YOU EVAH was in a conversation and hear somebody blurt out something like: “Dat cahn happen tuh me” or “Dah could nevah happen tuh me” or even, “It aint gine happen tuh me”.
Well tuh be truthful, I have heard myself say something like this, perhaps even more than once in my life and lemmuh tell ya, dat is the furtherest thing from the truth ’cause anything could happen tuh anybody, at anytime.
Ya see, if evahbody was the same, like clones, or if we was living in this world by ourselves, we might be able tuh say something like dat but all kinds o’ people, wid all kinds o’ mindsets and all kinds o’ attitudes and upbringing does live in this great big beautiful world. Dat is why the very thing dat you say cahn happen or will nevah happen, is the very thing dat does happen – ya nevah know, hear?
Duh got some people who refuse tuh drive wid duh big ride windows down, nuh matter how cool it is outside or how early in the morning it is. Duh doan want tuh know ’bout anything dat could mess up their very comfortable world. So they neither want tuh see nor hear it. It is all right tuh read ’bout it in the newspapers or watch it pon television but it ain’t got nutten tuh do wid dem.
As far as they are concerned, they have a nice big job or position in a big company, a very comfortable home in a well-tuh-do area and a big expensive ride. So they doan have tuh see nothing, hear nothing nor get involved in nothing. Therefore, as far as they are concerned, nothing cahn happen tuh dem.
But dat ain’t true, hear? As I said before, ya doan live in this world by ya’self and something could happen dat could cause you tuh end up losing evahthing tuh the point of being penniless and finding ya’self at people’s mercy. Look at all o’ the people who invested their future in Clico and who now fighting tooth and nail, trying tuh get back something.
Not one o’ dem ain’t see this sort o’ thing happening. And it ain’t only the big boys who had money invested in there ya know. A lot o’ small people had a li’l piece o’ something put aside too, a li’l investment fuh when duh get old or retire.
Talking ’bout dat cahn happen tuh me? Huh! Look, it is like a woman getting involved wid a man who you thought was the perfect man, falling head over heels in love wid he and then one day her perfect world comes tumbling down because she find out dat he was fooling her all the years wid his extra niceness.
Ya see, he ain’t nuh perfect nothing. He is a piece o’ he and a piece o’ she. I hear dat story pon a call-in programme the other day and somebody say dat it cahn happen tuh dem, because dem would have tuh see the signs. Yeah, right!
Drugs and alcohol is another thing. Getting hooked pon dem things could happen tuh anybody; ya only gotta try dem. I have heard young fellas who ya know does smoke duh herb say dat dem cahn get hooked pon nuh marijuana, dat dem does just smoke it tuh relax and a whole lot o’ foolishness.
But allow a few years tuh pass and you will see dem same men start tuh deteriorate, ’cause they didn’t realise how deep duh was in and dependent duh was pon the drug. Andit couldn’t happen tuh dem, hear?
But before I sign off fuh this week, I would like tuh say how bad I felt for the family up there in Clapham whose little boy got shot in his head while shopping in town, and how happy I feel dat he is all right.
Then I would like tuh express my sympathy tuh the wife and family of the gentleman who was shot and killed in Bank Hall last Sunday morning. I pray dat God will give dem peace and the capacity tuh go through this very bad and unfortunate situation.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
