By Colin Hyde
Face it, at 84 the man Flo Marin, Sr., having lived a decade past the life expectancy for men in Belize, belongs to a special breed. That man has lucky DNA. He has the luck of living an adult life where every day he knew where his and his family’s next meal was coming from. My, it adds years to a man’s life if he can avoid such stress. Looks can be deceiving, but he apparently never had a serious body-sapping drinks need. He apparently kept an active mind, probably arguing things with his peers, like Father William. In all likelihood, he got in his necessary sweat, even though he had the dough to be a couch potato.
Flo Marin, Sr. has done well, exceptionally well to resist the ravages of time. Many others born in the decade during which he came into this world are long gone, feeble, or befuddled. If odds were taken on a person like me, my best chances to grow up to be like Flo would be like 1 in 20. Hey, all that to say, hurray for the man; he’s at an age when most of us are over and out, and he is getting along like fine wine.
That Dean Flowers, he is about as dangerously mischievous as Jose Mai – incidentally, please, if there is a legitimate charge on Jose for his House talk it would be about scatology, not sex – yes, Dean Flowers, he was after many prey when he went stone age. Brother, if Eamon and Chris are not in court, then the felony is compounded. Why are we hiring junior lawyers from their law firms to fight our important battles?
Damned right, “dinosaur” is disrespectful. But if you want to force a discussion about serious matters, you have to be rude. When it comes to dodging serious issues, we are more notorious than the ostrich. So, Mr. Flowers wants to talk about dinosaurs. We have heard the GOB say we need to talk about the non-paying pension scheme. What about the CEO system? Is 55 the best time to retire a person from public employ? What about destroying the highways because the big boys insist on cutting the take- home earnings of stevedores in Belize City?
And what about taking the national think tank on a wild goose chase on full constitutional reform instead of doing it piecemeal? My, didn’t we learn anything from the 2000 Political Reform Commission? Let’s see, that vaunted intellectual group must have made more than a hundred recommendations, but I doubt more than a handful made it. One of them that did was a law against crossing the floor. Get it, if you bring a big package, things will go down with only a passing glance. Bah to these republicans. They are always blaming the Queen. We got self-government in 1964, and we got independence in 1981, and we still haven’t started replanting the trees.
It’s a pity that to get heard, Mr. Flowers had to ignore Michelle O. and go low. We absolutely must respect our elders, and cherish them, and remember that if their minds are sound it is a terrible thing to waste. Ah, the most important point from the Miss Sandra/Brother Nuri discussion on the Krem WuB was the tremendous value of institutional knowledge. An oldster can be invaluable, and Brother Flo might be just the man to bridge the gap between the multinational ASR/BSI and the cane farmers.
But, for various reasons a discussion has to be had about the government hiring retirees. That discussion will get the best results if key in the group weighing in are people who work and have worked in the public service. Their terms of reference must include keeping their mouths free of harsh, disrespectful terms. Who’s a dinosaur? If the reports are right, there are some young people who are in it just for the 15th and ending.
Now, Dependents, it is great to have our children/young teenagers get involved in exercises that increase their understanding of the workings of government, but those seniors who oversee these exercises should not, for points, swell up these young people’s heads. As the policy of “be seen and not heard” was too extreme, so is this idea that we are looking for children to lead us. Children do have a right to speak, but if there is wisdom from the mouths of babes it is regurgitated from their elders. It is always better to go to the source.
I really don’t like to be disliked, or repeat myself, but please, young people don’t bring wisdom to the table, for reason that that is a product of experience, not DNA. We hear about whiz kids all of the time, and just looking at that, in time dedicated students catch up with them. You’ve seen it in sports. Some kids star early, and then the dedicated slow coaches gradually bring their games on par, or surpass them. We’ve all heard the story about the race between the tortoise and the hare. But forgive me for straying. Respect to the opinions of youth, and respect to youthful energy, the strength of young men and the refreshing beauty of young women. Wisdom, you have to live a long time to get that.
Battles to keep massage parlors legit
Being humans too, what happens in the outside world, especially in the USA, is of importance to us, as simple entertainment, and as serious events to learn from and to form positions about. The US world has inundated us with stories of rich and powerful men who serially used their positions to take advantage of women. Men dropping things in women’s drinks, men demanding favors from women auditioning for jobs, and men going to massage parlors and demanding more than a bad back rubdown.
Robert Kraft, the highly respected owner of the most successful American football franchise, the New England Patriots, had his finances and reputation on the line for some activities in a massage parlor. Kraft, an 81-year-old dinosaur, was charged with a misdemeanor, paying for sex in a massage parlor, but the case was reportedly dropped after certain evidence the prosecution considered important wasn’t allowed in court.
The work of the celebrated Christian apologist, Ravi Zacharias, was sullied after it was revealed that he liked to be massaged by young women, and that led to other things. Ravi, who died at 74, just entering his dinosaur years, reportedly lost control while under supple female hands and warm oil. I’m not aware that Ravi was charged with anything, but for posing as a man of fiber when his flesh was weak, he lost a lot of followers. The man’s religious lessons are pure gold. If you can put his human weakness aside, I assure you it will be enriching if you give him an ear.
Deshaun Watson, one of the greatest players in the American football world, was forced to sit out an entire season after many women who work in massage parlors accused him of sexual impropriety. Watson apparently has an addiction to massages by different young women. The last story I read about Watson is that over the years the young man has gotten rubdowns in 66 such establishments. Of course, his lawyers say the women and their lawyers are only after his mega millions. But it is a fact that legitimate masseurs all over are very concerned about the image of their industry.
Wrapping up, I am not talking physical therapy, I’m talking spa. Both are big business. There’s no data here, but we have from the US. IBISWorld says that in 2022 the physical therapy industry was worth $US46.4 billion, and I read somewhere that nearly half a million persons are in that industry. MassageLuXe says the American Massage Therapy Association says the industry is worth $US18 billion per year, and I read somewhere that it employs 350,000 people. I don’t know if there’s any overlapping.