by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It was perfect timing for former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas John Rood to speak to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. With the entire city recovering from the 12 inches of rain and high winds last week courtesy of Tropical Storm Fay, part of Rood’s presentation was a recollection of the day he arrived in Nassau to take over the embassy in September 2004.
“The first thing we did was have the ceremony to officially welcome me to the country. Then we immediately evacuated more than 300 embassy staff because Hurricane Francis was about to arrive,” he said.
One of the first things that impressed him about the Bahamian people, Rood said, was their incredible faith in the face of adversity. During a media tour just days after the hurricane had passed, Rood encountered a Bahamian citizen he knew before he was named ambassador.
“My friend’s name was Bonefish Foley and when we arrived at his home, it had been completely destroyed,” recalled Rood. “He was sitting in his boat in the front yard with his grandchild in his arms. I remember him saying that he knew everything would work out.”
The next step was to rebuild Foley’s home and Rood, who is also a real estate developer, said he saw that as an opportunity to demonstrate to the Bahamians the wisdom of building their homes above grade. When the structure was restored, the living area was nine feet off the ground, which should protect it from flooding due to future storms and besides, Rood added with a grin, “Now I have a place to stay when I visit West End.”
He also shared other memories and a collection of photographs taken during his service as ambassador. One of Rood’s initiatives was to make the Bahamian people more aware of American holidays like Memorial Day. Rood was contacted by an American citizen who told him her father’s aircraft had been shot down over the Bahamas during World War II and further that she believed there was a marker on one of the islands commemorating the event.
“I got the Marines to search the island for the monument and they found it. We cleaned up the underbrush and eventually built a park at the marker, where there is a ceremony each Memorial Day,” said Rood.
He also led an effort to improve literacy in the Bahamas and while he was ambassador from 2004-07, visited 55 schools and read to the students. He also left behind a souvenir that included a photograph and letter from former librarian and First Lady Laura Bush encouraging the students to continue reading.
Rood recalled one visit in particular when U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson accompanied him on one of the reading missions. After meeting the students, Nelson asked if they were visiting a private school since the children wore uniforms and said a prayer to begin the day.
“No, it’s not private,” Rood told the senator, “You can do that in the Bahamas.”
The school visits were, he added, “One of the most fun things I did while I was in the Bahamas.
“Literacy is facing some of the same challenges there that we face here at home. There is a shortage of books, but the biggest lack is of enough people who care about literacy and who are willing to share their love of reading with young people. We need more adults to mentor our young people to read.”
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