Visited by Rastas IX

As we talked over lunch, it dawned on me that Ben was involved in the Rastas' visit. He and Roena became good friends and it was he who had introduced her to Laurie May and Roena who introduced me to her.  Amelia's ex-husband, Jack (whom I never met) had had a business relationship with the Rastas for several years. Over a few decades the Rastas had placed some of their people in key positions in Customs and were able to deliver cannabis grown by them in Jamaica to locations inside the U.S. Most of their deliveries weighed just over a ton of manicured buds. The Rastas seemed motivated to put enough weed in the country to help the hippies' "revolution" to succeed. Whatever their reason, their dedication to the task was remarkable; at every rock concert of the sixties and seventies they provided tons of free buds for the attendees. (I was told that they delivered eight tons to Woodstock and at Altamont I saw them hand out hundreds of lids of buds in the few hours that I was there. Obviously they wanted to inject huge amounts of weed into the country but were not interested in profiting from their efforts. (at least not monetarily) This worked quite well for Jack and for others who had much the same relationship with the Rastas as he did. At a time when a pound of manicured buds would easily sell for $200.00, the Rastas would  take no more than $2.00 per pound for it (DELIVERED INSIDE THE U.S.) In truth, the Rastas have little need for money. Their land is paid for and the fruits, vegetables and animals, wild or domestic, on that land provide them with nearly everything that they eat.  Considering that they probably deliver an average of more than a ton per week (and that's  intentionally underestimated) their income from it could be more than $16,000. per month. Easily enough to cover shipping and handling costs. Several months before the Rastas visited Gates of Eden, according to Ben, it was decided by Jack and his partners that the Rastas were not receiving their fair share of the proceeds and, since they could not be persuaded to take a bigger bite for themselves, gifting would be the way to go. First, Jack and company presented them with a 20,000-watt electrical generator to light the buildings and pathways of the compound. The wires are strung, the bulbs screwed-in, the generator started. The Rastas loved it. Especially the lighted paths and the Christmas-tree lights just outside the entrance to the chapel. At first they loved it. But very soon they noticed the noise it generated, decided that would not do and before it had run a half-hour, shut it down, never to be started again. So, Jack is out about $3,500 and has yet to provide a usefull gift. For weeks he racked his brain for what would be a gift that the Rastas would appreciate. Then, one day, on the phone with his Ex, Amelia, he asked her for a suggestion. She thought his best bet would be to fly the thirteen Rasta Brothers living at the compound to San Francisco, put them up at the St. Francis  and over a period of a week or two, take them on all the tours of the City and the Bay.