| By Leonard GildarieI hate flying. The hassle of Customs and airport security coupled with delays and the poor quality of food on planes has been a major deterring factor.But in the last few years, the demands of the media business have forced me to learn to cope.I should have done it more.Seeing what other countries do has really opened my eyes. But it makes me impatient about the sloth of things happening in Guyana. There will be critics and historians who will attempt to defend the Guyana situation, arguing about the effects of slavery and colonialism. They will say that Guyana is a young country…so be patient.Here is the problem…we have countries like Singapore and others, some even without natural resources. They have managed to surpass expectations, rising to the top of the list when it comes to the developed world. And they started around the same time as Guyana.This week, one of the biggest gathering of world leaders will see important decisions being taken at the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York.So I arrived in the Big Apple last week to cover the event and was left all alone. The family I was staying at lived at the opposite side of the city and was at work all day.In Queens…under one of the massive train bridges in New YorkI had to head to the UN building and there was no one to take me. I have to find the subway.For those who are not familiar with New York especially, the traffic is a killer. It is almost impossible to find parking in Manhattan and even in front of your home. Many families live in homes with no yard space or garages. You are forced to park in the streets, sometimes even a street away.To reach to work early, you either take the bus or train. The family car is not an option. Also not an option is being late for work.So I asked about getting to Manhattan. I was handed a smartphone with an app by my cousin. He programmed the UN location and it also showed me my current location. Google maps is a must when you want to move about in the US and especially in New York.So there I was headed to the subway in Jamaica, Queens. You had to walk about five blocks to get there.New York is a place where you follow the street signs. The traffic lights work as they should and buses and trains work almost to the minute. Everything is about management of time. You can never be late.The signs helped. I bought what is called a Metro Card. The subways and buses don’t work with cash. You swipe the card which allows access to areas where the trains arrive. Again, you follow the signs. It drives home the point of how much cash we walk with in Guyana.In New York,Wholesale NFL Jerseys 2018, people are always in the hurry. Nobody,Cheap China Jerseys, except the senior citizens,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, walks slowly. It is one of the first things that strike you. The second thing is that New Yorkers love their coffee, cigarettes and phones. Almost everybody has one. Cigarette breaks appear to be a given right.So I hopped on the E train heading for Manhattan. It was the first time. I have to walk down stairs and escalators to deep underground.I saw the E train and entered. There were no seats and folks in the train appeared to hate making eye contact. Some were reading,Cheap Wholesale Jerseys, some sleeping and others texting.There were loudspeakers telling you about the directions of the train and what the next stop was. The trains stop for about a minute at each station, with everybody rushing on or off. Everything was organized.I got off at the wrong stop and came out at Queens Plaza. I started walking and realized that I was lost.I asked a few persons,Cheap NFL Jerseys, including police,Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys, for directions and was directed back to the train station.Unless you know where train stations are, it is difficult to find it. The stairs are located buildings and immediately evident.I finally made it to Manhattan. It is a city where the buildings are majestic and seems to be teeming with quiet activities. You can feel the pulse of activities. Everybody seems to be in a rush.I could not but marvel at the skylines, at the amount of planning, at the orderliness of the city.What are the possibilities of Guyana? What kind of leaders do we need to take this wonderful country of ours to another level?The use of technology like Google maps and the ease of which New Yorkers adapt to it is something to experience.People take these things for granted there. I used my phone to Skype and voice chat with family and friends, using the existing mobile networks while on the road. In Guyana we are forced to use WiFi because we cannot allow GT&T and other companies to have spectrum to expand to 4G and 5G technology to make our lives better.It is when we see the possibilities that one realize that our development is held back by ourselves…by a lack of will to make the right decisions and maybe years of being selfish and not looking out for Guyana.I pray that everyone in Guyana has a chance to use the subway in New York. |
