Wheres that violin??

I remember when Orient beach did not rent any chairs or umbrellas...

Wendy,Those were the best times on Orient.Remember the view from the beach without Orient Village and the hotels.Before the beach bars & Mt. Vernon were built Orient beach had no day cruisers & chairs everywhere.

Kim?? Who is mom?

Barbara, Remember the funny to think how the GOV. thought there was enough traffic congestion in those days that a light was needed.That light MADE TRAFFIC CONGESTION and thankfully was finally turned off.How about the road threw Grand Case before the by-pass rd was installed around 1990. Some how we managed to drive threw town without much problems until a concrete truck needed to pass .The wonderful yrs in Grand Case when the restaurants had 2 dinner seatings & reservations were needed.

yes orient was nice then and is today also. do you remember the nude beach at la gallion?the site of the old swimming pool can still be seen if you use your imagination and knew where it was originally.

Gee, this couldn't possbily be Bob1P? Yes, Bob, actually, that is one of my fondest memories of old SXM - driving to Pburg a few nights during our trip to call the family back home. How hilarious was that to wait in line and have one of the lady operators connect you through. I was always waiting for Lily Tomlin's Ernestine to be there one night!

And, here we all are today with our cell phones attached to us in SXM. Kind of strange how far we've come (both good and bad, I guess). Since we didn't have a phone back in the day the coconut telegraph was the mode of choice for communicating with friends on island. Before you left at the end of the night you all agreed on the next day's plans or decided on where, when, with whom your next evening would consist of. What I loved even more was passing a friend on the hill, honking, stopping and having a 5 minute chat about whatever.... w/o ANYONE coming up behind you! Wow..... long time ago, long time ago....

Communicating like we did back then really did give the SXM that small island feel. It was quite charming....

peace

irina Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pat,
> so wonderful to hear of the old times. I wonder
> why some think I am trying to act as if I still
> live here. Hmm.
> Cheers baby. The Orly thing was because of all
> the hijackings in the 80's. We went to Italy
> right after Achille Lauro and it was crazy I tell
> you.
> Say hi to the brat for me.
> i



Brat huh!!! thats the nicest you've called me in ages!!! You still there? Don't answer, stay off the computer until you get home!!! hope your having fun!!! Don't get barbara into too much trouble!

I may challenge Barbara as the oldest one here, although we both may be younger than Augie.

This is a story from one of our now long gone favorite restaurants on the island, Bertine's up on the hill overlooking Grand Case. "Bertine's" was a combination of the owner/operator's names, Bernie and Christine, former residents of my hometown, Chicago.

Anyway, this would be back in the late 1990's, we went up to Bertine's for the first time, for a great dinner with the fruit bats flying around in front of the terrace. Dinner was great, and we were the only customers in the place that night. As usual Christine served and Bernie cooked. When Christine found out we were from Chi, she hollered for Bernie to come out, and we ended up shooting the breeze with them both for several hours after dinner.

So they proceed to tell us the story of how they ended up as restauranteurs and innkeepers on the island. Some years before, they were customers at the same location, being served by the previous owner, a local Frenchman. Bernie was particularly taken with the place, the atmosphere, including the stunning views of Grand Case Bay. Apparently in a similar post-dining conversation as ours, the owner said he was planning on retiring soon, and Bernie commented on how he thought this would be a wonderful way to make a living. Discussion continued, and, according to Bernie, as a simple little aside, he told the owner to call him when he actually decided to retire. Well...again according to Bernie, this idle chat constituted a verbal contract to the Frenchman. About a year later they got a call from the guy, who said something like, "OK, when will you be coming down to take over?" Bernie and Christine said that the guy never looked for another buyer since he thought he had a deal and they didn't have the heart to say to the guy that it was just a little musing over a bottle of wine. They packed up and moved to St. Martin, and that's how Bertine's was born.

They told us that night that their kids were getting close to school age and that they would be moving back to the US in the next year or two, which they did. Anyone interested in having a good Bertine's meal, including the great, Steak on a Hot Rock, can still get one at:

Bertine's North
206 S Main St
Madison, VA 22727
Phone: (540) 948-3463

Alan - I was thinking about you last night(thats scary!!!haha), I was at my sisters and she pulled out an old album, we think from 1988, and she had picutres from Bertines, mostly of the two chocolate labs!!!

Alan...I have both you and Barbara beat. I'm the oldest one here.

Annie

annie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alan...I have both you and Barbara beat. I'm the
> oldest one here.
>
> Annie

Maybe not Augie though.

AlanB said;"Maybe not Augie though"
So you know for sure, my next b'day is 66.

Augie;

I am an agnostic dyslexic who questions if there really is a dog.

Got you all beat! boo hoo

Annie

and I got Augie beat, but not Annie! :-)

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