Bahamania

I first visited the Bahamas when I was 10, with my parents on a cruise. My Dad had booked a 3 week trip to Japan, but my mother got sick and nearly died of a perforated stomach ulcer, so he switched to a more relaxing vacation.

I was impressed with Nassau, with the tropical vegetation and music. And, black people were in charge! What a concept!

My folks took me again 4 years later, as part of my Dad's company trip. My father and I went fishing, and he got violently seasick in not roiling seas. We knew then that our wonderful relationship was going to revolve around more sedentary pursuits...

SinceI moved to Miami, I've been to the Bahamas more than 20 times --probably closer to 50. My old boss was a major fisherman, and we'd fly his King Air over to Chubb Quay to hunt dolphin and marlin.

I had several cases involving Bahamians, and this caused several trips to Nassau and Freeport, as well as an ill fated visit to Marsh Harbor to meet some potential clients --surviving family members of a NC airplane crash.

Our local Nassau contact, Dawkins, called my partner and me all excited, that we needed to come to the Bahamas right away, to sign up the case. Commercial aircrash cases are legal cans of corn --can't miss. There's always fault, and the airlines have huge insurance policies.

So, my partner and I showed up early the next am and boarded a BahamasAir flight out of MIA. We were wearing dark suits --every other passenger was either a Bahamian wearing simple clothes, or a vacationer in shorts and Hawaiian shirts.

Security agents escorted us off the plane and questioned us!!!!! I guess they figured we were either some dapper terrorists, or the Blues (Jews) Brothers illegally making another movie.

They let us back on, and off we went. We met Dawkins in Nassau, and then transferred to a puddle jumper to MArsh Island. We went to the family's store, which turned out to be the size of a small Home Depot. Dawkins acted like we were expected; we weren't.

He assumed the family were poor blacks, like all of his clients, and he would talk our way nito getting the case. Instead, these folks were wealthy whites! And, they politely told us, they had already consulted with their corporate attorneys on Brickell Avenue, and were referred to other representation!

It was my very own opening scene of "The Verdict" moment, where Paul Newman shows up at a funeral trying to get a wrongful death case by pretending he was a friend of the decedent, and he's kicked out angrily by a son who shouts "You don't KNOW my father!!!"""

Well, after admonishing Dawkins about his stunt, we drank rum and ate delicious conch, before catching a propjet back to Miami.

I remember this because tomorrow we're off to Paradise Island for a family trip. We've taken the Ds around the world, and they tell us their favorite place of all was the Atlantis resort. They were there when they were 8 and 11. D2 says at the time we went, she thought we were going to the REAL Lost City, and figured they had found it and put in cool aquariums and water slides.

We're taking the Ds AND their boyfriends, Thomas and Michael. The trip is a celebration of both their graduations.

They're VERY excited. Wifey isn't, and I'm just looking forward to seeing my girls have a great time, while I read and stroll around.

We have reservations Sunday for a Father's Day dinner at Greycliff, a terrific old restaurant in Nassau. We've been there before, and the girls remember it. I was there 2 times --the second when my partner and I treated Dawkins after a succesful case --one where he actually represented real clients.

No Dawkins this time --just daquiris and beach.