Pepper Pot

By Liston B. Monsanto, Sr.

Pepper Pot a book full of peppery words is not the least of the other books written by Liston B. Monsanto, Sr. It is the fifth in a series of books authored by him. And whereas Kalaloo A Pepper Pot was at one time the most important and principal meal on New Years Eve (Old Years Night) in the Virgin Islands, and whereas this book (Pepper Pot) is as eclectic as Kalaloo inasmuch as it is made up of stories that are not alike, it has become, without a doubt, good food for the mind. Had it been written by the office of the Inspector General for the publics review it would have easily been called an audit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467026604

Liston B. Monsanto, Sr.

Because it is said that a man without pride deserves contempt, Liston B. Monsanto, Sr., prides himself on the fact that while there have been many aggrieved employees of the Virgin Islands government who have emerged victorious over the several departments and agencies making up the governmental structure, he is the only government employee in the history of the United States Virgin Islands to defeat the entire system which, at one time or the other (during the period of his persecution), was headed by Governors Melvin Evans, Cyril King, Juan Luis and Alexander Farrelly (see Opinion number 81-1434 of the Third Circuit Court).

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© 2011 by Liston B. Monsanto, Sr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 10/20/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2659-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2661-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2660-4 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011916138

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

DEDICATION

PREFACE

INGREDIENT 1: THE OKRAS

FACTS FROM WHICH TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS

STATEMENTS OF FACT

RECOLLECTIONS

DOWN MEMORY LANE

INGREDIENT 2: THE EGG PLANTS

BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CARNIVAL

THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ORCHESTRA

THE BEL-AIRE CHOIR

LEROY WILFRED MONSANTO, SR.

INGREDIENT 3: THE SPINACH

ELROD HENDRICKS

STANLEY LABEET

VALMY THOMAS

ALVIN MCBEAN

INGREDIENT 4: THE COLLARD GREENS

DR. KNUD HANSEN

LOUIE LINDQVIST WORKPLACE

THE VIRGIN ISLE HOTEL

INGREDIENT 5: THE PEPPER

ANALOGY

MULTILATERAL

THE WAR EFFORT

INGREDIENT 6: THE CRAB MEAT

THE TUTORIAL SYSTEM

CHARLOTTE AMALIE HIGH SCHOOL

INGREDIENT 7: THE FISH

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

JUNK OF IRON

CAR REPAIR–THEN AND NOW

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

INGREDIENT 8: THE PIG’S SNOUT

EPILOGUE

Invictus

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DEDICATION

Because they have refused to accept the fact that there can be no growth without changed attitudes, I dedicate this book to that large number of Virgin Islanders who much prefer to die on their knees rather than live on their feet.

OLord, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence? Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere. The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted.

HABAKKUK 1:2-4

PREFACE

Today as I begin to write, I could start the Preface of this book by simply saying that it is out of sheer boredom and a sickening dislike for the attitudes of indifference that have enveloped the United States Virgin Islands over the last thirty years that I have decided to write this book. But then, that would be a half-truth which in effect is a lie dressed up in a full suit.

The fact of the matter is, no I am not bored. Yes, I’m absolutely disgusted with the abrasive attitudes of my compatriots. Furthermore it has become undeniable and a fact, corroborated by the readers of the other books that I’ve authored, that the truth is indeed my forte. And so truth be told, following the publication of Mark Well My Words, I found myself wasting time in idle pleasures. I had to get my bearings back. As a major part of the solution to the problems in the Virgin Islands and as an author who has declined to get into arguments over any statements contained in my books, the solution to getting my bearings back was very easy. I needed to write a book containing a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I would write Pepper Pot mixing stories that ordinarily do not belong together. And so in gathering my material for the book I selected and used information from various sources, systems, and schools of thoughts.

With an eclectic method on display in this book, it is safe to say that it falls into the realm of eclecticism. A cursory reading of the book will reveal that it is indeed right and proper for the occasion.

Because we know that the ingredients that go into making Kalaloo makes it what it is and because we know that a Pepper Pot, like this book, contains more or less the same ingredients as a Kalaloo, one should not find it strange or surprising that this book has been appropriately labeled Pepper Pot.

INGREDIENT 1: THE OKRAS

FACTS FROM WHICH TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS

"Ask not what your country can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country."

The foregoing quotation taken from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address is far from being right and proper for the people of the United States Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands and St. Thomas proper have assimilated immigrants from many lands. Dating back to antiquity, mercantile St. Thomas unlike St. Croix and St. John has been and continues to be a major trading post in the Caribbean.

Uprisings such as the ones in St. John (1733) and St. Croix (1848 and 1878) are forbidden by custom and tradition. Transients and carpetbaggers coming to St. Thomas are not on their way to change anything. They are in St. Thomas to see what St. Thomas can do for them and sadly to say, those who were born in St. Thomas and continue to reside there are playing the very same game.

This being the case, a word to the wise becomes sufficient. If you are truly looking for a watershed in the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas is really not the place to start. Furthermore, I feel safe in saying that as the chief seaport and seat of Government, St. Thomas has qualities and features that gives it its special character, thereby setting it off from St. Croix and St. John. It is called the melting pot not because of race but because of the ethnic diversity of the population with people of African descent having