A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die.
Lyrics from As Time Goes By in Casablanca
On St. John, the age old story is about a fight between between development and Caribbean simplicity. Until the recession hit, development was winning and moving ahead.
The tussle between these forces is at the heart of a new book written by Chuck Ball. He lived on the island from 2004 to 2007 and saw the boom and bust of the real estate and construction market. He worked construction, helping to build eco-cabins at Maho and Concordia.
His book is Mingo's Cave. "The central theme of the story is the battle between over development and saving a pristine island environment," Ball explained.
One person has reviewed it on Amazon, giving it a five star rating. "Action, adventure and hidden treasure on a tropical island. Kind of 'Indiana Jones' meets 'Treasure Island'. Enjoyed learning more about the US Virgin Islands and another way of life. A Hollywood ending but that was ok..nice, entertaining read. "
Available on Amazon, it's both an e-book and an audio book. You can download and listen to it on your iPod, iPad, Zune, PC, Mac and or/ read it on whichever device you prefer. The price is $3.99.
- Link to Amazon: http://amzn.to/a6f0C2
Frank, thanks for giving ‘Mingo’s Cave’ a plug. It helped boost sales for the week to the highest volume yet. I also heard from old friends that are still on island.
best regards,
Chuck Ball
While I’d love to keep STJ “pristine,” it’s kind of ironic that the loudest squealers about development already have their “1/3 acre of heaven” and oversized villa. NIMBY is alive and well. If you don’t want to see legal development, then buy up the land yourself, but don’t prevent those that are dirt poor, land rich from doing what they want with family land. I don’t know the answers, but it’ll be interesting reading, I’m sure.