The good, the bad, and the ugly

Stars and Stripes

I usually don’t wax eloquent or give special praise for good service because good service at a fair price is expected. Recently, however, I experienced a sunset dinner cruise aboard the new-kid-on-the-block Stars and Stripes that deserves a good word. I found the boat to be meticulously turned out and detailed, clean as a whistle and very comfortable with a large air-conditioned cabin and a smooth ride. The food, catered by the Fiesta Resort & Spa, was better than expected and excellent by any standards. The sailing crew kept us entertained by tacking back and forth across the lagoon with the huge, patriotic sails billowing in the sunset light. The traditional dancers did their bit to make it feel like an exotic island cruise on our own private yacht. About the only thing the outstanding crew of Stars and Stripes didn’t provide was the gorgeous sunset…but Mother Nature seemed to do that just fine by herself. No, this is not some kind of paid announcement…I just want to tell you that it’s a wonderful experience at a fair price. This is the kind of entertainment that is good for our tourist industry. The kind of experience they go home and brag to their neighbors about. The kind of first class tourist activity that we need more of to compete with other Pacific islands for those much needed, but elusive, tourist dollars. You should try it too.

Banzai Cliff vandalism

We need to find these racist scumbags and put them away for a long, long time. Once found we should not give them the usual slap on the wrist and let them off with a letter of apology and time already served, as is usually the case. These cowardly idiots are hurting our tourism industry and by virtue of attacking Japanese memorial sites here and on Tinian show that they are racially motivated. No matter whether they turn out to be residents, or kids or other Asian foreign nationals that dislike Japanese culture, we need to track them down like the lowlife dogs they are and put a stop to the desecration immediately. If our police can’t do anything without a complaint…then I AM COMPLAINING. Maybe Parks and Rec should complain formally, or MVA or just about anybody, BEFORE the Japanese government or the Japanese memorial organizations who put up the monuments have to do the complaining. This kind of image is not what we need to improve our sagging Japanese tourism market. Fast, decisive action is required on our part.

Trash

Tourists don’t return to places that are dirty, polluted or unsanitary. They don’t have to because there are plenty of places on this mud ball where the tourist attracting sites are kept clean at all times and in a professional manner. We can stop the ugly trash that gathers at tourist sites. One way to help is to install lots of trashcans at our beaches and public areas and then send a patrol around regularly to empty the cans. DPW, Parks and Rec and MVA should consider this amongst their highest priorities. Much higher than installing unneeded traffic lights or going on industry trade show junkets. Repeat tourism on Saipan is fostered by supplying a clean, well-designed and meticulously maintained attraction infrastructure. Our tourists heading off instead to Guam, Hawaii or Puket is what we get by ignoring our sites or letting them deteriorate. We could also benefit by adding a few new attractions from time to time, but that is a topic for another time.
I see volunteer groups out there almost every week cleaning up both obscure and well-known sites. We should help them when possible, and thank them at every opportunity. Further, it is in the best self-interest of us all to call attention to that polluter when we see him/her carelessly toss a glass beer bottle onto the beach or pitch that plastic wrapper onto the ground. Litter is ugly. Litterbugs are even uglier. The U.S. Forest service used to have a mascot owl that said, “Give a Hoot; Don’t pollute.” I say “Don’t toss that can, lets have a clean Saipan.” (Bruce A. Bateman)