The Arrival Date

September 08, 1991. That is when I first set foot on the island of St. Thomas. I had purchased an open ended ticket on Pan Am Airlines, expecting to spend a season on the island of St. John before heading back to the square state of Missouri and attend law school at Washington University. I am often asked why I am still here, and the simple answer is that Pan Am went out of business, I could never use my return flight, and am still saving up for a ticket to go "home". But the reality is, this place really gets to your soul, it really is that special. And that is why almost everyone I know remembers the date that they moved here.

Furniture was being delivered to my house two days ago. The two movers arrived, one of whom I knew quite well. And though I had met the other and he looked familiar, I wasn't quite sure how I knew him. So I asked, when did you move here? Well, in the States, somebody would answer the year. But this person spit out not only the year, month, and day, but also the time the plane arrived. (for the record, I arrived on a night flight, about 9:00 pm or so). It brought a smile to my face just knowing he felt the way I did about living here. For the record, his date I remember, because it was Sept 15, 2001. He was scheduled to fly on Sept 11, and we can all figure out why that didn't happen. But Sept 15 (1995) is also an infamous date down here as the anniversary of Hurricane Marilyn, another day I will never forget.

This is just one example from a couple of days ago, but it is a constant down here. The Arrival Date. Always fun to celebrate the arrival anniversary with your friends. Even better than birthdays if you ask me.