Rush Limbaugh at Baker's Bay

[notesfromtheroad.com]

American political commentator Rush Limbaugh was just sighted at Baker's Bay.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_110810/content/01125111.guest.html

I heard the golf tournament at Baker's Bay was not very well attended, but who cares with star power like that!

[SamFamAustin]

Who the heck is Rush Limbaugh and why is he having problems with proper golf green times and prior social engagements?

[notesfromtheroad.com]

Sam - could be the drug abuse!

[DrRalph]

Folks, we'll keep this thread open as long as the topic is golf and Baker's Bay; if it becomes political, it's done.

[notesfromtheroad.com]

Agree with that completely! To stay focused on the subject, here are some interesting links:

http://www.statesman.com/business/real-estate/lender-reclaims-spanish-oaks-at-foreclosure-auction-902612.html

http://www.tribune242.com/news/10282010_abacodevelopments_news_pg1 (http://www.tribune242.com/news/10282010_abacodevelopments_news_pg1)

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/101262429.html

Hopefully, the addition of Rush Limbaugh as a Baker's Bay celebrity will bring promise to golf courses in the Abacos. Green Turtle Cay and Hopetown still have a bit of room for a golf course...lets just hope this economy improves so we can fill in the vacant spaces!

[bahamajb]

Thought ole' Rushbo gave up the oxy's, no?

[Brien]

I don't have too much time at the moment (very sick 8-year-old, and the cleaning ain't fun!) so I jumped on -- there was another post under a different thread with the info that the EIB plane was in MH.

Cool, if celebrities were on it. Cool, if there were not any celebrities on it. A G5 in Marsh is a neat thing to see, and somebody must have gotten off of it and spent at least a couple of days and a couple of dollars.

Really bummed that we won't be back until March -- this is the first time that I will be in STL for Turkey Day in the last 6 years!

Brien

[trubahamian]

I'm impressed,Rush is a huge celebrity,he is much bigger than Cher and I hope he enjoyed his stay.:)

[Patty&Rudi]

Forget the celebrities -- I'd go to MHH to see the G5!!
Wow.

[DaGoose]

Just got back from Guana late last night. Didn't see Rush but we did see Derek Jeter (at Grabbers). Not sure that the tournament was a real success the wind was blowing big time! We did manage to take the dinghy out (once due to NO gas on Guana but that's another rant!) up to BB thru the cut and it was gorgeous. Had the beach completely to ourselves!

Tina

[patw]

Who is Derek Jeter???


Just got back from Guana late last night. Didn't see Rush but we did see Derek Jeter (at Grabbers). Not sure that the tournament was a real success the wind was blowing big time! We did manage to take the dinghy out (once due to NO gas on Guana but that's another rant!) up to BB thru the cut and it was gorgeous. Had the beach completely to ourselves!

Tina

[DaGoose]

Who is Derek Jeter???

Great shortstop for the New York Yankees. He was at Grabbers having lunch with a beautiful (but not gussied up) girl (go figure!) and another man.

[notesfromtheroad.com]

I also heard that the Baker's Bay golf tournament was not a success. Lots of people have said that Guana's weather doesn't make for good golf most of the year, and that it would be insane to build a golf course there. It rained during the golf event, and lo and behold, the event was not well attended. Normally, a press release follows a golf event. Where is the press release?

Rush Limbaugh is the first celebrity that I am aware of that has publicly stated an affiliation with Baker’s Bay – namely, he has mentioned that he was at Baker’s Bay as part of a golf channel special.

While Trumanian is not technically correct that Rush Limbaugh is a bigger star than Cher, he does have a point. Cher, who was reported to have despised Baker’s Bay and called a seaplane to come pick her up in a dramatic ‘rescue’, has had a number one record in each of the past five decades and is known around the world. Rush Limbaugh is a divisive U.S. political figure known by politicos in the United States. They do have similarities – both are known for excessive ostentation and colorful clothing. Go to images.google.com and type in ‘Rush Limbaugh bedroom. The difference between Limbaugh’s ostentation and Cher’s is that Cher is a female diva rock star, and Rush is a man.

No matter what we think of Rush’s politics, what is important here is more the type of culture he represents. A lot of people who may have sympathized with the opposition to Baker’s Bay on environmental grounds were also deeply concerned that Baker’s Bay – an exclusive gated community – would attract a certain sort of person. It’s not about their income levels or where they’re from – all of that is good with people from the Abacos – but there is a certain quality in a certain kind of American that changes a place, can turn it into a bad neighborhood. It’s like when you notice the first crack deal in your neighborhood – Abaconians should be concerned with things like Miami spillover, and the way a certain sort of new rich can wreck a neighborhood.

This isn’t just about Baker’s Bay, but as real estate in the Southern U.S. becomes scarcer, there will be a lot of pressure to push the envelope out to places like the Abacos. Now, we are seeing new large-scale developments being pushed hard at Green Turtle, Elbow Cay and again on Guana with the Orchid Bay expansion, and none of us are doing a whole lot to engage the discussion about what this means. How much should we brush all this off, and how much should – we being the community of Abaconians and second-home-owners and tourists – be genuinely concerned about what is happening to this area?

My guess is that the fact that Rush Limbaugh is the first celebrity to affiliate himself with Baker’s Bay says a lot about the type of person who we might see gracing the streets of the settlement in Guana Cay in the future. Does Rush Limbaugh, as our first glimpse of a Baker’s Bay personality, a quiet man who loves tarpon fishing, the view from Nippers, buying fruits at Milos and tipping his hat to the ladies at the docks? Or does he represent a sort of ostentatious, no regard for the community, looking down at barefoot people, driving fast on golf carts kind of personality? When Baker’s Bay fills up, and more mega-developments are filling in the spots in between, will the Abacos still be a place we recognize?

[patw]

And we still don't have GAS!!!! Its been almost two months and a little bird told me this morning, that they don't know when OB will have gas!

[BahamaAngie]

Pat that is awful being without gas. Can't drive golf carts, use generators...what is up with all that??

And Pat....I even know who Jeter is (but that is because my granddaughter is such an avid Yankee fan!!! or I would never have known. It is difficult to stay up with that when you are on a wonderful island, looking at beautiful sunsets/sunrises and walking along the beaches....ahhhhh....who cares who he is?

And that would certainly be depressing and horrible if that kind of person/s come to the Abacos. We certainly would have lost something very very special! Money is certainly important but it is not everything! My 2 cents. :)

[SamFamAustin]

And we still don't have GAS!!!! Its been almost two months and a little bird told me this morning, that they don't know when OB will have gas!

Pat I have plenty of gas but perhaps not the kind you need for your golf cart and stuff. :D

As to Baker's Bay, our forum buddy Ken reports that it looks fantastic, quite manicured and not the usual riot of wild vegetation we see in the islands. I guess that's high-end golfing and million dollar ghetto cribs for ya. It's a sensitive subject.

By the way Notes, I moved to Austin in 1976 and was appalled by all the gated golf course communities, of which there are more than a dozen now ... many designed by Jack Nicklaus. Barton Hills was especially controversial for polluting Barton Springs and its tributary systems. Onion Creek was one of the first. I am not as familiar with Spanish Oaks, which is in foreclosure now but used to be a really nice ranch. All these were built on Karst geology, and dye studies have shown that water can migrate over 15 miles underground. The resulting pollution has killed off a rare salamander, the Barton Creek Blind Salamander, which is supposedly protected by federal law.

Of course, the Abacos isn't so large but is very similar in those respects, and I would venture to guess there are endangered species living underground in those caves.

But what to make of it all? Not much. Another high muckety-muck comes to Baker's Bay. Meh, look the other way and have a Kalik!

sammie

[South Pause]

My little two cents is that there isn't half enough going on on Guana, or on most of the other Abaco islands, for the likes of Rush Limbaugh, or Cher.

[Two Turtles]

I did see that plane on the other forum and it would have been really cool to see it arrive/depart-whomever was on it. As far as famous muckey mucks-it would be neater to hear about them staying at a cottage incognito! Though I would love to have seen Jeter in the flesh-oh my!:o
As far as Bakers Bay and the other big developments, why oh why do they need a golf course? I'm no golf nut, but I have played some, and I know there are a lot of people who enjoy it. Great. Build on the big island. In my humble opinion a golf course in the Abacos is a serious pollutant and a waste of valuable and limited space. Put in a putt putt with an Abaco theme and be done with it!:confused:

[Charlotte Couple]

Wow, Notes, pretty tough on Rush, aren't you? I have no idea what kind of guy he is at heart, though he does appear to enjoy a high style of living. Not sure that equates to being uncaring about the "barefoot people" or with no regard for the community, etc. I have heard that he is quite generous in charitable giving. Who among us wouldn't take the opportunity to take our plane to Abaco every chance we get, if we had the means to do so?

My interpretation of all this is that the Golf Channel was probably invited to film a segment of The Haney Project at Bakers Bay to give them some free publicity, and Rush is a central figure in that series, along with Hank Haney. He went down there, fulfilled his obligation, and was back on the air Monday. The fact that nobody from this forum who was on Guana Cay saw him would suggest that he wasn't driving a golf cart too fast, disregarding the peacefulness of the community, etc.

[notesfromtheroad.com]

Sam,
I always appreciate how you engage folks on this forum with humor and thoughtful reply.

I have an inkling that South Pause is right; Cher and Rush would find Guana Cay too slow for their celebrity lifestyles. Rush is not a potential home buyer at Baker’s Bay, he is just doing a golf show in the Bahamas and I think Baker’s Bay was one stopover, or maybe it was the place where his segment was filmed.

The point is that I believe the reason Cher was there was because she was lured there under consideration as a home buyer, as was George Clooney and Matt Damon and all those folks who were courted by Baker’s Bay and who were seen by many roaming the streets of the settlement. And the point is that none of these celebrities, as far as we are aware, bought in to the courting, likely because of a combination of being appalled by the development and a sense that there ain’t a thing for them to do on Guana.

While Rush would never buy a lot here, what I am attempting to raise is the issue of whether he is maybe symbolic of the potential home buyer at Baker’s Bay. What will your neighbors on Guana be like? How will their presence, their demands, and so forth affect the Bahamians who live on Guana? Charlotte Couple, I am not being harsh on Rush - I am just raising the question of what this symbolizes for the future of Guana. Everybody knows he is ostentatious and charitable, that he has a loud style and that he makes some people laugh. So far, I don’t think any homes are being built yet that are for actual independent home buyers – so technically, I don’t think we have any idea what those neighbors will be like. So we have to look at what we have before us – and what we have before us is Rush Limbaugh.

I think that the Hollywood celebrity-focused sales drive was a failure. Note that the Discovery Land Company had been located in Los Angeles during the middle years of Baker’s Bay’s development. It has since moved to Arizona. I think Baker’s Bay is looking for a new way to move lots. How about the sports crowd? How about new money? How about the cigars and white suit jackets of big-spending Miami?

Two Turtles, croquet on the beach would be lovely as well! But nothing has changed since the days of Save Guana Cay Reef – megadevelopments like Baker’s Bay contribute to the gradual death of the natural ecosystems and beauty of the Caribbean environments, and Baker’s Bay is among the very worst in terms of its massive footprint adjacent to rare ecosystems. If there is any possibility that Baker’s Bay will not be around in a couple years, everybody – please imagine for a moment…raise that Kalik in the air, and just imagine the possibility of a Baker’s Bay National Park as a symbol of restoration in the West Indies and an affirmation for the slow, gentle style that has made the Abacos a successful economy for years!

I’ll be the first in line to plant a mangrove.

[SamFamAustin]

I’ll be the first in line to plant a mangrove.Actually, the red mangrove was sort of invasive here in South Texas, arriving in the form of "sea beans" and floating seeds that washed up on the shore. You might find sea beans around the Abacos, which can be quite treasured and rare, like really nice sea glass and certain rare shells. The most rare is is Mary's Bean, which has religious connotations and super good luck. See picture below.

I think you might have the black mangrove over in the Abacos, not sure, but they are incredible for honey bee production and actually provide some privacy (love the way the Brits pronounce that word).

Myself, I don't have much truck with worshiping celebrities in the islands. The fellas from ZZ Top own a shack down the road from me. So what?

If you recall, several celebs have been to Baker's Bay including Lance Armstrong. Who cares, he's just an OK Austin dude, rather quiet really if you meet him. I've met Billy Joel on Block Island and it was like "hey dude good ta see ya" and end of discussion. If it was Rush Limbaugh I might fart in his general direction, real sly like, and be gone.

But the mangrove and sea beans! Now that is something worth talking about, serious, serious stuff. The farthest sea bean ever tracked was 15,000 miles.

[minor]

No matter what we think of Rush’s politics, what is important here is more the type of culture he represents.
It’s like when you notice the first crack deal in your neighborhood.



o rly?

[trubahamian]

o rly?

Very appropo considering the referred to post and poster!:D

I don't side with Rush or notesfromtheroad.I'm simply glad to see something happening at Bakers Bay for wateva good it can do Abaco,but I do recognise cutesy shots wen I see them and this was a great humorous response ma Jack!:p

[yellowfin]

You know when Bakers Bay will have a problem? when you all STOP talking about it!! Of all the problems you all should be worrying about in the Bahamas,cost of fuel, power, immigrtation and crime, should be much higher then Bakers Bay, its here its a success and its not going anywhere!

[notesfromtheroad.com]

Sam,
Sea beans are killer cool. I have to admit that while I love beachcombing, I’ve never found a sea bean. I imagine some very cool ones drift up on the Atlantic side of Guana.

Abaco has all three of the primary mangrove species – the red mangrove, the black mangrove and the white mangrove. When you are inland on mainland Abaco, there are some really dense areas of white mangrove, but Abaco’s mangrove communities are definitely red mangrove communities. And here’s the cool part – they are the exact same tree that makes those dark, spooky mangrove places all over the world. In fact, if you’ve ever seen Man v. Wild, you might have heard Bear Grylls talk about a plane crash in Panama in which survivors spent three days stuck in their plane high up in the tree line of mangroves far from land. These hundred-foot mangroves are red mangroves – the exact same species as in the Abacos, but they vary significantly depending on the environment and so forth.

So, red mangroves are not just a plant but also an ecosystem. In places like the Abacos and Bimini, red mangrove ecosystems are essential for just about everything – from fisheries, to shark populations, to tarpon populations, and so forth. They are also the fabric that holds the islands together, because in low-lying areas where a hurricane could split an island in two, the red mangrove habitat literally sews the island together and can brace it against anything – nothing in the world does a better job than the red mangrove at stopping a hurricane dead in its tracks!

But the most important part of the red mangrove is the fact that it is the filter between land and sea; it literally cleans the water, and so is vital to the coral reefs. On Guana, all the mangrove areas have been removed except for small, token areas. The locals have lost their crabbing area, which had been a tradition and genuine food source for the island for two hundred years prior. Baker’s Bay was behind that one, and on Crown Land too.

In the Abacos, red mangroves are revered, kind of like Mary’s Sea Bean – well, at least they should be – right Friends of the Environment lurkers?

Celebrities have been a part of the Abacos for years, and they have found ways of laying low and becoming part of the area they live in. I remember being a kid and being told, hey look, that’s so and so. To me, they looked like everybody else. But, I also lived in Malibu for six years, and in one of those celebrity enclaves none-the-less, and I got a good idea of the kind of culture that Baker’s Bay might want to import to the islands. And I can quite confidently say that I am not just speaking for myself - that I truly believe I am speaking for all of Abaco – that there are certain cultural elements that these gated communities bring that are just really for the dumps!

If you’re ever in the Abacos at the same time as me, I’d love to take you out in the mangroves, by foot and kayak – wild, crazy birds, turtles, sharks, bromeliads, orchids. Cool beans.

[culp]

Notesfromtheroad...are you a Bahamian; a local; a second home owner; a frequent tourist? I'm always curious about where people are coming from on this forum.:)

[notesfromtheroad.com]

Culp - thanks for asking! In earlier posts, I have mentioned that I am an outsider, and that hopefully that does not influence judgment on my ideas (or lack of!) too much.

I spent a lot of time criss-crossing the tangled Baker's Bay area while growing up, and I dove the reef off there a whole lot. At one point, I had a collection of thousands of photos of Guana's reef - underwater photography was my passion growing up, which was tough since I lived in the Midwest and lakes don't make great subjects. So, every chance I had to get down to the Abacos was a blessing for me. I love these islands and all the cool people that populate it. In the world of amateur travel writing, the Bahamas really gets punched up a lot. Travel writers think the Bahamas is Disneyland - its a real lazy viewpoint. My voice has always been that travel writers who portray the Bahamas through such a narrow lens are really quite ignorant. The Bahamas, I say, even though its close to the U.S., is a spectacular wilderness, a vast geography and one of the most exotic, breathtaking places in the world, and its unique geography makes it filled with so much potential opportunity for exploration.

Did that answer your question fairly?

[Abaco Skippy]

Where did Willy's response go??? It was the best response ever! Attaboy Willy!

[AbacoGirl]

Where did Willy's response go??? It was the best response ever! Attaboy Willy!

I agree! Did Willy remove it?

[DrRalph]

No, we took it down, we considered it a very harsh, personal attack. It's one thing to make a rational argument; we have always asked our members not to attack another member in a personal way. Review our Userguide (http://abacoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4526), we make that point very clear in the opening lines.

[culp]

Was I attacked and didn't even feel the pain?;)

[Willy Landham]

No, we took it down, we considered it a very harsh, personal attack. It's one thing to make a rational argument; we have always asked our members not to attack another member in a personal way. Review our Userguide (http://abacoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4526), we make that point very clear in the opening lines.

You're darn right it was harsh. The commentary expressed here by NFTR is truly detestable and poisonous. This entire post should be removed.:mad::mad::mad:

[DrRalph]

We should have stopped this when it first showed up; thread locked.