously really did not exist. The average Bahamian lived in a small house usually placed up on small pylons several feet above the ground. As most of the villages were located on a part of the island that was only several hundred yards wide, the land was only 3 or 4 feet above sea level. The highest point on the whole island was only 22 feet above sea level. By building their houses up on piers, this allowed the occasional high tide to simply flow under the house rather than through it. They all owned a few chickens, planted asmall garden and owned a small boat or dingy. When they were hungry, they ate, usually fish but sometimes one of their chickens, when they were tired they slept, and when they were horny, they made love to their wife or girlfriend. They were all deeply religious and all went to church every Sunday. To me, it seemed like they had a pretty good life and had figured out life pretty damn well. Leave it to us to come into their paradise and insist that they have to go to work everyday, punch a clock, and make money so they can be happy. Bullshit, it seemed to me that they were the truly cizilized people. This was definitely the happiest period of my life and would recommend that if or when you have children of your own, that you move to a small island for a while to let your children learn how to live life. I went back there several years ago with my family only to find that the island had been completely Americanized. It is still a very visually attractive place but it sucks now. None of the character it had all those years ago is still present, it is now nothing more than a tourist trap. You will have to find your own island, but rest assured, they still exist, I found one
, but I'm not saying where it is. Peace and love to everyone until next time.
the happiest period of time. I asked for some clarification as to which happiest time they were asking about. They wanted to know the happiest period of time. The most difficult of the three for most people. After a few minutes thought, I replied that for me, the happiest period of time was when I was a teenager and had the good fortune to live in the Bahamas for 15 months. This was from June 1964 until the end of August 1965. I can not think of a better place to be. Swimming in beautifully clear, warm water virtually everyday with the exception of a few hurricaine days. The ex
perience of learning in a different type of school and educational environment. At that time, the Bahamas were a part of the British Commonwealth and therefore the the schools and most of the teachers were from England With the exception of one being from Hungary. This was with out a doubt the best year of learning that I ever had in my twelve years of public education. The English firmly believed in corporal punishment and whippings and caning were the rule of the day. Because of this, behavior problems disappeared within the first day or two of class each semester. Students all rose when the teacher entered the room and stood until they were acknowledged by the instructor. You also rose and stood at the end of each class. There was nothing perceived as wrong about showing respect for your elders and each other. We had a two hour lunch break evryday and quite often would go down to the beach to go swimming. It was not unusual to see someone sitting in class in the afternoon with wet hair. I lived on Grand Bahama Island in Freeport before it became a very popular tourist destination. There was a topless and nude beach, quite informative and educational for a boy my age, drinking at almost any age was tolerated as long as you did it in moderation. Moderation was something that everyone learned in order to keep their priviledges. Instead of a ice cream truck driving through town at night, the was a liquor truck, all you had to do was walk to the end of your sidewalk and the truck would stop. You could order all of your liquors, beers, mixers and ice. Your order completed, he would drive down the street to the next person standing at the curb. We had soft drink machines on the street that sold ice cold beer instead of soft drinks. All you had to do was put in your 2 shillings, 28 cents at the time, pick your desired beer, press the botton, and it would appear at the bottom of the machine. Quite often, after school, I would walk over to a friends house and we would enjoy a BeefeatersTM Gin and SchweppesTM Bitter Lemon. A very refreshing way to end a day of studying at school. The Bahamas were a very interesting mix of instense discipline and freedom. You were free to do quite a few things as long as you did not take advantage of your freedoms. During the time I lived there, whites made up only about 20 to 25 percent of the population. The rest of the population was comprised of Bahamians. These were blacks, potential slaves, that were left on the islands when the American Civil War started. The entire population of the island was less than 10,000 people at the time. The Bahamian blacks were of a different mindset than the American black. They were a very sweet, kind and honest people. The white people on the island were always welcome in th small villages on the other parts of the island such as Hunter, Seagrape or Eight Mile Rock. You were welcome in their bars and could dance with them because in their minds, they did not perceive a difference, you were just another person who had come to have a good time. My father would frequently go out to these small towns and bars to play music with them as he was a dyed-in-the-wool musician at heart. He was always wecome with open arms. There was no racial bigotry on the part of the Bahamians, there was some racism present on the part of the American whites when they first moved to the island but with rare exception, this disappeared after they had been there a while. This was completely diferent from the racial tensions and strife that were so prevailent 120 miles away in th mainland of the United States. Crime virtually did not exsist on the island and almost no one locked the houses when they were away in town. Spending fifteen months in a population where I was the minority taught me a great deal about looking at situations form all sides. At the time, I always thought it was strange that the whites that had moved to the island were there to help 'civilize' the native population. They were introducing the need for posessions, money and competion between individuals. This was something that previously really did not exist. The average Bahamian lived in a small house usually placed up on small pylons several feet above the ground. As most of the villages were located on a part of the island that was only several hundred yards wide, the land was only 3 or 4 feet above sea level. The highest point on the whole island was only 22 feet above sea level. By building their houses up on piers, this allowed the occasional high tide to simply flow under the house rather than through it. They all owned a few chickens, planted asmall garden and owned a small boat or dingy. When they were hungry, they ate, usually fish but sometimes one of their chickens, when they were tired they slept, and when they were horny, they made love to their wife or girlfriend. They were all deeply religious and all went to church every Sunday. To me, it seemed like they had a pretty good life and had figured out life pretty damn well. Leave it to us to come into their paradise and insist that they have to go to work everyday, punch a clock, and make money so they can be happy. Bullshit, it seemed to me that they were the truly cizilized people. This was definitely the happiest period of my life and would recommend that if or when you have children of your own, that you move to a small island for a while to let your children learn how to live life. I went back there several years ago with my family only to find that the island had been completely Americanized. It is still a very visually attractive place but it sucks now. None of the character it had all those years ago is still present, it is now nothing more than a tourist trap. You will have to find your own island, but rest assured, they still exist, I found one
, but I'm not saying where it is. Peace and love to everyone until next time. 
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