04032020 WEEKEND

Friday, April 3, 2020

art books film fashion music food community puzzles animals

Weekend

CUPCAKES AT HOME Pages 8-9

A sport divided When baseball was split by colour

page 12

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

PHOTOGRAPHY

A Rose-Coloured Lens White Picket Fences

B

eauty is all around us in the Bahamas, on land and in the sea.

But many of us are too busy with everyday life to pause and really see and enjoy the astonishing sights that surround us.

Veteran photographer ROLAND ROSE captures both the ordinary and extraordinary and puts it in frame for us so we can see our environment in a new light.

Visit Abaco and all its settlements: Hope Town, Cherokee Sound, Green Turtle Cay, Guana Cay, ManO-War Cay, and many more small towns in Eleuthera, mainly Harbour Island and Spanish Wells. You will find the white picket fences constructed in a myriad of ways.

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, April 3, 2020

Inside Weekend 2 Photography Roland Rose turns his lens on white picket fences

4-5 Interview From pageant winner to New York model

7 Art Virtual gallery tours as art goes online

8-9 Food Cupcake chef offers lessons online

10 Gardening In Gardener Jack’s footsteps

11 Community Social drinkers surviving the liquor shutdown

12 History When baseball was divided by colour

13 Art Studio encourages kids to get creative at home

14-15 Fashion Making face masks fashionable

16 Books Books for family story time

17 Books New releases this week

18 Entertainment What to watch on the small screen at home

19 Entertainment Top ten Netflix shows and movies in The Bahamas

20-21 History Juan Trippe, a man with a mission

22 Fashion history Social distancing is new? Think again

23 Technology Games to conquer during quarantine

24-25 Literary Lives Nathaniel Hawthorne

26 Puzzles 27 Animals Staying happy with animals

28 Community Balloon artist pays tribute to health workers

My perfect Bahamian weekend Erin Brown Disability advocate, athlete Q: What items are you stocking up on?

a celebrity, who would it be?

“Popcorn. No matter the mood I am in, popcorn makes it better....every flavour.”

“Sawyer Boy... both being Libras...it is about to go down.

Belly-hurting laughter!”

Q: What shows or movies will you be binge-watching?

Q: What do you miss most having to practice social distancing?

“ ‘Crip Camp’ produced by Barack and Michelle Obama is a must. As a disability inclusion consultant and advocate it becomes so overwhelming at times. Yet ‘Crip Camp’ allows you to shift gears... and ‘Self Made’ ... have you not seen my hair? Madam C J Walker is everything to the hair industry and black women entrepreneurship.”

Q: If you could choose to be quarantined with

This weekend in history April 3 • In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St Joseph, Missouri, by Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang.

• In 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what turned out to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, that “I’ve been to the mountaintop” and “seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” (About 20 hours later, King was felled by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel.)

• In 1973, the first handheld portable telephone was demonstrated for reporters on a New York City street corner as Motorola executive Martin Cooper called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.

“Swimming. It has always been one of my most relaxing things to do. Being solarpowered, outdoors is where I power up...island gal magic.”

Q: If you had to be stuck somewhere other than your house, where would it be?

“The beach...coconut oil, coconut water, sun and turquoise water... paradise and pixie dust.”

Today’s birthdays: Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall is 86.Actor Eric Braeden (“The Young and the Restless”) is 79. Singer Wayne Newton is 78. Singer Tony Orlando is 76. Actor Alec Baldwin is 62.

Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 59. Actor Adam Scott is 47.

April 4 • In 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, 39, was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee; his slaying was followed by a wave of rioting. Suspected gunman James Earl Ray later pleaded guilty to assassinating King, then spent the rest of his life claiming he’d been the victim of a setup.

• In 1975, Microsoft was founded

by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

• In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage.

(It was destroyed in the disaster of January 1986.)

Today’s birthdays: Recording executive Clive Davis is 88.

Country singer Steve Gatlin

(The Gatlin Brothers) is 69.

Actress Mary-Margaret Humes is 66. Actor Hugo Weaving is 60. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 55. Singer Jill Scott is 48.

Magician David Blaine is 47.

April 5 • In 1621, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts on a monthlong return trip to England.

• In 1887, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, teacher Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her 6-year-old deaf-blind pupil, Helen Keller, learned the meaning of the word “water” as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet.

• In 1974, Stephen King’s first published novel, “Carrie,” was released by Doubleday.

Today’s birthdays: Movie producer Roger Corman is 94. Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell is 83.

Singer Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA) is 70. Actor Mitch Pileggi is 68. Rapper-producer Pharrell Williams is 47. Actor Sterling K Brown is 44.

- The Associated Press

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

INTERVIEW

Shanae Strachan Representing ‘curvy’ Bahamian women to the world, this model is breaking into the New York fashion industry in a big way. She tells Cara Hunt about working with Serena Williams’ and Kim Kardashian’s fashion labels and living her hard-earned dream.

S

hanae Strachan has managed to make a name for herself, and not only here at home, but also in one of the most difficult markets in the world – the New York fashion scene.

Shanae first captured the Bahamas’ attention when she won the coveted title of Miss Teen Bahamas World, and again when she placed as a runner-up in the Miss Bahamas Universe pageant.

She began modelling at the age of 13 and appeared in ads for Roberts’ Furniture, Shell Bahamas, BTC, Coles of Nassau, and many more.

In 2015, she became the face of the launch campaign for Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

Even in her early days she was known for her fierce catwalk.

And she was also the host of the ZNS News segment “Tourism Today” from 2015-2017.

“This was just something that was in me,” she told Tribune Weekend. “I was born with it and started from the early age of eight when I attended Yodephy Dance school. It’s a gift that saved me, but I knew that it was time for me to take that gift and share it with the world.”

In 2017,Shanae took a leap of faith and moved to New York where she began establishing herself through dedication and hard work.

“There were definitely challenges: sleeping on floors, going to casting calls and just pushing myself every day,” she said, “But I wanted to take the Bahamas to the world.”

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Friday, April 3, 2020

Her career really took off early last year when she was signed with the modelling agency State Management.

She was cast as a curvy model, something she admits she struggled with initially.

“That was something that was a challenge, but Bahamians are curvy - we have ‘boongie’ and breasts. Once I accepted that, doors really started to open for me.”

Shanae became the first curvy model to walk the runway for couture designer Sherri Hill.

Additionally, she has worked with mega celebrities and fashion players, including the runway and advertisement campaigns for S by Serena Williams.

Shanae said it is definitely important to remain positive when trying to break into the industry as it can be difficult and heartbreaking at times as there are only so many opportunities that thousands are fighting for.

“For example, there were 1,500 girls who were in line at the Serena Williams casting call and of that number they chose maybe 40 girls.

“Serena is a great friend to the Bahamas, she came over after the Hurricane Dorian and working for her is a dream come true. And overall, it’s so amazing to walk into a store and see your face on display.”

Shanae has also appeared in an impressive beauty campaign for TULA Skincare and walked the runway for designers in New York Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week, including Mochi, Lounge Underwear, and Skims by Kim Kardashian West. Her list of modelling jobs further includes Adidas, Ann Taylor, and New York & Co. She also recently appeared as muse for couture fashion designer Nancy Beringer on Bravo TV’s Emmy Awardwinning competition series “Project Runway” and has been featured in magazines such as Vogue Italia, NY Times Fashion and Glamour.

Shanae hopes she can inspire other women to

“...Bahamians are curvy - we have ‘boongie’ and breasts.

Once I accepted that, doors really started to open for me.”

SHANAE’s Vogue Italia feature

“There were definitely challenges: sleeping on floors, going to casting calls and just pushing myself every day. But I wanted to take the Bahamas to the world.”

embrace the skin that they are in, be their bodies curvy or not.

“In this profession I always struggled with my weight.

Sometimes I never felt good enough, but I began to embrace my curves and doors started to open for me. I am so grateful to work with women like Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian because they embody strength and confidence, much like Bahamian women.”

She continues to evolve as an artist, adding acting and documentary filmmaking to her list of accomplishments.

She is a student of The William Esper Studio, one of the most prestigious acting schools in the US. She is also a strong advocate for women’s rights.

“I have been supported by so many amazing Bahamians.

I wouldn’t be where I’m at without them. There is so much greatness in our country, and the world is just waiting on our talent.

“Bahamians are storytellers and we have some amazing stories to tell. There is a network of Bahamians out there, all around the world, and we really do stick together. Bahamas to the world.”

And never has that sentiment been more important than now. Shanae is in New York, a state considered to be the epicentre of COVID–19 in the United States, and with the Bahamian borders closed she is effectively cut off from home.

“It is a very surreal feeling to know that you can’t return home, but I am in contact with Bahamians who live in this area and we have emergency plans to help each other if we need to and other than that we are just trying to stay safe, video chat with family and friends, and trying to support each other as best we can,” she said.

BACKSTAGE at the Serena Williams NYFW Fall 2020 presentation with the legendary tennis star.

06 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

The Tribune | Weekend | 07

Friday, April 3, 2020

ART

Explore local and international galleries with virtual tours

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

B

y sharing creative activities virtually, the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas is hoping to help people “process complex emotions or simply pass time in a constructive way” as the country deals with COVID-19 pandemic.

And in order to keep serving the community, NAGB’s team will be posting a series of activities on its website and social media pages to engage people.

One of these activities include a virtual tour of the gallery’s two current shows, including its permanent exhibition “Timelines”, and “Refuge”.

“Each week there will be two staff posts around the current exhibitions, the permanent exhibition ‘TimeLines: 1950-2007’, and ‘Refuge’ from various members of our team, as well as a virtual tour of the shows. The posts are very personal assessments from our team of their favourite works of art currently on display,” said Diana Sands, the gallery’s communication and development manager.

“TimeLines: 1950 – 2007”, curated

by NAGB Associate Curator Richardo Barrett, is the permanent annual exhibition focused on displaying the national collection which, at times, is supported by works from prominent private collections.

“TimeLines” focuses on important moments and art spaces that pushed the Bahamian art story forward and focuses on issues around conservation. It is on view for approximately one year.

“Refuge” was an open call to all artists of the Bahamas after the passage of Hurricane Dorian.

The museum decided to create an opportunity to reflect on how the country dealt with the traumatic event.

The gallery cancelled its preplanned December exhibition and left the space open for artists and writers to come to terms with what had just happened.

“The result is an extraordinary show that features artwork that

“So Close Yet So Far” (2019), Christina Wong, acrylic on canvas, 40x30 inches.

Collection of the artist.

“Lilies” (1984), Peggy Hering, oil on canvas, 24x28 inches. Part of the Dawn Davies Collection.

(Image/ Blake Fox)

“Solomon” (2000), Stanley Burnside, oil on canvas, 72x72 inches. Part of your National Collection.

both survived the storm and new pieces by 42 artists from Abaco, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, New Providence and the US and Canadian-based diaspora. It is truly a must-see when the museum reopens,” Ms Sands said.

The gallery will also share videos of artists and curator talks from it’s Vimeo Vault; its favourite past radio shows from the “NAGB’s Blank Canvas”; virtual tour links to international museums, and art activities for children, teens and adults.

“The NAGB will be delivering many initiatives during this time to reach different audiences (for young and old). Additionally, virtual tours to other museums allow persons to explore different museums and their exhibitions, to still travel while we are on lockdown, always learning more about art from the comfort of their homes,” said Ms Sands.

The opportunity of virtual art touring, she said, presents a unique opportunity to connect with some people who may not ordinarily stop by the gallery for a visit.

“While audiences are on their phones looking for things to do, we’re sure the NAGB will provide some interesting pastimes and this may change attitudes about the function of a museum. While there is an increased comfort with online viewing and looking at things on one’s device, there is still - all over the world - a hesitation about crossing the threshold of a museum...we think this will help break down that invisible barrier,” she said.

Once things get back to normal, Ms Sands said the NAGB will begin charting the course for the way forwards.

“When the museum reopens, we will certainly assess the way forward, considering the best ways we can serve our audiences in a time of cutting-edge technology, climate change and economic uncertainty,” she told Tribune Weekend.

08 | The Tribune | Weekend

FOOD

Friday, April 3, 2020

A recipeCupcake Carra spreads for joy love with her baking

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

W

GLAZED Baked Donut

ith all the notso-fun news of COVID-19 circulating, local entrepreneur and owner of Hello Cupcake, Macarra Fowler, wants to do her part in brightening everyone’s days in social isolation.

Her “Cooking with Carra at Hello Cupcake” lessons started with a “Make Your Own Baked Doughnuts” post where she shared ingredients, instructions and notes on how to make some of her tasty creations.

She then invited people to screenshot and share their results on social media in an effort to promote healthy distractions which can help reduce the anxiety some may be feeling right now. Cooking and baking, Macarra said, is her personal method to de-stress, and she knows it can be for many others as well.

“Every single day there’s something depressing on the news and we just keep getting a punch in the gut. People are losing jobs, small businesses are suffering, families

Photos/Hello Cupcake are hurting. I’m a saved Christian and I know for a fact that God is still at work, but we’re mere humans and it’s totally normal to feel the pressure. I felt like I needed to lighten up my social media with some positivity. Families are spending a lot more time together, and what better way to bond than in the kitchen? I wanted to give people a chance to make something beautiful amidst all the chaos,” she told Tribune Weekend.

Macarra considers herself to be a creative business owner, and loves to overcome any self-doubts by challenging herself to come up with new ideas constantly. She describes Hello Cupcake as more than just a bakery; as it is a lifestyle type of business - a lifestyle that is based around food.

Regardless of the name, she not only offers cupcakes, but also cakes and fun pastries like macarons, cookies, scones and doughnuts.

She has also started exploring food photography and food styling. She believes this is a crucial part of the business, as great photos really pull people in.

She loves spreading joy, and social distancing won’t stop her from doing so. That’s why she hopes her “Cooking With Carra at Hello Cupcake” will offer a fun distraction, especially for children.

“Kids can only understand so much, and I know that this is extremely difficult for them to fully comprehend as well. Some of the kids are not fully able to articulate their emotions and we need to create healthy safe spaces for them daily. This can become difficult when parents have much more critical things on their minds like paying the bills. But we cannot forget to use this time wisely; to create memories with our families.

When all is said and done, kids are going to remember the time we spent together during this crisis,” she said.

“I believe in the power of creating something for yourself. There’s so much pride that comes with that. Like I mentioned earlier, there is a lot of negativity around us – literally everywhere. But I really want people to focus on healthy distractions – meditating,

The Tribune | Weekend | 09

Friday, April 3, 2020

“

I felt like I needed to lighten up my social media with some positivity.

Families are spending a lot more time together, and what better way to bond than in the kitchen?”

yoga, exercise and creating something.

The doughnuts. are super simple to create – you don’t even need a mixer.

Most of us have these ingredients in our pantries already, so why not make some magic.”

However, before she launched this lesson, Macarra had to first overcome some doubts. After she took photos of the doughnuts. she had made, she fought with the idea of posting them to social media.

“I took that photo about a week before I shared it. Have you ever had a selfie that was really good, but then you looked at it for two hours before posting and decided that you look terrible and you won’t post it after all? No? Well, that’s me sometimes.

And that was definitely me with these doughnuts. At first I said, ‘Wow, loving this photo, Macarra.’ Then I thought some more and looked at it some more and twisted my laptop to the right a little and decided it wasn’t good enough to post. But I got bored and posted it. And boom! A takeoff! I in no way expected that photo to be shared that many times. After reposting with the recipe, people were sending me photos of their doughnuts. and I cried. I cry easily so this isn’t

BLUEBERRY Scones

CREAMY Chicken with Mushroms and Broccoli. difficult to do, but I was floored,” she said.

“My favourite posts were the ones where people were hash-tagging #bakingwithquarantinebae – hilarious.

Hello Cupcake is keeping relationships strong and it’s been so much fun watching people share their own doughnut creations. I love how it made people feel. They made something and it made them feel proud.”

For those with a sweet tooth craving more, no worries, says Macarra. She is already in the process of releasing more creative recipes. This week’s is for blueberry scones. On her website, hellocupcakeshoppe.com, she reveals the secret to making them light and airy.

“It’s so crazy, because about seven years ago I had a food blog where I wrote and shared recipes. It seems like

destiny, because here I am, isolated in my home with nothing but time and baking and cooking, supplies – and people eager to create. And funny enough, a friend of mine called me just yesterday and said she still uses my stuffed mushroom recipe I posted back in 2013. I’m already working on the next set of recipes. The next one will be posted very soon. A blog is in the works so there’s definitely going to be a lot more recipes coming out and I’m excited,” she said.

“God has given us all different gifts and talents, and moreover, a purpose.

While I know, understand and appreciate my gift for baking, cooking and food photography, I truly believe that my purpose and passion is people. I love empowering people and baking is really just the very basis of what I do here. At the core, I am really hoping that I can inspire people to create their own magic. I want people to believe in themselves and tap into their creative side and make themselves proud. I want them to use my recipes and create magical memories and moments for their families and for themselves.

Macarra and her Hello Cupcake can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

GARDENING

My experience in the garden, and why I know what I know

I

’d like to begin this week’s article by paying homage to John ‘Gardener Jack’ Hardy, may he rest in peace. I grew up reading his articles and at times my interest was piqued by what he wrote about. Now and again I’d get a chuckle out of it, and occasionally I’d question his evidence or opinion and follow up with my own research.

I absolutely encourage you all to question what you might read, and to also do your own research. What might work for one gardener may very well not work for another. Each of our locations is slightly different, our methods will differ, and our skills will certainly all differ. This is why the sharing of experience and information comes in handy. The ability and willingness to learn, to teach and to be taught is essential in improving one’s gardening and growing expertise.

I am grateful for the opportunity to follow behind Gardener Jack by being given the chance to write this article.

I will do my best to provide the most accurate information as is accessible to me, and to attempt to stay on point in regards to local plant material and gardening practices.

At times I will speak from experience, at other times I will speak from factual studies, and at others again I will speak purely from opinion.

How do I know any of this material you might ask? I’ll tell you a bit about myself.

I was born into the nursery business. My family purchased what was Pinder’s Nursery in 1975, and some of my first memories were of being taught to transplant seedlings. Child labour was a given back then and as a small family business

D ADAM BOORMAN

everyone had their hands in the dirt. I was laying sod grass on summer vacations, transplanting impatiens after school in September, and watering plants in the dry season. Everywhere we went, it was plants, plants, and more plants. I told myself that I would not get involved as I grew older. I’d had enough of hearing about plants, that I would go off and do my own thing, and there was no way that I would get into the nursery business. Ah well, that all certainly changed. At some point in my teenage years I was bitten by the gardening bug.

Since then I have not been able to get rid of it. I moved to North Carolina in 1994/5 for a few years to study horticulture, and my learning hasn’t stopped since.

There is always something new to learn about in the plant business. I have continued to take short courses at horticultural conferences, and I have continued to listen to our elders and to those more highly educated than myself. I’ve studied business administration and management, and I continue to glean business

and horticultural information from experts all around the world through short courses, groups on Facebook and university publications, among other sources.

Back to gardening. I have had many questions posed to me from friends regarding gardening; everything from a request to list several things needed to start a garden from scratch, to composting, to pest control, and everything in between. I encourage you to contact this publication with your questions, and I will do my best to provide an accurate answer.

Now, many folks are concerned about the way that our world is going, and interest in home gardening is on the rise.

Many farmers and home gardeners in the Bahamas are growing some exceptionally high-quality produce, and I strongly encourage you all to support them as best we can in these tumultuous times. Maintaining acceptable and prescribed social distancing is vital to the health of our nation, as is gardening, and I do hope that we are all listening and following directions.

Please, in the meantime, go outside and look at your garden space. Think about what areas you might be able to transform into a productive area to grow some vegetables, herbs, fruit, and medicinal plants. We all benefit by planting native plants to encourage pollinators, native and migratory birds, and other fauna. Send in your questions and I will be pleased to answer them in the best way possible.

Please stay safe, Bahamas, and go, get into the garden!

- D Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery. He can be reached at daboorman@gmail.com.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, April 3, 2020

community

How social drinkers are surviving the liquor store shutdown

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

H

BAHAMIANS stocking up at 700 Wines & Spirits before the shutdown.

EARING the resounding “no” from the country’s leader when asked earlier this week during a press conference whether liquor stores will be reopened even as the 24-hour curfew remains in place was a major blow to many Bahamians.

“It was very cringey and disappointing,” said Antonio, a social drinker who is anticipating the day things get back to normal so he can visit some of his favourite bars and watering holes.

“It’s not that I don’t understand or support what is happening, but I miss being able to wind down with a nice spirit at the end of a work week,” he said.

Antonio is one of many who is missed out on hitting up the local wine and spirit stores to stock up on rum and their favourite alcoholic beverages before the curfew and quarantine were instated.

“I’d like to at least get through this pandemic with a little buzz,” he said.

Antonio said he is down to the wire with his rum reserves.

“I really hope we can get back to normal soon. I miss having a social life,” he told Tribune Weekend.

Opal, who describes herself as a social butterfly, shares similar sentiments.

“The kind of work I do is heavy and stressful on a consistent basis. So one of

the things I find most enjoyable is being able to plank down on my sofa and enjoy a refreshing cold, light beer. At that point my body knows it is time to relax and wind down,” she said.

Opal said her home bar is always stocked, however, she was unable to get any beer before stores were closed indefinitely.

“I will have to wait and wait. But the way things are going it does not seem like stores will be opened soon. I guess I will have to enjoy what I have,” she said.

Daniel said the closure of liquor stores and bars reminds him of the Prohibition era - a time when it was illegal to buy or sell alcoholic drinks in the Bahamas – which he learned about during history class in school.

“It feels so much like that time, especially now that people are selling their own personal bottles via WhatsApp and their social media. And buying your rum through that avenue is costly. People are even exchanging some of their goods like cookies for a bottle of beer. Isn’t that something?” he said Meanwhile Tony said he has learned a valuable lesson.

“A portion of my time in the next pandemic will be spent on a stocking my rum.

I’m itching for a drink,” he said.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

HISTORY (THE COVERSATION) - During the half century that baseball was divided by a colour line, black America created a sporting world of its own.

Black teams played on city sandlots and country fields, with the best barnstorming their way across the country and throughout the Caribbean.

A century ago, on February 13, 1920, teams from eight cities formally created the Negro National League. Three decades of stellar play followed, as the league affirmed black competence and grace on the field, while forging a collective identity that brought together Northern-born blacks and their Southern brethren. And though Major League Baseball was segregated from the 1890s until 1947, these teams played countless interracial games in communities across the nation.

After World War II, Jackie Robinson hurdled baseball’s racial divide.

But while integration – baseball’s great experiment – was a resounding success on the field, at the gates and in changing racial attitudes, Negro League teams soon lost all of their stars and struggled to retain fans. The teams hung on for a bit, before eventually folding.

Years ago, when I worked on a documentary about the Negro Leagues, I was struck by how many of the interviewees looked back longingly on the leagues’ heyday. While there was the understanding that integration needed to happen, there was also the recognition that something special was forever lost.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Given the injustices of the 1890s – sharecropping, lynchings, disenfranchisement and the Supreme Court’s sanctioning of segregation in Plessy v.Ferguson – exclusion from Major League Baseball was hardly the most grievous injury African Americans suffered. But it mattered. Their absence denied them the chance to participate in a very visible arena that helped European immigrants integrate into American culture.

While the sons of white immigrants – John McGraw, Honus Wagner, Joe DiMaggio – became major leaguers lionized by their nationalities, blacks didn’t have that opportunity. Most whites assumed that was because they weren’t good enough. Their absence reinforced prevailing beliefs that African Americans were inherently inferior – athletically and intellectually – with weak abdominal muscles, little endurance and prone to cracking under pressure.

On the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, a look back at what was lost

By ROB RUCK Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh The Negro Leagues gave black ballplayers their own platform to prove otherwise. On Feb. 13, 1920, Chicago American Giants owner Rube Foster convened a meeting at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City to organize the Negro National League. A Texas-born pitcher, Foster envisioned a black alternative to the major leagues.

Northern black communities were exploding in size, and Foster saw the league’s potential. Teams like the American Giants and the Kansas City Monarch regularly competed against white teams, drew large crowds and turned profits. Players enjoyed higher salaries than most black workers, while black newspapers trumpeted their exploits, as did some white papers.

Other leagues cropped up; the Negro National League was soon joined by the Negro American League and the Negro Southern League. Some years, the Negro National and Negro American Leagues played a Negro League World Series. The leagues also sent their best players to the East-West All-Star Classic, an annual exhibition game in Chicago.

But the Negro National League’s ascent was stunted after Foster was exposed to a gas leak, nearly died and suffered permanent brain damage.

Absent his leadership and hammered by the Great Depression, the league disbanded in 1931.

A PROVING GROUND Gus Greenlee, who ran the popular lottery known as the numbers game, revived the league in Pittsburgh in 1933 after a sandlot club called the

Josh Gibson slides into home during the 1944 Negro Leagues All-Star Game.

Bettmann/Getty Images

Crawfords, which included the young slugger Josh Gibson, approached him for support. He agreed to pay them salaries and reinforced their roster with the addition of flamethrower Satchel Paige.

Greenlee went on to build the finest black-owned ballpark in the country, Greenlee Field, while headquartering the Negro National League on the floor above the Crawford Grill, his renowned jazz club in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

Pittsburgh soon became the mecca of black baseball. Sitting along America’s East-West rail lines, the city was a requisite stop for black entertainers, leaders and ball clubs, which traveled from cities as far away as Kansas City.

Its two teams, the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords, won a dozen titles. Seven of the first 11 Negro Leaguers eventually inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame – stars like Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige – played for one or both squads.

The sport, meanwhile, became a major source of black pride.

“The very best,” Pittsburgh-born author John Wideman noted, “not only competed among themselves and put on a good show, but [also] would go out and compete against their white contemporaries and beat the stuffing out of them.”

Satchel Paige and the Crawfords famously defeated St. Louis Cardinals ace Dizzy Dean in an exhibition game in Cleveland – just two weeks after the Cardinals had won the 1934 World Series. Overall, Negro League teams won far more games against white squads than they lost.

“There was so much [negativity] living over [us] which we had no control [over],” Mal Goode, the first black national network correspondent, recalled. “So anything you could hold on to from the standpoint of pride, it was there and it showed.”

Sacrificed on integration’s altar

For Major League Baseball, no moment was more transformative than the arrival of Jackie Robinson, who, in 1947, paved the way for African Americans and darker-skinned Latinos to reshape the game.

But integration destroyed the Negro Leagues, plucking its young stars – Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Roy Campanella and Ernie Banks – who brought their fans with them. The big leagues never considered folding in some of the best black teams, and its owners rejected the Negro National League owners’ proposal to become a high minor league.

Like many black papers, colleges and businesses, the Negro National League paid a price for integration: extinction.

The league ceased play after the 1948 season. Black owners, general managers and managers soon disappeared, and it would be decades before a black manager would get a chance to steer a major league ballclub.

Major League Baseball benefited from talent cultivated in the Negro Leagues and on the sandlots that sustained the sport, especially in inner cities. But when those leagues crumbled, prospective black pros were relegated to minor league teams, often in inhospitable, southern cities. Many Negro League regulars simply hung up their cleats or played in the Caribbean.

The story of African Americans in baseball has long been portrayed as a tale of their shameful segregation and redemptive integration. Segregation was certainly shameful, especially for a sport invested in its own rhetoric of democracy.

But for African Americans, integration was also painful. Although long overdue and an important catalyst for social change, it cost them control over their sporting lives.

It changed the meaning of the sport – what it symbolized and what it meant for their communities – and not necessarily for the better.

The Tribune | Weekend | 13

Friday, April 3, 2020

art

Big Picture Studio encourages kids to get creative at home

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

I

n this period of social isolation and self-quarantine there is no better time for kids to express their creativity, be it through drawing, painting or crafting.

And the Big Picture Paint and Sip Studio wants to encourage these spurts of creativity with the help of social media. They asking youngsters to share their projects using the hashtag #bigpicturehomeschoolart.

The Big Picture team acknowledged that it’s not going to be an easy task to keeping stress levels low and everybody occupied with all the children at home. But keeping the little ones busy and allowing them to be creative at the same time can certainly be a big help.

“We created the hashtag #bigpicturehomeschoolart so that parents everywhere could share pictures of their kids being creative - whether it’s a simple drawing, doodling, designing, building, sketching, or painting. There’s an endless range of possibilities as to what our children can create when they are encouraged to innovate,” said Big Picture’s founder and president Gennyne Hepburn.

“Art can be both very relaxing and therapeutic, which was also why we felt it was important to get our community thinking more about the impact of art during this time.

We’re excited to see what kinds of artwork kids around the country are creating while outside of our studio.”

Art has always excited Gennyne and she has seen the value of incorporating art into everyday life. This is also one of the original missions

of her studio, located at the Sandyport Marina Village, which will celebrate its fourth anniversary this April.

On Monday, Big Picture rolled out a few free, easily accessible virtual art tools they designed especially for kids.

“Our country is seeking light and hope during this time, and so to are the children. The truth is that while

the kids in our community and around the world are confined to home, it could still be a happy space for them because of art. Children need just as many creative outlets as we do in this time to distract from this new situation that we all are dealing with. So whether the kids are at home with or without a parent or guardian, or in the comfort of a children’s home, they can access these short videos on IGTV or via our website, and have the opportunity to create something special and long-lasting wherever they may be,” said Gennyne.

Additionally, she said, in light of recent events, the organisation’s “Art of Taste” event which was originally scheduled for May 9 has been rescheduled for a later date.

It will be an art-themed culinary adventure with courses and experiences inspired by world famous artists: Basquiat, Dali, Duchamp, O’Keefe and Warhol; paired with wines, and featuring Events by Alexandra and Youngs Fine Wine.

“We encourage everyone to follow our social media and Instagram pages at #bigpictureltd and @bigpictureltd to stay abreast of the adjusted dates,” said Gennyne.

She told Tribune Weekend every year the team continues to make improvements based on client interests. The most recent is the expansion and renovation of the entire studio space.

“This was important because our clients love their intimate private party experiences and the additional space now lends to their extended comfort within a visually stimulating creatively styled environment,” said Gennyne.

16 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

BOOKS

Bring your family together with story time

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

L

ast Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis encouraged families to read together as a fun way to pass the time and stay connected as the country remains under a 24-hour curfew.

Last year, my own family embarked on the epic journey of reading the complete “Harry Potter” series by J K Rowling, which of course chronicles the life of the world’s favourite boy wizard.

The seven-book series has about 4,200 pages in total, and so it took several months to get through, but it was a great way to bond and enjoy quality time as a family.

Of course no one wants to stay in lockdown long enough to read all of “Harry Potter”, but here are a few suggestions for shorter book series that you may want to add to your family’s quarantine reading list.

And with Audible offering many of its kid friendly titles for free at the moment, you may not even have to pick a family narrator. Here are some suggestions:

• The Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien and by Jane Leslie Conly (three books) Another of my family’s favourites, the first book tells the story of a widowed field mouse who must turn to a group of super intelligent rats who live on her farm to help her family through a major health crisis.

Mr O’Brien’s daughter wrote the sequels after his death and continues the story.

In book two, the Rats of NIMH have made a new life for themselves in Thorn Valley, when a rat with ties to their past joins them.

But when human development threatens to destroy the valley, the rats must take drastic action.

In the final book, the decision to help two small children lost during a camping trip may expose the rats of NIMH and bring an end to their peaceful existence.

• Book of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau (four books) In the first book, “The City of Ember”, we meet Lina Mayfleet

and her friend Doon Horrow who live in a post-apocalyptic underground city. When the city’s power supply begins to die, the children set out an epic journey to try save it by unveiling the clues left behind by the ‘Builders’ of the city.

“The People of Sparks” is the second book in the series; “The Prophet of Yonwood” is actually a prequel, set 50 years before the ‘Builders’ built the city and 300 years before Lina and her community will have to flee it.

“The Diamond of Darkhold” completes the story for the people of Ember and the adventures of Lina and Doon.

• Holes Series by Louis Sachar (two books) When unlucky teenager Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of tennis shoes that belonged to a famous baseball player, he is sent to a juvenile detention centre - Camp Green Lake in Texas - where he and the other residents are forced to dig holes all day. Stanley soon realises they are digging because the

warden is looking for something.

But what is it and will they ever find it?

The sequel is “Small Steps” and focuses on another resident of Camp Green Lake, Theodore “ Armpit” Johnson. After his release from the facility, he struggles to build a new life due to his past record. Things begin to get better for him after he meets teen pop star Kaira and realises that the key to turning his life around is in taking small steps.

There is also a companion guided called “Stanley Yelnats’s Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake”. As Louis Sachar states: “Should you ever find yourself at Camp Green Lake - or somewhere similar - this is the guide for you.” Written from Stanley’s point of view, the book offers advice on everything from scorpions, rattlesnakes, yellowspotted lizards, et cetera.

In 2012, “Holes” was ranked number six among all-time children’s novels in a survey published by theSchool Library Journal.

The Tribune | Weekend | 17

Friday, April 3, 2020

BOOKS

New releases hitting shelves this week •The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel; mystery/thriller Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter.

But Eve may need her mother’s cruel brand of strength if she’s going to face the reality about her daughter’s death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother’s trailer for a final lesson.

•Dear Enemy by Kristen Callihan; romance As kids, they hated each other.

Macon Saint was beautiful, but despite his name, Delilah knew he was the devil. That he dated her slightly evil sister, Samantha, was no picnic either. When they broke up, it was a dream come true: Delilah never had to see him again.

Ten years later, her old enemy sends a text.

Delilah’s sister has stolen a valuable heirloom from Macon, now a rising Hollywood star, and he intends to collect his due. One problem: Sam has skipped town.

Sparks still sizzle between Macon and Delilah, only this heat feels alarmingly like unwanted attraction.

But Delilah is desperate to keep her

weak-hearted mother from learning of her sister’s theft. So she proposes a deal: she’ll pay off the debt by being Macon’s personal chef and assistant.

It’s a recipe for disaster, but Macon can’t stop himself from accepting.

Even though Delilah clearly hates him, there’s something about her that feels like home. Besides, they’re no longer kids, and what once was a bitter rivalry has the potential to be something sweeter. Something like forever.

•The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow; literary fiction For fans of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister tells Mary’s story...

“It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky enough to

come into the world without expectations, she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful. To be handsome and poor is misfortune enough; but to be both plain and penniless is a hard fate indeed.”

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable.

The Other Bennet Sister, though, shows another side to Mary.

An introvert in a family of extroverts; a constant disappointment to her mother who values beauty above all else; fearful of her father’s sharp tongue; with little in common with her siblings – is it any wonder she turns to books for both company and guidance? And, if she finds her life lonely or lacking, that she determines to try harder at the one thing she can be: right.

One by one, her sisters marry – Jane and Lizzy for love; Lydia for some semblance of respectability – but Mary, it seems, is destined to remain single and live out her life at Longbourn, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins.

But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her after all.

18 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

entertainment

New at home this week: 'Onward,' Nina Simone and 'The Talk'

E

pic adventures, exotic locales and cocktails mixed to order by bartenders — they may be largely off limits for the moment, but not on a device near you.

This week’s fresh offerings include a recently-released Pixar animated tale, a marathon of James Bond films and new music in tribute to the late Mac Miller.

Also out this week is the reissue of a rare Nina Simone record from her time in Paris when feelings of loneliness crept in. And the ladies of “The Talk” return — at a safe social distance — from their own homes.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

• James Bond Marathon: Get the martinis ready, Amazon Prime has 21 James Bond pics in 4K ultra high definition available. You can start from the beginning with Sean Connery in “Dr No” and “From Russia With Love” and check in with George Lazenby in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” before heading into the Roger Moore years up through Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

• “The Other Lamb”: Raffey Cassidy plays a teenager who has been part of a cult since birth in Małgorzata Szumowska’s beautifully disturbing film. Available for rental Friday from IFC, it’s not quite a horror, but it is haunting. And it’s only 97 minutes.

• “ Onward ”: Parents rejoice, there’s another fresh option to keep the family occupied: “Onward”, an eccentric odyssey of two brothers delving into a fantastical past to find their way through grief and self-doubt is a worthy addition to the studio’s canon”, is available for rental.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

MOVIES • “ Never Rarely Sometimes Always ”: Most people missed what is arguably the best movie of the year so far in theatres. Eliza Hittman’s film about a teenage girl trying to get an abortion came out right as they began to close. But thankfully Focus Features has released it for rental starting today.

may have learned about the incomparable Nina Simone in the epic 2015 Netflix documentary “ What Happened, Miss Simone?” — here’s a chance to discover her talents again in album form. “Fodder on My Wings” was recorded in 1982 not long after Simone moved to Paris. She was said to be lonely and her mental illness worsening while she recorded the album, and the mood is perfectly captured on the title track. “Fodder on My Wings” was originally recorded for a small French label but was not made widely available — until today. The original album will be expanded with three bonus tracks from the recording sessions from a rare French reissue released in 1988.

• Thundercat, “It Is What It Is”: Talented multi-instrumentalist Thundercat pays tribute to his friend and collaborator, the late rapper Mac Miller, on “Fair Chance,” one of the songs from his new album, “It Is What It Is.” It’s a special moment, but the new album, out today, isn’t all sombre: Just press play on “Dragonball Durag,” a smooth, West Coast groove and you’ll be in the right mood. Thundercat is accomplished, having worked with everyone from Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae to Travis Scott to Kendrick Lamar, with whom he won a Grammy for the song “These Walls” in 2016.

— AP Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu TELEVISION

MUSIC • Nina Simone, “Fodder on My Wings”: For a new generation who

• “Desus & Mero.” — Coming to you from the entertainment centres of the world, New Jersey and the Bronx, Showtime’s “Desus & Mero” are back at 11pm EDT on Mondays and Thursdays. Pals Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez)

bring their comedic chemistry and a younger — sorry, network hosts! — perspective to late-night from their respective homes.

• “The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show” — Comedian-writer-actress Iliza Shlesinger (“Spenser Confidential”) and an ensemble cast tear into pop culture and gender tropes in Netflix’s six-part series. Even catheter commercials have to beware the show’s quick-hit parodies.

•CBS is saying good-bye to “Hawaii Five-0” after 10 seasons. The twohour series finale of “Hawaii Five-0,” a reboot of the police drama born in 1968, will air 8pm EDT tonight.

• If you’re starting to run out of conversation at home, with yourself or others, the hosts of CBS’ “The Talk” (daily, 11am EDT) are back to help. Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood, Eve, Carrie Ann Inaba and Marie Osmond will practice social distancing on the temp-titled “The Talk@Home,” joined by this week’s guests including Wayne Brady and Sean Hayes.

— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber The Associated Press

The Tribune | Weekend | 19

Friday, April 3, 2020

entertainment

UNCORKED

TIGER King - Murder, Mayhem and Madness

Top 10 NetFLix movies and shows in the Bahamas

W

ith Bahamians practicing social distancing, working from home, and the kiddies stuck in the house, it’s time to turn to Netflix for some entertainment. Here are the top 10 movies and shows Bahamians are watching this week:

1

. Black Lightning (series; three seasons) A crusading school principal gets back into action as the original African-American electrical superhero.

2

. Ozark (series; three seasons) A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder money to appease a drug boss. Starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.

3

. Uncorked (film; 1h 44m) Elijah must balance his dream of becoming a master sommelier with his father’s expectations that he carry on the family’s Memphis BBQ joint. Starring Courtney B Vance and Niecy Nash.

4

. John Wick: Chapter 2 (film; 2h 2m) After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick (Keanu) discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.

5

. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (mini series; seven episodes) A rivalry between big cat eccentrics takes a dark turn when Joe Exotic, a controversial animal park boss, is caught in a

murder-for-hire plot. Featuring a possible murder of a missing millionaire, sister-wives, multiple husbands, polygamy, drug lords and mullets, this is the docuseries that has been taking social media by storm.

6

. The Shack (film; 2h 12m) The Christian drama follows a grieving man who receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called “The Shack.”

7

. The Decline (film; 1h 23m) A fatal accident at a remote survivalist training camp sends participants into a panic and sets the stage for a chilling showdown.

8

. Dare Me (series; 10 episodes) A cheerleader in her senior year of high

school plots revenge against the clique that expelled her.

9

. The Occupant (film; 1h 43m) Javier Muñoz, once a successful executive, makes the fateful decision to leave his home, which he and his family can no longer afford. He then begins stalking the new tenants of his former home as his motives turn sinister.

10

. Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C J Walker |(mini series; four episodes) The inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C J Walker (Octavia Spencer) who built a haircare empire that made her America’s first female self-made millionaire.

BLACK Lightning

20 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

HISTORY

JUAN TRIPPE,

A MAN WITH A MISSION Forgotten facts | Paul C Aranha

F

or several decades, one American airline, under at least three names - Pan American Airways, Pan American World Airways and Pan Am – was a household name, not only in the Bahamas, but in over 80 countries, in six continents.

It was the largest international airline in the United States and its unofficial flag carrier.

In the days of seaplanes and amphibians, Pan Am started serving the Bahamas in 1929, with scheduled flights between Miami and Nassau. The Bahamas did not get its first airfield until 1940, when Oakes Field was opened, so Pan Am had its headquarters on Mathew Avenue (a portion of East Bay Street), in a small building that eventually became the property of the Bahamas government, and is now used by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. Like so many government-owned structures, it was allowed, as Diane Phillips wrote, to “crumble before our eyes” and become an eyesore until a few months ago, when a colourful and attractive mural suddenly appeared, for which I am grateful.

I have noticed a number of tourists being photographed in front of that mural and recently had the opportunity to talk with two of them, who asked about the story behind the painting. They were too young to remember Pan Am, but intrigued to hear that this site had, effectively, been the centre of aviation in the Bahamas, and in 1936, the birthplace of Bahamian

THE FLIGHT that changed everything – An Army band on the tarmac at New York’s Idlewood Airport serenades passengers boarding Pan Am’s Boeing 707 for its maiden transatlantic flight on October 26, 1958.

BOEING’s famous 747 aviation, when Bahamas Airways parked its first plane on the Pan Am ramp (now the BASRA ramp) there. The young visitors were disappointed that there were no signs or posters to explain the mural.

The visitors had never heard of Juan Trippe, a young man from New

Jersey whose dream it was to open the world to air travel.

Trippe was born in 1899 to a wealthy family. He attended Yale, where he rubbed shoulders with the sons of America’s richest families - names like Harriman, Vanderbilt and Whitney. He also learned to fly, and after graduation joined the US Navy and

The Tribune | Weekend | 21

Friday, April 3, 2020

trained as a bomber pilot, but never saw action.

Back in civilian life, Trippe started a number of unsuccessful air-taxi services, until in 1927, with the backing of those same rich college friends, he created a new airline called Pan American World Airways Inc. These same influential friends lobbied Washington on Trippe’s behalf. As a result, Pan American was granted a contract to fly mail to Havana, and on October 19, 1927, Pan American finally got into the air, using a rented Fairchild FC-2 floatplane.

With the backing of Andrew Mellon, the wealthiest man in Pittsburgh, who happened to be Secretary of the Treasury, Pan American won contracts to fly mail to Trinidad and to Panama. By the early 1930s, Pan American had mail contracts that would produce some $50 million over the next 20 years.

Around this time, Ralph A O’Neill and James H Rand (after whom the Rand Memorial Clinic in Freeport is named) had a company with the longest air route in the world and a name nearly as long: the New York, Rio and Buenos Aires Airline (NYRBA).

NYRBA was flying a fleet of custom-designed and purpose-built Consolidated Commodore flying boats, but with just 30 passenger seats, they could not produce enough revenue to make a profit, so NYRBA applied for a desperately needed contract to fly mail to other points. Not only was their application turned down; they were told to talk (sell out) to Juan Trippe. With all his influential (rich) friends, Trippe had become a force to reckoned with and his beloved Pan Am did open the world to air travel.

Years later, two of Pan Am’s Boeing 747 jumbo jets took off every morning from New York’s JFK airport to fly around the world. One travelled eastbound and the other westbound.

Much of this article is from the 1999 book ‘Wings Over Water’, a fascinating report on amphibians, floatplanes and seaplanes.

JUAN Trippe wins flying competition for Yale in Mineola, NY May 7, 1920

• For questions and comments, e-mail islandairman@gmail.com

22 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

FASHION HISTORY

CRINOLINES, by design, made physical contact nearly impossible. (Image/Hulton Archive)

The fashionable history of social distancing (The Conversation) - As the world grapples with the coronavirus outbreak, “social distancing” has become a buzzword of these strange times.

Instead of stockpiling food or rushing to the hospital, authorities are saying social distancing – deliberately increasing the physical space between people – is the best way ordinary people can help “flatten the curve” and stem the spread of the virus.

Fashion might not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think of isolation strategies. But as a historian who writes about the political and cultural meanings of clothing, I know that fashion can play an important role in the project of social distancing, whether the space created

helps solve a health crisis or keep away pesky suitors.

Clothing has long served as a useful way to mitigate close contact and unnecessary exposure. In this current crisis, face masks have become a fashion accessory that signals, “stay away.”

Fashion also proved to be handy during past epidemics such as the bubonic plague, when doctors wore pointed, bird-like masks as a way to keep their distance from sick patients. Some lepers were forced to wear a heart on their clothes and don bells or clappers to warn others of their presence.

However, more often than not, it doesn’t take a worldwide pandemic for people to want to keep others at arm’s length.

In the past, maintaining distance – especially between genders, classes and races – was an important aspect of social gatherings and public life. Social distancing didn’t have anything to do with isolation or health; it was about etiquette and class. And fashion was the perfect tool.

Take the Victorian-era “crinoline.” This large, voluminous skirt, which became fashionable in the mid-19th century, was used to create a barrier between the genders in social settings.

While the origins of this trend can be traced to the 15th-century Spanish court, these voluminous skirts became a marker of class in the 18th century. Only those privileged enough to avoid household chores could wear

them; you needed a house with enough space to be able to comfortably move from room to room, along with a servant to help you put it on.

The bigger your skirt, the higher your status.

In the 1850s and 1860s, more middle-class women started wearing the crinoline as caged hoop skirts started being mass-produced. Soon, “Crinolinemania” swept the fashion world.

Despite critiques by dress reformers who saw it as another tool to oppress women’s mobility and freedom, the large hoop skirt was a sophisticated way of maintaining women’s social safety.

The crinoline mandated that a potential suitor – or, worse yet, a stranger – would keep a safe

distance from a woman’s body and cleavage.

Although these skirts probably inadvertently helped mitigate the dangers of the era’s smallpox and cholera outbreaks, crinolines could be a health hazard: Many women burned to death after their skirts caught fire. By the 1870s, the crinoline gave way to the bustle, which only emphasized the fullness of the skirt on the posterior.

Women nonetheless continued to use fashion as a weapon against unwanted male attention. As skirts got narrower in the 1890s and early 1900s, large hats – and, more importantly, hat pins, which were sharp metal needles used to fasten the hats – offered women the protection from harassers that crinolines once gave.

As for keeping healthy, germ theory and a better understanding of hygiene led to the popularization of face masks – very similar to the ones we use today – during the Spanish flu. And while the need for women to keep their distance from pesky suitors remained, hats were used more to keep masks intact than to push strangers away.

Today, it isn’t clear whether the coronavirus will lead to new styles and accessories.

Perhaps we’ll see the rise of novel forms of protective outerwear, like the “wearable shield” that one Chinese company developed.

But for now, it seems most likely that we’ll all just continue wearing pyjamas.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com.

Einav Rabinovitch-Fox Visiting Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University

The Tribune | Weekend | 23

Friday, April 3, 2020

technology

The best games to play during quarantine

By STEPHEN HUNT | shunt@tribunemedia.net THE LEGEND of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

W

ITH the prospect of spending long hours, even days, at home due to the COVID19 pandemic, plenty of people will need to take their mind off things – and enjoy a bit of escapism. There are a host of great computer games that can help distract, and here is a selection of some of those that might gobble up some of that time, and spirit you into a new world of adventure.

The Zelda series “Breath of the Wild” might be the latest in the long-running Zelda series of games – available on the Nintendo Switch – but the advantage of having a series that goes back years is that there are a lot of earlier games available too, and often at a bargain price.

One of the great strengths of this series is the storytelling. It’s so very easy to fall into the world of Zelda, an action adventure series that suits both adults and children. Also try Link’s Awakening, a remake of the 1993 version for the Game Boy. It retains the original’s top-down perspective, but has been beautifully redesigned for the Switch.

Spider-Man Over on the PlayStation, SpiderMan swung into action with a bang.

A really great action game, this pits Spidey up against a series of his regular opponents, from Kingpin to Rhino to Electro and more. There is a host of extra challenges, such as finding extra costumes from Spidey’s long history in the comics and movies, and just swinging around the city looking for crimes to stop is really enjoyable.

Great to look at, great to play, and with the extra downloadable content, sure to last a while.

The Sims Another social simulation game, this one is available on a number of different systems, including PC and consoles. This one is perhaps a little more grown up than Animal Crossing, and sees you take control of a “Sim”, a human character that you try to steer through their daily life. You try to get them a job, help them save up so they can improve their apartment, even try to get them to fall in love with other characters they meet. In fact, sad to say, Sims might well have a better social life than ourselves at the moment!

Minecraft Chances are if you have kids you might well have already come across Minecraft – but it’s popular the world over for a reason. Available on a number of systems, even phones and tablets, it’s a game of building. You have freedom to wander around, mining resources to build what you want – though you do have to watch out for monsters from time to time, especially at night. The challenge here is to see what creations you can make from building blocks – and then share them with your friends. It’s easy for the hours to pass while playing, and stress-free too!

THE SIMS

ANIMAL Crossing: New Horizons Animal Crossing: New Horizons Another for the Nintendo, this may be called a “social simulation” but that really doesn’t capture how sweet and charming this game is. You play a human living in a world of animals, and have to go exploring, fishing, catching bugs and more. The game is open-ended, meaning you can wander

around doing what you want, spending as much time as you like on any part of the game – building neighbour’s homes, decorating your own, visiting other islands for resources – the possibilities are endless. The graphics are cute as can be, and days really can disappear while you play.

The Outer Worlds If you feel the urge to explore, then The Outer Worlds gives you a whole galaxy to discover. It’s available on a number of different platforms too.

Made by the creators of one of the spin-offs of the acclaimed Fallout series of games, you can set your course for the stars and find a host of adventures to play through. Huge in scope and long in gameplay – and pretty as can be too – this really might be one for the adult gamer who hasn’t had the time to get lost in a world, or worlds, of adventure.

Just remember, stay safe – and have fun!

24 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

literary lives

The

dark side of Nathaniel Hawthorne

PORTRAIT of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Charles Osgood, 1841

Sir Christopher Ondaatje delves into the mysterious life of the American novelist and short story writer whose works focused on morality and religion.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne. His great-greatgrandfather John Hathorne was the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions.

Hawthorne added the “w” to his surname shortly after graduation from college, in an effort to distance himself from his notorious forebears. His father, Nathaniel Hathorne Sr, was a member of the East India Marine Society who died in 1808 of yellow fever in Suriname – on the Northeast Atlantic coast of South America. Nathaniel was only four years old. He had two sisters and bonded closely with his elder sister Elizabeth (“Ebe”). They learned to read together. Hathorne’s widow then moved with her

HAWTHORNE in the 1860s son and two daughters to live with her Mannings family in Salem. In 1816, they moved to Raymond, Maine. Young Hawthorne was sent back to Salem for schooling, and later, in 1821, sent to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

He graduated with the class of 1825. He met future president Franklin Pierce on the way to Bowdoin, as well as the future poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

“I was educated, as the phrase is, at Bowdoin College I was an idle student, negligent of college rules and the Procrustean details of academic life, rather choosing to nurse my own fancies than to dig into Greek roots and be numbered among the learned Thebans.”

- Hawthorne The Hawthornes moved back to Salem again – his mother occupying her deceased father’s house. Here Nathaniel secluded himself in what was a haunted attic, and settled down to write strange

dark stories which were published in various magazines, including “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil”, until they were collected in the single volume Twice-Told Tales published in 1837. His sister Ebe, over this reclusive period, diligently attentive, fetched the books he needed from the public library.

“What was going on through Hawthorne’s mind and soul at this period will never be fully known. He was writing the stories – typically dark in tone – later collected as ‘Twice-Told Tales’, which brought him some reputation. Full recognition of his genius would await the publication of his major novels, ten years later. It was during these attic years that he wrote one of his darkest meditations on human sin. But what sin? In ‘The Minister’s Black Veil’ a nameless ‘secret sin’ leads the hero, as a young clergyman, to appear everywhere with his face covered. He obstinately refuses to have it removed, even on his deathbed.

The Tribune | Weekend | 25

Friday, April 3, 2020

HAWTHORNE’s childhood home in Raymond, Maine

In his stories of this period, Hawthorne is given to such resonately ominous, but vague, statements as that in ‘The Haunted Mind’: ‘In the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon’.

What is Hawthorne alluding to?” - John Sutherland Lives of the Novelists, 2013

In 1984, two books were published in the same year: “Hawthorne’s Secret: An Untold Tale” by Philip Young and “Family Themes and Hawthorne’s Fiction: The Tenacious Web” by Gloria C Erlich. Both books openly allege incest between Nathaniel and Ebe. A review of Philip Young’s book in the New York Review of “Books by Leo Marx” gives provisional assent to the theory – which could explain things.

An answer may lie in one of the two Salem based stories, “Alice Doane’s Appeal” (1835) – a strangely convoluted tale of an explicit exposé of incest which Hawthorne wrote ten years earlier in college. The story may be proof of Hawthorne’s own disturbed past.

Nathaniel Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody – an illustrator and transcendentalist – on July 9, 1842 in Boston. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts where they lived for three years. It was in Concord that he wrote most of the stories collected in “Mosses from an Old Manse” (1846). The Hawthornes had three children: Una in 1844, Julian in 1846, and Rose in 1851.

THE OLD Manse (former home of Rev William Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne) in Concord, Massachusetts.

“The black conceit pervades him through and through. You may be witched by his sunlight – transported by the bright gildings in the skies he builds over you; but there is the blackness of darkness beyond; and even his bright gildings but fringe and play upon the edges of thunder clouds.” - Herman Melville, 1856 Hawthorne was appointed Surveyor for the District of Salem and Beverly and Inspector of the Revenue for the Port of Salem in 1846 – a post which he lost in 1848 because of a change of administration in Washington. His mother died that same year, calling it “the darkest hours I ever lived”. He was then appointed Secretary of the Salem Lyceum in 1848.

“The Scarlet Letter” was published in March 1850, and was one of the first mass-produced books in America, selling 2500 copies in ten days, and earning Hawthorne $1,500 over 14 years. This was the most lucrative period of his life as a writer.

Hawthorne and his family moved to a small red farmhouse near Lenox, Massachusetts in 1850. While there he wrote “The House of the Seven Gables” (1851) and “The Blithedale Romance” (1852). The family enjoyed the scenery of the Berkshires, but hated the cold. They left in November 1851 and moved back to Concord.

“The Life of Franklin Pierce” was published in 1852. He was rewarded with the position of United States

of thirty-eight years. Ebe did everything she could to frustrate the match and never formed a civil relationship with her sister-in-law.” - John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists, 2013

SOPHIA Peabody Hawthorne (1809 – 1871) was an American painter and illustrator as well as the wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

1857. The Hawthornes returned to Concord in1860 when “The Marble Faun” was published – his first book in seven years.

Most of Hawthorne’s writing centers on New England moral metaphors with an anti-Puritan inspiration. His fictional works are considered part of the Romantic Movement and, more specifically, dark Romanticism. Inherent evil and the sin of humanity were central to his writing themes – which have moral messages and deep psychological complexity.

However, John Sutherland, the author of “Lives of the Novelists”, is convinced that the dark meditations of human sin that is such a dominant theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s literature stem from his relationship with his sister Ebe.

Consul in Liverpool shortly after the publication of Tanglewood Tales in 1853 – which appointment ended in

“She never married and loathed her brother’s blameless wife, Sophia, whom he had married on the verge of middle age, after a sibling relationship

“The incest hypothesis depends on thematic deductions from texts of the fiction, bolstered by dark hints by friends such as Herman Melville, who detected ‘a blackness, ten times black’ surrounding Hawthorne’s soul. He believed, said Melville, that all his life Hawthorne had concealed some great secret which would, were it known, explain all the mysteries in his career.”

- John Sutherland, Lives of the Novelists, 2013 Nathaniel Hawthorne died in his sleep on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Hawthorne was buried on Author’s Ridge in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Pallbearers included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, James Thomas Fields, and Edwin Percy Whipple.

“I thought there was a tragic element in the event, that might be more fully rendered – in the painful solitude of the man, which, I suppose4, could no longer be endured, and he died of it.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson NEXT WEEK: Sir Christopher Ondaatje reviews the recent publication of “The Dolphin Letters”, and the remarkable relationship between Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Hardwick.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; Lives of the Novelists (2013) by John Sutherland; Encyclopaedia Britannica; and American National Biography.

26 | The

Pageant. down: Dermis, Mirth, Roam, Approval, Suffer, Camera, Tribune Woefully, Weekend Quotable, Exultant, Join, Sleep (clue), Plucky.

|

tV croSSword

10 Gary Cooper

Salvo

SuMthiNg

MuddlESoME

4x6=24, 5x2=10, 9x3=27

The Children Act, On Chesil Beach, Enduring Love.

SMall croSSword

across: 1 Sunflower, 7 Undo, across: 5 Matt, 7 Worzel, 8 Worth, 8 Flame, 10 Gut, 11 Tiptoe, clock-wiSE 11 Gavin, 12 LaPaglia, 13 Alun, 13 Identical, 14 Safari, 16 Lit, Best described as a number crossword, the task in Kakuro 15 Need, 16 Edwards, 17 Liev, Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle onLift, a 9x9 Stab, able, lean, ante, tête, test.

18 based Eerie, 19 20 grid Shelf life. is to fill all of the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so with several given numbers. Thedown: object1 Subtitles, is to place the 18 Gellar, 21 Mark, 22 Elle. the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its 2 Untidy, 3 Font, numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, Cora, 2 block Vernon, 3 Soup, left, and the sum down: of each1 vertical equals the number 4 Ole, 5 Wage cap, 6 Retaliate, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number QuiZ of thE wEEk on its top. No number may be used in the same block more 4 Chiles, 5 McCloud, 6 Twin, 9 Blue Footage, 9 Spectre, 12 Tariff, only once. The difficulty level of8the Conceptis Sudoku than once. The peter, difficulty level of Conceptis 10 David, 14 the Small, 17 Liam, Kakuro from Monday 1 Johnincreases Major 2 John Wayne to Sunday 15 Fill, 17 Nil. increases from Monday to Sunday.

19 Eve, 20 Ace. 3 John Prescott 4 John le Carré croSS douBt 5 John Keats 6 Elton John tV show: Wissper 7 John Newcombe across: THORP 8 John Le Mesurier 9 John Boyne, down: WHACK 10 John Goodman.

1 3

TARGET

9 1

mP i Pr t umo

BATTLESHIPS

1

2

3

4

9

5

6

7

8

18

19

10 11

12

13

14

15

16

17

20 21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Across: 1 Cross, 4 Radiant, 8 Tip, 9 Out of true, 10 Partner, 11 No way, 13 Wooden, 15 Pent-up, 18 Steep, 19 Open-air, 21 In reserve, 23 IOU, 24 Treadle, 25 Tally.

Down: 1 Cats-paw, 2 On purpose, 3 Sworn, 4 Retard, 5 Defence, 6 Air, 7 Teeny, 12 With a will, 14 Exposed, 16 Perjury, 17 Coerce, 18 Swift, 20 Event, 22 Roe.

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution Across: 1 Score, 4 At heart, 8 Arc, 9 Right hook, 10 Believe, 11 Hoods, 13 X-rayed, 15 States, 18 Steep, 19 Arrange, 21 Elopement, 23 Oil, 24 Dresser, 25 Rated.

Down: 1 Soapbox, 2 Oscillate, 3 Eerie, 4 Angler, 5 Hatchet, 6 Ado, 7 Takes, 12 Out and out, 14 Express, 16 Shelled, 17 Career, 18 Speed, 20 Rotor, 22 Ode.

EASY PUZZLE

Across 1 Make less severe (6) 4 Untypical (8) 9 Brilliance (6) 10 Deep crack in glacier (8) 12 Accordingly (4) 13 Out of condit ion (5) 14 Throw violently (4) 17 Cordially (4,4,4) 20 Associate closely (3,9) 23 Portent (4) 24 Foolish (5) 25 Evergreen conifer (4) 28 Forceful verbal attack (8) 29 Confused sound of voices (6) 30 Famous (8) 31 Genial (6)

Down 1 Disastrous collapse (8) 2 Uninhabited (8) 3 Business partnership (4) 5 Exceed accepted limit (6,1,5) 6 Not from a recording (4) 7 A soft absorbent paper (6) 8 Profoundly (6) 11 Immoderate (12) 15 Spurious (5) 16 Odour (5) 18 Trustworthy (8) 19 Legislative body (8) 21 Edge (6) 22 Win back (6) 26 Exult gloatingly (4) 27 An expectant silence (4)

1 3 4 2 THE ALPHABEATER

2 3

3 2

cAn you crack the Alphabeater? Each grid targEt number represents a letter – or black square. across: 1 Edge; 3 Struggle; 9uses Trounce; faVouritE afire afore after Asfair in Alphapuzzle, every letter of the alphabet words in 10 Coach; 11 Misdemeanour; 13 fare faro fate fave favour theExpect; main isFAVOURITE used. But youfear havefeat to complete thefire grid too! feta fiat 15 Fillip; 17 Recollection; 20 Teeth; body of use the given letters andfort blackforte squares below five fiver fora fore four 21 Banquet; 22 Modestly; 23 Chambers Seer. the grid to start. the grid is ‘rotationally fovea fret frit fruit furtive raft down: 1 Entombed; 2 Gross; 421st Teemed; symmetrical’ – in tofu othertufa words, it looks the refit rife rift turf 5 Unconvincing; 6 Gradual; 7 Century Echo; Dictionary 8 Underclothes; 12 Spinster; 14 Pretend; same if you turn the page upside down.

(1999 Solution on Monday 16 Global; 18 Inure; 19 Stem. edition)

*Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

4

The Quick croSSword ● Target

Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 for today’s target solution Sudoku Answer

Down 1 Hotel in new place on top of a mountain (8) 2 Island in Asia perhaps in which a doctor turns up (8) 3 Metal press (4) 5 Fighting man audibly the worse for shouting? (5,7) 6 An ecclesiastical recess (4) 7 I grew angered about a pest (6) 8 Close in an attempt to be fashionable (6) 11 Missouri town gained by America in 1783 (12) 15 Feeling the hump (5) 16 Part of the body that’s nothing to smile about? (5) 18 Notaries perhaps from Spain (8) 19 Employ completely and beneficially (8) 21 Father’s got up in posh style to see a poetess (6) 22 There’s no telling if this is to be kept (6) 26 This man gets a seat (4) 27 Additional wording put up over an arch maybe (4)

1

2

3

2 1 9 5 8

8 2 3 5 1 7 4 6

TODAY’S TARGET Good 11; very good 16; excellent 22 (or more). Solution on Monday

Across 1 A bit of a bloomer letting it slip out (6) 4 The least expensive copy in the box (8) 9 Close, so ran back to a disturbance (6) 10 Jam book behind piano (8) 12 Similar to a family group (4) 13 French and German articles appear below (5) 14 Animal quarters perhaps (4) 17 Times for recreation (7,5) 20 They’re put to work by turns (12) 23 Not yet up in the garden (4) 24 Leave word in France (5) 25 You’d expect to see him in the height of fashion (4) 28 Highly moral folk converted by Ras putin (8) 29 Describes a struggle of some gravity (6) 30 Defeated by the democratic process? (8) 31 The unobservant use the wrong runway (6)

28

3 April 1 2 2020 4 Friday, 3,

2 1

7 1 2 1

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

CRYPTIC PUZZLE

27

5 8 7 6 4 1 3 9 3 9 8 2 3

27 Waves small fur ensemble (4) 28 Bewitched, then madly registered everything by journalist (10)

FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off.

Solution on Monday 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10

A

1

B

3

C

1

D

2

E

3

F

2

G

3

H

0

I

4

J

1 2

2

3

3

1

1

2

2

0

1 x Battleship

3 x Destroyer

2 x cruiser

4 x submarine

4

Extra lett

0907 18

(Deduct three each extra clue

full so

0907 18

*Calls cost 80p p your telephon network acc

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

30

39

17

27

25

28

8

7

3

17

23

23

34

1

39

7

8

10

36

13

6

40

31

17

27

25

39

38

19

23

1

17

28

20

6

11

3

31

4

16

12

39

6

39

6

36

19

27

10

23

20

13

31

19

1

40

11

32

40

7

2

22

19

9

10

17

4

9

18 27 39 20Yesterday’s

12

12

15

40

3

2

26 5 3 15 Answer 8 19 Kakuro

29

38

39

7

11

32

31

10

7

36

1

9

36

27

27

6

36

10

15

19

13

18

16

7

26

28

19

22

35

19

11

38

39

22

21

17

40

8

27

39

37

33

19

6

6

35

8

38

15

20

28

29

9

22

33

9

24

36

36

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30 31

32

33

34 35

36

37

D

P

■

■

V

● Alternatively, for six Extra Letter clues to your mobil text DXBEAT to 84901. Texts cost £1 plus your usual opera

KEIJO 2 3 2

3

1

4

4

2

3

4

1

1

4

1

2

3

Place th the gr four numbe differe appear and

Solu M

The Tribune | Weekend | 27

Friday, April 3, 2020

The happy side of things Animal matters | KIM ARANHA

I

had quite a battle with myself this week as to what kind of article I would write and submit for my column. There were two options: one would be a serious article about the how and why of coronavirus and how it got to be what it is today, or the second option would be to write something uplifting and happy, positive and encouraging.

I didn’t have to spend too much time arguing with myself. I just started to think about what so many people are going through - the stress, worry and uncertainty. The decision was unanimous between all the different opinions that were in my head! I will write about good news and happy things.

I will dedicate this article to the service animals who are uplifting people in stressful conditions, but not only to them, also to the pets who are comforting those who are alone at home and need company.

Yesterday morning I was watching Good Morning America (my morning show of preference) and anchorman George Stephanopoulos was broadcasting from home because his wife, comedienne Ali Wentworth, has coronavirus and is confined to her bedroom with a fever, the chills and headaches.

The only one in the house to see her is her husband George, but only sporadically for meals that he brings her and to take her temperature. Today she was better and was being interviewed, and they asked her how she was doing, and she said she was fine, and not too lonely because their two dogs kept her company all day and slept on her bed at night.

That may sound like a throwaway comment, but when you really think about it, those two dogs are providing her comfort like none other can.

In America, shelters all over the country are running out of dogs for adoptions, and cats are finding homes, too. People confined to their homes need company and unconditional love. When you consider the risks of being stuck at home all day, everyday, there is need for an additional being around to “dilute” the constant isolation. Who better than a cat or dog, who will entertain us with their endearing antics and help us to get our minds off things?

Photo/Patricia Vazquez

ANIMALS

PET

OF THE

WEEK STAN THE MAN

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY

S EVEN Bill Gates is working from home with his dog by his side. (Photo/reddit)

Of course, a dog also provides the perfect reason to get out of the house several times a day if you happen to live in an apartment of townhouse with no garden.

There are scores of very funny cartoons of the family dog lamenting that he has been walked five times a day by every member of the household.

The comfort animals are hard at work around the world, and though dogs are the number one choice to be comfort animals they are most certainly not the only ones.

Most comfort dogs, or therapy dogs, are brought in after a tragedy like the Sandy Hook shooting or the Pulse Nightclub massacre, but they can also be found now at certain airports.

The patient and compassionate dogs do the rounds at different departure gates, especially when there are delays. The waiting passengers get very excited to stroke and interact with them, and it also promotes interaction with the passengers, so that the waiting almost becomes a social exercise.

The Bahamas Humane Society has pets for adoption, and we can adopt out to people. We have a Facebook page with all the different dogs and cats looking for a home, but alas, we are not experiencing

a surge of adoptions. Somehow, maybe, people are not looking for that happy, fluffy friend at their feet like I do.

A couple of days ago I went for my morning walk. I was gone about an hour and when I came home I received a greeting like I have never received from any human. It was such a lovely sight to see them lined up at the fence welcoming me home. Maybe they thought I had been out hunting and gathering, as I do always have food in the house for them. In fact, joking aside, some animal psychologists say that our pets see us as the number one hunters in the family because of our ability to feed them every day.

However they may perceive us, I think that those of us who love our pets and have them at home at the moment are the absolute winners. With all the disruption, worry and upheaval we are experiencing at present, the one consistent thing in our lives is the unfaltering love and affection from our non-human companions. They expect very little from us, with the exception of taking up most of the space in the bed or under the desk.

They remind me that things will return to normal sometime; there is an end somewhere over the horizon...it just seams so far away, doesn’t it?

tan the man is here, ready to distract you from your COVID-19 worries. Stan is about one year old and very playful.

He’d love to go walking around your neighbourhood with you (for your permitted hour and a half). He’s not so good at social distancing, but since pets can’t transmit the virus, that’s all good; he’ll enjoy the snuggles!

Stan doesn’t want a house with cats (they’re too tempting to chase!) and he’s picky about other dogs in his social circle, but he’s friendly and outgoing with adults and kids.

Do you need Stan in your social circle? If you do, give the Bahamas Humane Society a call at 323-5138 to arrange for fostering or adoption. Stan looks forward to shaking paws with you!

• The BHS is Nassau’s oldest charity and as such we are feeling the pinch from the national shutdown.

While we are an essential service, our fundraisers and Thrift Shop are on hold until further notice, so we need your help more than ever. To make a donation, please contact Donna at b_humane@hotmail.com.

Thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts and warm fuzzy paws!

28 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, April 3, 2020

community

Local balloon artist puts Bahamas on the map

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

O

n March 26, local balloon business owner Cecile Williams-Bethel joined hundreds of balloon artists from around the world as they brought joy to people with the “One Million Bubble of Joy” initiative during the current pandemic.

The website, www.onemillionbubbles.org, explains the initiative like this: “...balloon designers around the world will help to fill their neighbours, towns, and cities with joy by deploying balloon art in their community.

The world is changing rapidly and who better to spread joy than those who know how to create it. Nothing brings smiles to people’s faces like balloons do, and the professional balloon decorating and entertainment industry wants to help people find their smiles and joy during this challenging and frightening time we have entered”.

For her part, Cecile, owner of the party supply and décor company The Balloon People, said she wanted to pay tribute to healthcare providers in general, but in particular to those here in the Bahamas. As a result, and being very patriotic, she began her display with a design of the country’s flag.

“It was only fitting to also build two sculptures representing the doctors and nurses in our system. And then, even though we say it orally, I chose to create one of our acrylic signages where I penned a hearty ‘thank you’ to all of our health heroes,” she said.

“I was particularly drawn to this group of essential workers because of my familial ties to this career path. My mother dedicated 40 years of her life to nursing. My uncle was one of the first male nurses in our country and he served for more than 30 years. My aunt served in the admissions office of PMH for more than 30 years. My cousin is currently a physician at PMH and I have a couple of cousins that are nurses in the system. I am acutely aware of the sacrifice that these heroes are making to care for our sick during

THE ‘One Million Bubbles of Joy’ display by Cecile Williams-Bethel, owner of The Balloon People, pays tribute to healthcare workers.

“It was only fitting to also build two sculptures representing the doctors and nurses in our system.”

this time and so I wanted to say thank you.”

She added: “One Million Bubbles of Joy was an initiative where over 200 professionals in the balloon industry from all over the world...used their talent and skills to create something artsy and fun to be displayed in their yards, which would bring joy, hope and smiles to others. Our hope is that when this is all over, one million balloons would have been used to create 10 times as many smiles during this awful COVID-19 experience that we are currently living in. Our contribution to the count was approximately 950 balloons.”

She said it felt wonderfully rewarding to see the purple balloon marker placed on the map on the One Million Bubbles of Joy website, showing that the Bahamas had participated and was represented in this global project.

“My tribute to healthcare providers will be seen all over the world. Sometimes we take things for granted. I wanted the Ministry of Health to know that their service is appreciated,” said Cecile.

The feedback she received for her project, she said, has been nothing short of amazing.

“It has and continues to be very uplifting for me, the feedback.

Vehicles that passed my front yard slowed down to ensure that they got a picture or just to take it in visually. Our social media pages have been abuzz with positive vibes from those who have seen my creation. I had to work alone because of the provisions laid out in the Emergency Powers Order 2020, but the hours spent working on it resulted in something powerful,” said Cecile.