The Tribune

By DIANE PHILLIPS

If you are a news junkie like I am, you appreciate the sheer genius of a Jimmy Kimmel who delivers verbal bullets every day with the ammo power of a controlled missile that could wipe out a nation if stinging syllables struck like firepower. As a news junkie, you’d be in awe of Jon Stewart – how his version of what happened today becomes the sardonic humour warning you to wait, just see what’s coming down the pike tomorrow. You’d appreciate the goodwill and cheery nature of meteorologist Al Roker who can leave you smiling after he’s just delivered the news of an imminent powerful snowstorm about to strike that will leave you homebound, without power and only your grit, muscles and shovel will clear the ice sheets from the driveway and car.

If you are a news junkie like I am, you would certainly appreciate the seriousness of Kristen Welker, who took over the coveted and demanding chair as host of Meet the Press in September, 2023. They don’t just remind you every week that Meet the Press is the longest running TV show on air. It actually is. It first debuted on November 6, 1947, and thanks to the persistent ranks and occasional wisdom of politicians, it provides a platform for those in the inner circle of weary Washington Beltway to explain to the rest of us what is really happening behind the scenes so we can agree or otherwise when guests and panellists praise or spank. Meet the Press always reminds me of our own Parliament, with guests on one side of the aisle or the other,  the only place on American TV where if they didn’t speak with a decidedly American accent you’d think they were British, employing the Westminster party system, guests jousting for justice between the party in power and the loyal opposition. 

That’s all a very long preface to get to the personality whose weekly show contains one of my favourite few minutes of TV time every week. His name is Willie Geist, host of Sunday TODAY, and segment is called the Highs and Lows of the Week. Willie Geist is stepping away from his Sunday role at NBC to focus on an urgent family matter and those of us who looked forward to his gentle approach to interviews and his Life Well-Lived tributes will miss him, but send our thoughts and prayers that the matter will be resolved in the way the Geist family deserves for it to be. Having met Willie Geist briefly at a media conference in New York, I can say without hesitation that he is as genuine a human being as he appears on the screen, taller perhaps and even better looking in person with piercing blue eyes and fairer skin than the camera portrays, but as down to earth and interested in others as he comes across in segments like his ‘Sunday sit down with…’ interviews. I hope he does not mind that I am carrying the Highs and Lows of the Week to The Bahamas where I hope to “air” it as events unfold and qualify for Geist-like recognition.

The 1st high of the week

In this week’s Highs and Lows of the Week, the first high goes to officials who banned jet ski operators from riding with guests. The new order was announced on March 5 by Acting Port Controller and Senior Commander Berne Wright who said the policy aimed to curb sexual misconduct and tighten safety oversight in The Bahamas’ water sports industry. He did not mince words. “If an operator rides with a guest, it cracks the door for unwanted sexual misconduct, so in order to mitigate or limit that, at no time should an operator be riding with a guest for no reason — that should never happen,” Mr  Wright said. And we say well said, Mr Wright. Congratulations, too, to the US Embassy and, in particular, the Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberley Furnish who, when she was serving as Charges d’Affaires prior to the arrival of the Ambassador Hershel Walker, campaigned hard to find a solution to the tragedies reported to the Embassy by young girls who had opted for a jet ski ride, paid the fare, hopped on full of holiday happiness and ended in tears and trauma when the ride led to an abandoned beach and rape. 

The 1st low

The first low of the week has to go to the same man who we credited in the first high, Acting Port Controller Berne Wright. Or maybe it’s his team or the Royal Bahamas Defence Force or just the owner/operator of the trawler Drianna. In case you haven’t seen it, Drianna is that large, black-hulled vessel sinking, sitting near the middle of the channel off Arawak Cay, looking very forlorn, and very much attached to the bottom which may be the only thing keeping it from sinking altogether. It’s probably fair to say that wherever she went before Drianna was a productive member of a fishing fleet. She has all the markings of a ship that has seen far better days but our ranking for the first low of the week is not about her peeling paint or rusting superstructure, it’s about why we let her sit right there, listing to starboard, in the path of other vessels, unsure of what could be leaking into the waters or whether fuel or battery acid or anything else could be leaching into the channel.

The 2nd high

The 2nd high of the week goes to the Rolle sisters, Bridgette and Sophia, who used their 62nd birthday to give back to community by hosting and putting together a 5k fun run, walk or whatever at Goodman’s Bay March 7 to raise funds for the Bahamas Feeding Network. The Rolles took some of the pain out of showing up at 5:30 am. They had Sandbar coffee set up and start custom-brewing the morning joe with young Mr. Sands’ specialty flavours providing an instant revival beverage. Good going, Drs Bridgette and Sophia. Those doctorate degrees paid off taking empathy for a community cause to a new level, adding the delicious taste to the morning air and proving sisterly love, like brotherly love, can extend far beyond family borders.

The final low

And we have to add another low from along the waterfront. This one, from the once beautiful walkway running parallel to East Bay Street from Potter’s Cay to TPA Marina just before the Poop Deck and Yacht Haven. Can someone please explain why this area has suddenly become a secondary unofficial cargo port with containers parked there overnight and sometimes for days? Did we run out of space on Arawak Cay where Nassau Container Port is located? The eastern paved and landscaped walkway is not the only place 20-80-foot cables cargo containers, fuel trucks and others are overnighting. They are also on the western esplanade though they don’t seem to stay as long. Maybe someone has an answer. We are all ears though our eyes are not happy especially since I could get a ticket for parking my car in the wrong spot downtown so just not understanding how commercial equipment can put down metal feet and hang out on public property presumably intended for other uses without repercussion. If there is a good explanation, I am all ears. Meantime, it’s painful to the eyes which would much prefer a view of the waterfront. 

Ending on a high note

In addition to commending Atlantis on a hugely successful and well-run Wine & Food Festival, I wanted to end on another high note. Watch for an announcement this week of a rock concert coming to Nassau. It’s big. It’s British. It’s loud and it’s packed with talent. Coming to a distillery near you in April with the band’s leader stopping by Nassau for the pre-concert press conference on the 26th of this month. The event is set for April 8 at John Watling’s Distillery, quickly emerging as the favourite grounds for the extraordinary.