Dear Editor,

I recently became an ambassador in the tourism industry. The experience so far has been breath taking.
I have worked in many fields during the course of my professional career ranging from being a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer, a senior bank manager and a grocery store manager, just to name a few. I have worn many hats.
I always believed in providing excellent customer service while in these professions, and the tourism industry for me is no different. But for some reason I feel a deeper sense of pride. Everything seems to be so natural. The tourism industry has given me a totally different perspective on life and servitude.
I vividly remember in 1998 when I fell in love with the woman of my dreams. We are now married and have a beautiful teenage daughter. Like most couples, our journey has been a storied one, but we are still together, and she is still the one. I knew even back then that she was the one when we met. I know now that The Bahamas is my new love, and the tourism industry will be one channel that I use to express this passion.
Working directly in the tourism industry for only five weeks has made me think about when I met my first love. Do you know what goose bumps are? They are what I get when I learn something new about The Bahamas.
Do you know what it is to lose sleep at night? This has been happening to me ever since I started the Ministry of Tourism's tour guide course several weeks ago.
Do you know how it feels to wake up on a Sunday morning and browse YouTube to listen to Ronnie Butler's songs, like "Shot Gun Wedding", "Burma Road" and "Bungy on Fire"? Or Kirkland "KB" Bodie's "Coo Coo Soup"? Or Gino D's "Drunk Again"? Or The Brilanders' "Party in the Backyard"? Do you know what it is like to do all of this before getting out of bed?
Do you know the feeling of looking at the same buildings that you once passed every day of your life with a renewed sense of pride, and then searching online and through local sources to become better informed about their history?
Scott Kelly, an American astronaut who spent one year in space said, "The Bahamas is the most beautiful place from space". I believe we are the most beautiful country on earth and we have a storied and rich history that all Bahamians need to explore more.
At 43, I have suddenly acquired an insatiable desire to learn more about my country.
I want to now know the full story, the true story. I want to learn about the grave site that is now covered by the basketball court near Reeves Street in Fox Hill.
I want to learn about the early inhabitants, who, I am told, were in The Bahamas as early as 600 AD. I want to learn more about the Glass Window Bridge in Eleuthera.
I need to visit Cat Island, Mayaguana and Rum Cay.
I will continue to learn more about The Bahamas. I will treat her right and take good care of her, because she is mine. I will not allow anything bad to happen to her, no, not under my watch.
I am in love again, and this time it's with my country, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

- Dehavilland Moss

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