Not too long ago, and not so far away, I came across what I thought was the most thoughtful and remarkable concept in recent times. It was a 2Ox2O chalkboard, with chalk and eraser, mounted on the wall of a cubicle in the ladies' room of a shopping mall in Tallahassee, Fla.
I suspected the chalkboards were placed there to accommodate ladies who wished to relieve their distress/stress while relieving themselves.
I was impressed, as I had recently left St. Thomas which at the time was ravaged by Hurricane Marilyn. Everything was either destroyed, damaged or mash-up. That is to say, nothing worked. So a chalkboard situated next to a working commode seemed benevolent to me.
My interpretation was, yes, people are good. People really care about each other's well-being. Perhaps it is a concept recommended by the American Association of Psychologists.
Now, I had never written on the wall of a girl's room, ladies' room or women's room. Nor had I ever had a desire to do so. Though I know that females (and males) all over the world share this one thing in common — to deface public property by writing obscenity, love messages, hate messages or telephone numbers for various explicit, erotic services in close proximity to excrement.
Perhaps it is sexual healing. But I wondered why people feel obliged to reveal their secret selves at such a venue. Perhaps, it is like going to confession. Or the perfect way to relieve stress.
Yes, stress can be harmful to one's life! And we (Virgin Islanders) have had more than our share of stress; especially, hurricane-related stress. But we have grown strong and are a people who can say, "God is good" in the face of adversity.
I looked at the chalkboard, read the obscenities left by the previous user and erased it. Then I decided to relieve some of my own stress and wrote in large letters: "THANK GOD FOR LIFE!"

Beginning on Jan. 31 there will be a mass said in Spanish at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays at St. Anne's Chapel in Frenchtown.
The announcement was made by Father Sanchez who will be conducting the Spanish service.

Here are the results of last month's convenience store Food Basket Survey from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.
Two stores were surveyed on St. Thomas: Marina Market and B & P Market. The survey was done of 18 items. Marina Market had the cheaper aggregate price of $36.08 while B&P Market had a total of $43.88.
The release from DLCA said there were stark differences in prices at the two stores. They gave some examples — 32 ounces of Evercane sugar cost $1.39 at Marina Market. The same product at B&C cost $2.89.
The other example given was an eight ounce can of Star Kist tuna fish sells for $0.99 at Marina Market while B&P sells the same item for $2.29.
DCLA urges consumers to shop around for the best buys, use coupons, try generic brands and make good use of their monthly food survey.
For more information call the Division of Consumer Protection Services at 774-3130 on St. Thomas.

A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4 at the V.I. Fish and Game Club in Red Hook regarding Draft Management Plan for overfished Atlantic swordfish, sharks and tunas.
The draft plan, developed by the National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration, seeks ways to manage and rebuild stocks of these migratory species.
The draft is being reviewed across the United States in public hearings in order to gather input from recreational sport, and commercial fisherman.
All interested parties are urged to attend.

What's up with the weather?
Everybody is talking about how cold it is.
Everybody, that is, but the weather service.
According to Henry Laskosky, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Puerto Rico, a combination of cloud cover and wind is driving down the temperature in St. Thomas.
Laskosky said if it weren't for the cloud cover, temperatures Monday would have reached a high of 78 to 80 degrees.
But according to officials at the FAA tower at Cyril E. King Airport, the temperatures did reach a high of 77 degrees, which is average for this time of year.
That’s not what local residents are experiencing though, including some who maintain the daytime temperatures Monday were in the low '70s.
“I don’t remember it being this cold in a very long time — maybe not ever,” said Bill Jowers, general manager of Magens Bay.
“I have to go out tomorrow and buy jackets for the lifeguards and all the people who are taking a CPR course at the beach,” Jowers said.
Jowers, who was born here, said he got up early in the morning — 3 or 4 a.m. — and the thermometers at his house registered 70 degrees.
“What nobody is taking into account is the wind-chill factor,” Jowers said.
The wind was gusting at 39 mph at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Jose Penn, chief financial officer of Penn's Corp. in St. John, said he, too, doesn’t remember it ever being this cold.
“When I heard about the hail in St. John back a few months ago, I didn’t believe it,” Penn said. “I believe it now.”
Mary Davis, former industrial arts teacher at Addelita Cancryn Junior High School, said, “When I first came here in the early 70s it was kind of like this. I was even thinking of getting an electric blanket back then.”
Then it got “hot, hot, hot,” according to Davis’s recollection.
“But now it seems like it did when I was first here. I was freezing last night.”
Freezing seems a strong word for the normally balmy tropics, but it is a
word heard more and more as the wind, cloud cover and rain make for what “feels”like unusually cold temperatures in the tropical Virgin Islands.
And what is the wind chill?
Using a wind chill factor formula from www.weatherimages.org, given a temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit and a wind velocity of 25 mph, it “feels” like it is 64 degrees Fahrenheit -— a bit chilly for a locale with
few fireplaces.

There's great St. Thomian excitement brewing in Key West, Fla., right now as plans take shape for the fourth annual St. Thomas Bacchanal to be held there this year.
This year's event is being organized by Jane Hoffman Walker, daughter of the late Judge Louis Hoffman and sister of local attorney Paul. It will be held the weekend of April 30 to May 2.
All current and ex-pat St. Thomas residents are invited.
The first Bacchanal was initiated by ex-pat Anne Lawrence Wray in Fort Lauderdale, and it's been growing faster than ketch n' keep ever since.
Key West, which is a bit like a stateside St. Thomas, give or take a little, should prove a welcoming site for the festivities, which start with a sunset cocktail party Friday and dinner and dancing at Kelly's Caribbean Bar and Brewery on Saturday. Kelly's is in the old Pan Am building and is owned by Kelly McGillis.
The event, which Jane said should draw about 400 people this year, is proving a winner with such personalities as Olivia Stanford, Dorothy Vialet and Ray and Judy Stull.
Ray will always be remembered for the infamous waterfront saloon Trader Dan's,
certainly one of St. Thomas's more colorful watering holes until its demise in the early '70s.
Also expecting to attend this year are Wendy
and Bob Noble. Bob owned radio station WVWI and is a member in good standing of the Water Island Garden Club.
Others expected at this year's event are Joycelyn Hillaire, Jo and Len Stein of WSTA radio and Jack Chapman and Jo Tatum of All Island Air, to name a few.
"It's really a unique opportunity to renew old acquaintances and fun memories of times past," Jane said.
To sign up or to get more information, including hotel arrangements, contact Jane Walker Hoffman at 809 Third St., Key West, Fl. 33040, or call at 305-296-0510. You can also reach her e-mail at jwalk10@juno.com.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dependable will visit St. Thomas from 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, through 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6.
It will be at the north side dock at Crown Bay.
The 210-foot vessel has 10 officers and 58 ennlisted men under the command of M.S. Black.

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull sent Dr. Ruby Simmonds' nomination to be education commissioner to the Senate on Monday, the same day Simmonds started in the post.
Turnbull had made the announcement Saturday at a meeting of the V.I. Democratic Party. He said he has chosen people for most Cabinet positions but won't make formal announcements until the individuals have accepted their appointments.
The only Cabinet positions that remain undecided are the Public Works and Police departments, Turnbull told the Independent.
Earlier in the week Turnbull formally nominated three Cabinet members: Iver Stridiron to be attorney general, Dr. Wilbur Callender to be health commissioner and Ira Hobson to head housing, parks and recreation.
Simmonds is a former senator and former assistant education commissioner. She left her post as head of the University of the Virgin Islands humanities division to take the Cabinet post.
A native of St. Thomas, Simmonds holds a doctor of arts degree in the humanities with a concentration in English. She has 30 years of experience in teaching, public administration and community service.

Road work was set to begin Monday to improve drainage, build culverts and resurface the road between Crown Mountain Road and Black Point Hill in Estate Pearl.
Also effective Monday, motorists will no longer be able to make a right turn into the second access road to Kmart in Tutu Park Mall by McDonald’s between 3 and 7 p.m.
Tyrone Martin of the Public Works Department said the Estate Pearl work should wind up by May.
Martin said the work will not cause any inconvenience to residents or travelers, but he asked that residents remove any vehicles, construction materials and debris from the side of the roadway.
He also asked drivers to exercise caution in that area.
Signs noting the change in Estate Tutu are to go up today at the intersection without traffic lights, referred to as the second access to Kmart, Martin said.
“We’ve noticed a lot of congestion in that area despite the traffic signals at the first access,” Martin said.
The no-right-turn regulation will be
monitored for three weeks to see if it remedies traffic jams in the area.
Martin also said the road work begun last month on Route 382 in New Tutu has been completed.
Work at Raphune Hill should be finished by Valentine’s Day -— “a well-deserved sweetheart gift” to islanders, he said.

President Bill Clinton has included in his year 2000 budget a proposal to return to
the Virgin Islands the entire $13.50-per-gallon federal tax levied on Virgin
Islands rum.
This is an increase of $3 over the present $10.50 per gallon returned to the V.I. government. The rate had been $11.30 until this year but it dropped to $10.50 last fall when Congress refused to leave it at $11.30 or increase it to the full $13.50 as territorial officials had hoped.
Experts estimate the difference could mean an extra $12 million into the coffers of the financially strained territory.
After attending the official White House announcement, Delegate to Congress Donna
Christian-Christensen said, “I am pleased the president has again proposed this increase to assist the territory’s economic recovery. While we were unable to accomplish this increase by the end of the 105th Congress, I believe the inclusion in this year’s budget will provide the needed push to
obtain congressional approval when it is considered later this year.”
In addition to the rum-tax increase, the president's budget contains $1 million to assist in protecting threatened coral reef ecosystems. Christensen said.
“These funds will allow us to prevent the destruction of our coral reefs which are
so important to maintaining a quality tourism program,” the delegate said.