"Once upon a time, there was a Jamaican civil engineer living in New York City who hated his job. He followed his passion, started a sideline business publishing his own books, quit his job, escaped the rat race, ran off to a tropical island in the Pacific, and started a tourism business so he could give tours of the island to pretty girls every day! He now lives a nomadpreneur's dream life, while helping others do the same!" This is his story:
Read more at : https://www.jamaicanonsaipan.com/
Take a ride through the streets of Saipan a few minutes before the 7pm COVID curfew: familiar landmarks, a beautiful sunset, Saipan facts and trivia…share with those who miss home!
BONUS: If you hang out until (or jump to) the end, I’ll treat you to one of my favorite songs–a beautiful track I used to play to end my Reggae Riddims radio show way back when I was “Sir Walt” the deejay on WKCR-FM, New York!
I’M COMING HOME by Motion
Sitting in a railway station
with my suitcase in my hand
Going back where I came from
I’ve had more than I can stand
Of watching them destroy my dream
They picked my brain ’til it was clean
When I was up, they knocked me down
Ain’t gonna hang around, I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I came to this ol’ town
seeking fortune and some fame
I never had the chance to prove myself
Though I tried to play their game
But using people just ain’t my thing
and I won’t _________________ (please help out in the comments)
to please some fool I don’t care about
They turned me inside out, I’m going home!
I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
“Can you tell me what has happened to Her Joy Apartments in San Antonio, Saipan? (Large apt complex, White with blue, right on the beach) I lived there many years ago.” –Joseph Reynolds (comment on the PassionProphet Youtube Channel)
My response: hey Joseph! Thanks for checking in! You can find the answer to your question in this brand new video on my DiscoverSaipan Youtube channel, created for tour clients and “Saipan on Demand” requests like yours! Join me as I go in search of Her Joy here:
Here is an interview from the archives shortly after my 6-months in China! I explain the Passion-to-Profit phenomenon I refer to as the “Reconstruction Crisis,” I talk about how to “manage” toxic people and you’ll want to hear what I say about taking advice from Donald Trump (This was in 2012! Who knew?), and more in this (a favorites) interview hosted by Lisa Bullard of Blogtalkradio’s A Ripple Effect!
I filmed a video yesterday to update my previous tour clients about what things are like in lockdown here on Saipan! Check out “The Streets of Saipan!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULdEtBPaoio
2. Over the years, I’ve filmed a series of popular “Drive Through Saipan” videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2A6EAE46C908CD89; the first one now has 20,500 views). I decided to do a C.O.V.I.D. version after sending out an update to my previous tour clients. FYI: C.O.V.I.D. stands for “Car-less, Open, Vacant, Inactive & Desolate!”
3. One of those tour clients, a travel writer named Fran Bryson, reposted my update email to her blog! Fran has some cool posts from her own world travels as well as peeks into her regular life on Flinders Island, “largest of the Furneaux islands, in the treacherous waters of Bass Strait in Southeastern Australia.” Check out Fran’s blog: https://www.franbryson.com
My buddy, Winston Wu, founder of www.happierabroad.com, suggested I post my archived radio and skype interviews for the Youtube audience. Great idea, Winston!
Several years ago, as part of my 6-month adventure through China and beyond (Beijing, Kunming, Hainan, Laos, Singapore), I found myself in a small hotel room in China, Xishuangbanna, being interviewed via Skype by KY of the KYShow Podcast. We talked about turning passion into profit, the nomadpreneuring lifestyle and much more! It’s one of my favorite interviews from that time! Check it out here as part of the Passion Prophet channel’s “Turn Your Pandemic into Profits” series!
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Everyone has a passion.
Every passion has value.
You CAN make money doing what you love!
Take the Personality Test: https://www.passionprofit.com/itest
____________________________________
WHO IS WALT?
Who is Walt: https://www.waltgoodridge.com
Media Kit & CV: https://www.passionprofit.com/cgi-bin/new/redirect.pl?LL=mediakit
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1. PandemicProfits-1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=EpsNndvFU-0
2. PandemicProfits-2: https://youtube.com/watch v=yP3WGmKTdsA
3. PandemicProfits-3: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QQSDf8F8Kgg
4. PandemicProfits-4: Radio Interview-When I was in China https://youtube.com/watch?v=sSYfGIl7YvU
1. “Marianas Stories” host, Catherine, had to re-upload the MLK interview video for technical reasons. Please like/love/share/comment again at the new link location! Thanks!
NEW LINK LOCATION ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/670humanities/videos/473130970051332/
MLK Day special! Catherine Perry of the Northern Marianas Humanties Council asked me to share a few of my thoughts about civil rights, human rights, my travel experiences, life in America and life in the CNMI from a non-American, Jamaican on Saipan’s perspective on Martin Luther King Jr day in the US and its relevance to life in the CNMI! Watch and share on Facebook:
2. Here is the same “Marianas Stories” interview on Youtube for easy sharing
3.I may now have become the de-facto “go to guy” for things MLK!
Here’s ANOTHER MLK Day piece with KSPN-2 TV News reporter, Sally Limes features my thoughts on MLK Day in the Marianas:
p.s.
If you’re curious about news on Saipan in general, here’s the full 30 minute news broadcast for that day:
“It was a dark and stormy night…” Oops, wrong opening line. (Sorry, Snoopy.) Ahem. It was a bright and sunny day, and the Holland America cruise ship, Maasdam, was scheduleed to dock at the port on the island of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on Sunday, Sept 8, 2019.
As an island consultant, I’m occasionally asked to provide information on the islands to visitors.
This time, my photographer, Ding, and I showed up at 7am to be sure that THIS time, the ship would, indeed, dock. (Yeah, that’s a whole other story for another time!)
Maasdam at the dock. Check.
With that little detail confirmed, we headed back to the airport to pick up the vans for our arriving guests.
Invited guest guides for a day, Robert Hunter, and Gary Liddle and I discuss logistics.
While awaiting the paperwork, world renown author, ethnographer, oral historian and “birder,” Rlene Santos Steffy, arrives from Guam. I had the pleasure of meeting Rlene on Guam during my recent Guam Writers Workshop Learn more at : https://guamwriters.com/
Gary, Rlene, Robert and I chat while we wait
The paperwork is completed, vans are assigned, drivers are briefed, microphones are checked, signs are posted in the windshields….time for a convoy!
“Pig Pen this here’s the rubber duck And I’m about to put the hammer down.” (10 points if you know that reference!)
Once at the dock, guests begin exiting the ship after passing through US Customs, and we load up the vans. Two of my guests, Lorrin and Nina Lee, are on a three month tour (see Lorrinlee.com), and were the first of my guests to sign up way back in March!
Finally, we meet! (See www.LorrinLee.com)
We head out to our first stop: American Memorial Park.
First stop, American Memorial Park…Welcome! Introductions….and the strict rules of my tour! (You’ll have to sign up to discover just what those rules are!)Watching “An Island Called Saipan” at American Memorial Park
Post-documentary debriefing and preparing for day’s tour
Robert Hunter, Director of DCCA (Department of Community & Cultural Affairs) shares facts and triva about wartime Saipan
Pointing to the Court of Honor (currently under construction)Visiting the Chamorro & Carolinian memorialYeah we got a little ol’ convoy Ain’t she a beautiful sightAt the Carolinian Cultural Center
Robert gives background on boat building and celestial navigationAt the boat house, one of DCCA’s projects
At Ladder Beach
As Lito AirfieldWhat on earth is everyone staring at???
Answer: One of the largest war time structures on the island: the Bomb Magazine at As Lito airfield.
Inside the Bomb MagazineThe sad, yet beautiful Banzai Cliff
Gary holds court at Suicide Cliff
Looking down at the suicide leap from another vantage point
The Old Japanese JailGoing back in time through the corridor of the jail in search of Amelia EarthartRead more about Amelia on Saipan here: https://www.discoversaipan.com/amelia
By this time, the “Saipan in a Day” adventure is officially ended. Robert and Gary have departed and taken our visitors back to the dock, However, a smaller group of WWII buffs are treated to a special private collection of relics and artifacts from the Japanese era and Battle of Saipan.
a unique collectionGuests enjoy interacting with the piecesExplaining the uniqueness of this particular relic
The Maasdam WWII History buffs on Saipan
We say our goodbyes!
“What’s that? Yes, you can definitely write a TripAdvisor Review! I’d be honored and it would help a lot! Thanks for asking!”
Maasdam departs Saipan
“As the sun sank slowly over the horizon…” Oops, sorry, wrong epilogue…Wait! That one fits! As the sun sank slowly over the Saipan horizon, Maasdam pulled away from the dock, and sailed off into the sunset on its way to Guam!
“We’ll catch you on the flip flop This here’s the Rubber Duck on the side We gone – Bye Bye!”
Thanks to everyone who made this tour special and run smoothly!
I’ve been on Guam for the past 3 days, for two reasons: (1) to meet up with friend and co-author, WWII Battle of Saipan/Battle of Guam veteran Lloyd & Judy Glick who’ve been invited as honored guests to experience Guam’s 75th Liberation Commemoration, and (2) to do a Writers Workshop for aspiring writers on Guam! Here are the details as they appear on the www.guamwriters.com site.
Writers Workshop #1 on Guam!
It happened here. The DNA Building in Hagåtña, on the island of Guam
For the few days leading up to the event, posters were plastered in the lobbies, elevators, at the Credit Union, and even at the security guard booth of the DNA Building!
Fliers everywhere!Herman and me at the security guard booth!
On Thursday, at the suggestion of Kevin Kerrigan at the Daily Post, I called up K-57AM talk radio upon landing
on Guam.
I was expecting to get an email address to send a press release, or a phone number of someone to speak with.
Before I even finished telling the operator what the event was about (I got no further than “It’s a writers
workshop here at the DNA Building for aspiring authors who wish to—“), I was immediately put through to the
studio host, and got to announce the event on the air!
Announced on talk radio!
The kind folks at the University of Guam Student Life office were nice enough to share the flier of the event on their Facebook page
Shared with the student body at the University of Guam!
The Guam Business Journal (Glimpses Media) posted
the event for their subscribers on their Business Events Calendar on the MBJ website.(Thanks Maureen! Thanks Meghan!)
On the Friday before the event, Melissa the DNA operations manager, her son and security personnel made sure the 58-inch flat screen that we rented from Dial, plus the wifi and room set-up
were all in order!
Making sure all is in place!
One of my books, From Bugle Boy to Battle Ship that I co-wrote
with friend, and visiting Battle of Saipan veteran Lloyd Glick was featured on the evening KUAM Primetime news!
Veteran Lloyd Glick shows off “From Bugle Boy to Battleship,” the book he and I wrote
Lloyd and two other dignitaries are interviewed upon their return
to Guam after 75 years
The afternoon before the workshop, I was able to spend some time with Lloyd and Judy at their hotel just before they headed out to another function sponsored by the Guam Visitor’s Bureau!
Me and the Glicks on Guam
The three Battle of Saipan/Guam veterans (see video)
Guam Workshop attendeesRlene S. shares with the groupPhoto by: Dianne StrongPhoto by: Dianne Strong
Photo by: Marie Lizama
Author and instructor Walt F.J. Goodridge, and several of the attendees of Guam’s First Writers Workshop: l.to r. Fadila K., Marie L., Sophie N., Tyrone B., Dianne S., Christopher A., Jeni Ann F., Kim B. and Dr.Sam M. (Not shown: Rlene S. and Louise.)
And extra special thanks to Joe Hill on Saipan, and Dave, Letitia, Melissa, Avery, Vincent and Herman at DNA Inc, (and
to all the organizations and people mentioned above) for making it all happen and run so smoothly
on short notice! As we say in Jamaica, “Nuff Respek!”
Hope you don’t mind. I’m just testing out my “autopost” plug-in on my Jamaican in China blog. Through this feature, I can post to my blog (as I’m doing now), and it automatically posts to one or more of my Facebook pages. (So, if you’re reading this in your Facebook feed, that should mean it worked!) I’ll just share a few shots taken around Saipan recently!
Fellow author Lindsay, the ladies of Healing Stone, and me!
John Castro and me while, Satawal canoe maker toils in background
Konstantin from Ukraine takes a shot of Forbidden Island
Eber and Jay from the US mainland explore Fabian Indalecio’s unique Battle of Saipan/WWII relic collection
Fabian educates visitors to the island
Where on earth are you likely to see a convoy of pink Mustangs??? If you answered “Saipan,” you’d be correct! (the road to Banzai Cliff)
It was exceptionally clear day last weekend, and you could see the outline of Farallon de Medinilla from Suicide Cliff at the north end of the island! Can you see it?
Just a few shots of my life on Saipan! Enjoy the update!
UPDATE 1: Oh, speaking of updates, did I mention I turned down a book deal recently? Why, you ask? Well, the publisher made the fatal mistake of….. Read the full story here in either of Saipan’s newspapers:
One of the great things about my life on Saipan is the broad cross section of unique personalities I have a chance to meet and spend time with!
Earlier this year, Michelle and John got to experience Saipan’s history with a ride in an actual WWII jeep courtesy of local resident, Juan Villagomez. John’s father worked on the Manhattan Project during the war, so he wanted to get up close and personal with Saipan’s and Tinian’s history!
Michelle, John, Juan and Luise Villagomez, Alexandra (front), and me!
I also had a chance to hang out recently with Konstantin Symonenko from Ukraine….
Konstantin discovers the mystery of Forbidden Island
Konstantin, among other accomplishments, has the distinction of being the first Ukrainian to have visited all the countries in the world! It’s an accomplishment that was verified and documented as blogged about on his https://konstantin.travel website:
John and me….A Sattawal navigator works in the background
Another guest, Neal P., has visited 297 of the 327 destinations recognized by The Traveler’s Century Club (TCC)! Saipan was his 298th and he’ll hit 300 soon and be part of the Diamond club! Congrats, Neal!
Neal got to experience authentic Chamorro and island style cuisine at JC Cafe on Tinian…
at the Street Market on Saipan….
Red rice at the Street Market
…and at Twenty-Two Rams (Owners of the restaurant are brother Michael Salas and cousin Ed Cepeda.)
Lunch at Twenty-Two Rams. Located in the CDA complex in Oleai at the old Boka Boka restaurant location.
Delgadina Matagolai, Manning Salas, and Mom Sophia M. Salas. (Michael and Ed not shown) “Thanks for stopping by our family restaurant!”--Manning
