Thursday, March 28, 2024

MAVIS BECKLES – De rain is just . . . and unjust

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It must be real hard tuh be living in a well-built comfortable home with a secured roof, nice windows and doors in a nice peaceful neighbourhood, and thinking dat the rain could fall till next year and it wouldn’t bother you or cause you nuh kinda discomfort; and then ya could be real, real wrong.
Look, one time when I see the rain falling fuh almost two whole days like how it fall earlier this week, I would’ve said, “leh the rain fall, we need it”; or “it got the whole place cool and sweet”; or “it is a welcome change in dat ya ain’t suh hot and bothered”; and “at least it makes ya bring out the li’l pretty sweaters or cute li’l cardigans or wind breakers dat ya hardly get the opportunity tuh put on”.
I would also look at it like how fantastic ya does feel lying down in ya bed curled up wid a nice book, or sitting in front o’ the television set in a comfortable, cozy chair wid ya two foot prop up enjoying a great movie while the rain tumble down outside and knowing, or even thinking tuh yaself dat nutten ain’t leaking or falling apart in ya house – so leh the rain fall as it like.
But recently, even though I enjoy the rain and thunder and lightning and wish dat it would rain a li’l more often so dat the place would be lush and green and cool, I does have tuh check myself and think ’bout all o’ dem other people who might like tuh be able tuh enjoy the freshness o’ the winds and rain, only if duh had somewhere tuh shelter from it like dat husband and wife who was sleeping in a verandah, sick as evah and getting wet.
I does have tuh think ’bout the people who work real hard fuh years tuh get a li’l tinnin-ba-doo, a li’l something wid a roof ovah duh heads, a li’l place dat they could call their castle only tuh lose it when the winds start tuh blow a li’l strange and different and all of a sudden duh house gone just so.
And then my heart does go out tuh the ones who live in what ya does call the low lying areas, the areas where all the water does flow down from all the way up in the hickeys, bringing along all kinds o’ things dat would block up the cleanest drains, and then all of a sudden, evahthing does back up and the water does just build up in back yards and flood out whole villages like down here in the city. Dem poor people must be frighten as France when dem hear ’bout any kinda bad weather.
Sometimes ya really cahn blame the people who are responsible fuh cleaning and clearing the drains, ya know, ’cause look, duh aint got nutten more powerful than water.
When you see dat water flowing, mek sure you get tuh some kinda high ground as soon as possible because if you is tuh get caught up in its path, you could be sure dat you gone long wid it too, and I gine tell ya something now, duh ain’t nuh kinda guarantee dat ya coming back neither, when water moving; doan fuhget Carew – he and he whole house get wash way.
But I feel real sorry fuh the people up there in Enterprise and those areas where ya wouldn’t think would be suh badly affected by the rain. You could imagine having tuh see your whole house covered wid water? And not only water ya know, dirty muddy water; and water dat you ain’t know where it come from or wha’ in it?
Lord have mercy. I gine tell ya the truth: I doan know how I would handle it. And ya would know dat it gine be there fuh a good li’l while ’cause the one outside ain’t running nuhwhere in a hurry, and the rain still falling.
Look, I gine tell you, when all o’ dat rain was tumbling down, my thoughts went straight tuh St James, down there in Holetown, Trents, Sunset Crest and dem areas so dat used tuh be flooded out as soon as the rain barely set up; and I remember only a couple o’ years back how some schoolchildren did get trapped in the flooding down there.
But when everything cleared and I didn’t read ’bout or see any kinda flooding down there, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I ain’t know how much more rain we gine get ’cause we still in the rainy season but I pray dat whoever is responsible try and make sure and get this drainage problem sorted out real quick ’cause it cahn be easy seeing all ya hard earned money go down the drain evah time the rain decide dat it gine fall fuh a few days.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.

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