We’ll learn her to wait

The first thing you need in Paradise is…, you guessed it, the patience of a saint. In case I forget that fundamental rule, there is always someone “from stateside” to remind me.

I walked into the bank, and saw a helpdesk with no one behind it. A book was propped up on the counter. Following a local person’s lead, I wrote my name and time of arrival. That is the way to get in line in Paradise. A few glances were cast my way to see if I had figured out the routine. I did what the locals do-sat on a lounge chair, and waited. Every few minutes, a bank employee would stroll across, call out a name and a person would follow the employee to a cubicle. Everyone waited till their name was announced. No name, no service. No financial problem could be big enough to rush things. It seemed like a fairly typical day at the bank.

Typical, till a New Yorker (at least the T-shirt said so) stormed into the reception area. She leaned over the helpdesk as though she was searching for someone under the chair. Next, she went around it to be sure, and then started pacing the reception area. She peered into offices, called to get attention and demanded service. She intercepted an employee who was working with another client, only to be greeted with a steely glance and a finger tap on the book. She either missed the point or it did not suit her. So she got on the cell phone to make things happen. Apparently that did not go well either, since with every call, her voice got louder. A few calls later, she announced her intention of getting some service, or else…… Through it all, she did not write her name in the book. No name, no service.

My name was called, and I proceeded to one of the offices. After completing some paperwork, I discovered another reason why things work on island time-the notary was in a corner office, the printer was at the end of one hallway, and the copier was at the other end. An official document in Paradise needs to be printed (often in color), notarized (at five dollars a stamp), and copied (sometimes in triplicate).

In an adjoining cubicle, a couple of employees were whispering to each other while watching the damsel in distress. They dispersed, and the word came around: She in a hurry, we’ll learn her to wait. By the time I left a half hour later, the lady was still being “learned to wait”

I wondered how long it would take her to learn the lesson: No name, no service. And learn to wait. Why rush when you are in Paradise?