Happy Friday!

It is that time of the week again for Happy Friday!

Good news! The National Park read the deeds that Rockefeller had drawn up when he donated all the lands to the National Park Service and my guess they contained that the Park could not restrict access to the beaches, so guess what?  As of last Sunday the beaches on St John are open again!

These photos are from a few weeks ago from a friend, Jeff Howard. They are Cruz Bay's Hollywood on St John. Kenny Chesney gave him a signed guitar! How nice and awesome that was of him to do that! Pure Life on a Rock?

We have a long weekend here and will probably head over to Jost on Monday for the holiday! Go Jets, beat those Steelers! Have a great weekend! 

Ghost From Jost

I have been meaning to write a post about Ghost. We met up with Ghost at one of the bars on St John a few months ago and actually got to spend some time with him.

Of course if you buy him a ginger root beer, he will recite some of his poetry too or even write a poem for you! He wrote a poem for me a while back too!

Ghost is a mainstay in Cruz Bay in St John and he is not to be confused with Lindy, whom Kenny Chesney wrote a song about. But Kenny Chesney did write a poem for Ghost!

Seems like this was written back in 2011, so I guess Kenny already had the song Life on a Rock written in his mind, a poem for Ghost?

Well you don't lose your lover, you just lose your turn.

Drivin' on the left side gotta be learned.
Happy hours from 3 to 6 but it never really stops.

That's just livin', that's just livin'
That's just livin' life on a rock, yea.

We got Rasta religions, and parrots and pigeons,
Mango and salt on a stick.
Life is a lime and from time to time,
I gotta go get my fix, yea

We roll with the flow, friends come and go
Usually by the edge of the dock.

That's just livin', that's just livin'
That's just livin' life on a rock, yea.
Oh, I love livin', I love livin'
I love livin' life on a rock, yea.


Here are a couple of videos I took as he recited some of his poetry!

If you are ever in Cruz Bay on St John and Ghost, don't be shy, say hello!

Look Who Is Back on the Rock?

Kenny Chesney posted this picture today on Facebook.

This was taken leaving the Red Hook Marina on St Thomas with St John in the background.

I went out on my patio to see if it was really taken at that moment.

St John is on the right above the damn house that is below us. I would say that looking at the cloud formations, it is true, Kenny is back on the Rock! Welcome back Kenny, sporting the new beard!

Someday, maybe I will get to meet him? Maybe the reason why he still comes back here is that everyone is the same and no one stalks him? Cheers to a shot of rum!

More On the New Kenny Chesney Album, "Life On a Rock"

Kenny Chesney's new album is due out April 30th.

One of the new songs is already out, "Lindy", which talks about a St John local he knew in 2006.

Here is some info from a recent private party on the new album from Country Countdown's website.

The arrangements, the melodies, the instrumentation  the singing on the album all reflect Kenny’s longtime association with the Virgin Islands, the lifestyle there, and the people he’s met while living there.  The next song on the album was inspired by one of those people, a man named Lindy.  “I wrote this song in 2006.  I wrote it without a timetable, no expectations, no boundaries, no formula or format.  When I wrote it, I never envisioned playing them.  ‘Lindy’ is another brush stroke in my life.  I never had a conversation with Lindy.  But you could tell when you looked in his eyes, he was a good person.  The thing I loved about him was he loved music.  I was walking past a church one day, looked in, and Lindy was playing piano.  I didn’t know he could play piano.  Even though he lived a different life from me, we had a lot in common.”

There is more info on Lindy found here on the On St John Blog: First Article, Second Article.

Another song is "Happy on the Hey Now", which was written for an icon in St John who worked at Woody's and La Tapa restaraunts, who died before her time at 35.

The last song on the album obviously was the most important one for Kenny.  It’s a song he wrote called “Happy On The Hey Now.”  As Kenny explained, “The Hey Now is a boat.  We had a lot of fun on it.  This song is grounded in ways I didn’t see coming.  Kristi was part of a circle of friends that defined my life.  She didn’t care who I was or what I did.  Kristi was good at life.  She died before her time.  I wasn’t going to put this song on the album, because it’s so personal.  This song made me rethink everything.  I love what I do, and I’m happiest when I’m on stage.  But these songs started to push me towards an artistic shift.  This record was what my soul needed.”

Here is some info on the Hey Now and a picture. 

Here is some info on Kristi Hansen and her memorial fund. I never met her, but reading about her, it sounds like she was a special person and  lived here for all the same reasons most of us do, full of life, great friends and great times! 

Sometimes, I have to pinch myself that I actually live here, and if someone like Kenny Chesney wrote two albums about this place, then you know it is special?  His other album, "Be As You Are" was inspirational to us to make the move to live here. 

April 30th can't come any sooner!