Montserrat was once a playground for the upper middle class and the rich and famous who wanted a place for anonymity. Its 39 square miles were very beautiful. There was a golf course by the sea, a small bustling town, picturesque villages and expatriate neighborhoods with large lawns and houses you might find in a ritzy suburb in Ohio in the 1970's. All that changed when the centuries long dormant Soufriere volcano came back to life in 1995. By 1997 it had buried the town, the golf course and the airport. Two thirds of the island were declared unsafe, but life continued in the northern third. Along with losing about 26 square miles of land, Montserrat lost about two thirds of its population of twelve thousand. Those Montserratians went to other Caribbean islands, to England and to the United States to make new lives. Remaining here are some die hard expatriates and four thousand islanders. It has been more than a decade since Soufriere dominated life here and though she has given us times free of her wrath, she remains an active force in all of our lives.