Oh Say Can You See?

Oh say can you see the … sea? That will soon be the new refrain around Tripoli . I noticed on the way into Tripoli today that a new wall of corrugated steal is being erected in front of the already existing low cement wall in place along most of the sea road from the east going west into town . Once the road was a lovely ride with a uninhibited view of the sea as far as the eye could see, now it is being chopped up into segments with different types of walls to obstruct the view for some unknown reason. I noticed also that where there used to be little hotels and restaurants along the seaside farther in town they have all been knocked down which is not a bad thing in it's self because they were not kept up and many times they were hang out places for undesirables . After they were all torn down there was a fantastic view of the harbor and the approaching town . NOW, the powers that be have decided to make a earthen bank all along the sidewalk and are planting grass on the banks. Ok , that looks nice , cuts down on flying sand when windy but where is the view of the sea ? Then on top of that , they have piled the sand half up the tall mature palm trees trunks that are standing sentinel along the sidewalks . Can that be good for the trees ? Sometimes you can't help but wonder to yourself … What Where They Thinking ! If I can I will take some pictures of this disaster in the making . Libya has one of the longest coast lines of North Africa and just about the most unspoiled coast of all the Med . What a shame we will no longer be able to enjoy the view .

Speaking of unspoiled views of the sea , There is some very serious gossip making the rounds here on this side of town at least , that all the empty beaches between Tagura and Tripoli will be made in large private beach resorts catering to the tourist trade . That’s a good thing tourist are being courted to come into the country helping to boost the economy with the ensuing new jobs in the hotel and catering business , but am sure that most of those jobs will be going to foreign labor since an average Libyan would consider it beneath them to work as a waiter , maid ,or any other laborer that will be needed to run a hotel .Maybe on the construction side of things there will be more jobs for Libyans , but I doubt that also since most of those contracts will be given to outsiders , here again . There is even big talk that we will have an American hospital here teamed up with Libyans . Now that will be a good thing . This will save many from having to make the long and expensive trip for medical care outside the country , as long as they can afford it that is . Will be interesting to see what really will happen in the future .

The other day my son and daughter in law came to take me out. We were listening to a cassette tape I had made of classic rock and roll. Kamal stopped to go to the store while Abir and I stayed in the car.The song "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo " started to play and I was singing along with it . Abir knows a little English but was really stumped by "hoochie coo" . She asked me what that meant , hoochie coo .I had all these mental pictures running around in my mind of what hoochie coo was but for the life of me I could not figure a way to explain it to her on my limited Arabic. I started to laugh wondering what she would think if I could explain it to her. She sat there staring at me like had lost my mind .Kamal came back to the car and asked what I was laughing about and I told him . He smiled, looked at Abir and told her , " Honey , never mind. It's a American thing . We don't have that here !" How would you explain hoochie coo?