The news on St John is not quite as important as in the states. Most of us don’t watch CNN or much TV at all for that matter. When we need news we turn to the Coconut Telegraph. An extremely low-tech network of HIGHLY efficient connections powered by the people. News travels fast on St John. There are only 5000 residents, and living on an Island is like living on your own planet, so there are 5000 people on our planet. It takes about 25-30 minutes to drive the 8 miles between Coral Bay and Cruz Bay, but news travels much faster. They say if you do something foolish in Coral Bay, then get in your car and drive to town (Cruz Bay), everyone will know about it when you get there. The good news is that in St John, someone will out trump your stupidity quickly enough, so the spotlight can shift away from you (at least until…).
Yep, nobody really cares what you do here, as long as they know what you are doing. They call this “the world’s largest open air asylum”, a place where “we are all here because we’re not all there”. The ultimate figurative and literal reality. When you live on an island, especially one like St John, surrounded by constant and unyielding natural beauty you have certain obligations to the rest of the world. You must be a master of laziness and hard work, you must find kindness in all of the most difficult situations, and you must demonstrate the reality of total freedom to the guests who come from so far to find it.
