The phone rang. When I answered, the person on the line was speaking with such a strong accent that I hardly understood anything. Then it hit me! She was from the Caribbean and she was trying to explain how she knew me. I burst into questions and finally realized that she, Claudette, was Michel Nestor’s girlfriend and they were here in the US! I almost cried! I had dreamed of someone from St Lucia where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer coming to visit me in Atlanta. St Lucia and my friends there were incredibly special to me, even after 30 years. They made me feel accepted and appreciated in their home country. Now, the son of my closest friend, Raymonise, was here!
Raymonise Nestor was my godsend in St Lucia. She and her boys lived next door to me. Eight-year-old Michel woke me on Saturday mornings making music by drumming old pots and lids and buckets with sticks. Twenty years later he was a reggae star, calling himself Meshach, a Rastafarian and Biblical name. Writing his own songs, playing and singing, he had come to Atlanta to create a sound recording of his inspired music. He and Claudette would stay for a whole year, working hard to succeed here.
My own family sings and plays the guitar and mandolin and we enjoy old rock and roll, folk, reggae and Americana. During that long visit, my whole family and many friends were enriched by the cultural exchange involved in socializing with Meshach and Claudette. We invited them to many family gatherings and shared our music with them, and they shared theirs with us. Reggae, with its funky upbeat, was in my blood because of my stay in St Lucia. My American friends loved it. Those gatherings were so much fun!
When I went to St Lucia’s community dances with Raymonise, I danced to reggae and other island music. She chaperoned me to make sure the men who stood in line to dance with me were polite. I loved going to the weekend dances with her. Sometimes we would go far into the countryside and dance the night away! My music-making now and especially my love for it came from the fullness of music during my time in St Lucia. The gift of island music became a gift of music for life. I treasure it even today.
It thrilled me to introduce Meshach to American life here, just as his family had helped me as I adjusted to life in St Lucia. They had already met those of my family members who visited me there. I always asked my visitors to bring a box of books when they came to see me. With that help, I was able to help create the first library in our little community. Meshach got to meet my parents, boyfriend (now my husband) and sisters in St Lucia. Now he could know them in MY country.
I was so happy to help Meshach and Claudette reach their goal. After a year, their dream came true. They returned to St Lucia with 5,000 CD recordings. Distributing these across the Caribbean helped to make Meshach one of the most well-known reggae artists in the region. He performs at festivals and concerts and plays at the big tourist resorts. https://www.facebook.com/reel/577944408459754.
After our two friends returned home, my husband and I were able to visit them in St Lucia. They reintroduced us to many of our old friends and some of them remembered us. It warmed my heart to visit St Lucia again and our renewed friendships.
