How t’ings wid you, muh girl? I en been hearin’ no complaints, so evaht’ing mussee good. Me? Chile, I cyhan complain – so far so good. As I was never one to heng my hat mo’ high dan my head, I en got de worries some people facin’ dese days. Dodgin’ de Coolie Man one minute, an’ Courts de nex’, all de time cussin’ Guvment fuh causin’ duh problems.
I suppose duh got to fin’ somebody to blame, so why not Guvment? ’Specially when de ethuh side pressin’ fuh “action” but nobody know wuh dat mean, ’cause up to now evaht’ing is jes’ talk. I remember de march in de nineties when a bariffle o’ Bajans turn out to protes’ de eight per cent pay cut – Philomena was dey – but neffin serious din happen.
We Bajans is peaceful people at heart – we might quarrel an’ fret sometimes, but it would got to be somet’ing onconscionable to really get we goin’. Fuh some while doh, I been noticin’ a change tekkin’ place. Some o’ we youff would be only too glad jes’ to hear a li’l pebble drop, to start some “action”. So leh we lef out de “action” talk an’ stick to jes’ “talkin’”.
Philomena, dress in she red T-shirt, been goin’ to evah meetin’, but lately she en lookin’ too hopeful when she get back. She hearin’ but en seein’ no actual changes comin’ ’bout from dese meetin’s, so she gine “ease off”.
Fuh me, all politicians is de same. Bofe parties sing de same tune, only diff’ence is a alphabet letter. So why should I get a stroke over wuh happenin’? I jes’ axin’ de Fathuh to cahy muh safe t’rough dese rough times. Actually, I t’inkin’ ’bout sennin’ de “people dat matter” a copy o’ dah song we sing evah Sunduh mornin’ at church – “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me”.
Philomena tell muh I should check de PM an’ notice how cool an’ calm he is. Yuh could see he en plannin’ to leh stress kill he! All de talk an’ confusion gine on ’roun’ ’e head, but anybody hearin’ anyt’ing comin’ from he? Not really. Neithuh talk nor action – an’ ’e gettin’ t’rough alright. It look like he gine leh de ethuh side an’ de “advisers” talk an’ talk an’ talk ’til duh get tired an’ run outta steam. After dat, neffin lef to do but shut up an’ wait duh turn!
De PM rulin’ t’ings in a completely diff’rent way – de way he want. No rantin’ nor ravin’, jes’ “sittin’ tight” playin’ it cool, an’ we’s to wonder wuh comin’ nex’. Frank Sinatra en de onlies’ body to do t’ings he way.
Meantime, life still got mos’ people in a “stranner”. Dah might be so, but las’ weeken’ Guvment decide to put on a “display to remember” to celebrate 375 years o’ Parliament in Buhbayduss, as ef money din no objeck. We had visitin’ royalty, English Beefeaters, a big reception . . . an’ all dem t’ings had to cos’ some warm coppers. I don’ believe all we “jobless” was in agreement, but dem din got no say in de matter.
Guvment remin’ muh o’ some frien’s I got – nobody would evah believe duh en got five cents to duh name when yuh see dem struttin’ ’bout town. Duh say yuh shun ack poor, even ef yuh “suckin’ salt”, people respeck yuh better. Well, ef dah is also we Guvment belief, neffin we could do. Duh should set a better example, but . . . .
Tek care o’ yuhself. Yuh frien’, Babsie.
