“Sounds of Laughter”

Why this title? Well, the word “laughter” itself has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it? I feel like it’s impossible to say the word without smiling. I like saying it almost as much as I like partaking in the act of it. I figured, hey, whatever the content of this blog may be, at least my loved ones will get to behold the word “laughter” each time they open the page. 🙂

Also: my first exposure to anything related to the Caribbean was, I believe, that wonderful Harry Belafonte song “Down the Way.” I’m not sure if that’s actually the song’s title, but I was enamored of it as a child, and it was usually my first request when my father sat down at the piano. Is it just me, or is there something universally magical about this song? I realize it was written about Jamaica, not the Commonwealth of Dominica…but, well, it’s the same region. And it’s part of the 12-Island Caribbean Initiative, too (I will try to explain a bit more about this initiative in next week’s posting). And very nice salt fish can be had here. And the sun, indeed, shines daily on the mountaintop. In fact, flying into Dominica, the island appears to be nothing but sunshiny green mountaintops.

Mainly, though, of all the joys and wonders of my new home in the Carib Territory, the most beautiful of all are the sounds of laughter that permeate the air. They are even sweeter to the ear than the sound of the ocean, the chirping of crickets, and the whispering of a warm island breeze.

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