Dear Nesta,
EF LAUGHTER IS DE BES’ MEDICINE, I certainly been gettin’ my fair share to keep muh in good healf. Nowadays when I hear ’bout some o’ de “dreams” Guvment got, I smile, but couple weeks ago I c’n help laughin’ out loud at Mr Gline Clarke words when ’e tell we ef he party was in power, all lay-off Guvment employees would get rehire.
My goodness! Now dah’s a “impossible dream”. To quote de young people, “He fuh real”? C’dear Mr Clarke, you really expeck any right-t’inkin’ body would swallow dah, jes-so, widout any proof o’ how you an’ yuh party gine get it do? I wonder wuh ’pon earf ’e did t’inkin’ when ’e say so? Now evahbody – he, ’e own party, Guvment, unions; even me dat only went to Brumley – know dah jes’ en happenin’, at leas’ not right now. So why try to gi’e Bajans false hopes you party could wuk muricles? ’Cause dah is only wuh it would ha’ to be. Wunna gine jes’ say “abracadabra”, money gine appear from nowhey, an’ yuh gine start rehirin’ all dem Guvment employees dat gone home? Looka, it seem as ef bofe wunna an’ Guvment got money hidin’ someplace we Bajans don’ know ’bout, yuh!
Evahbody accep’ we in sech “tights” – of course, I hope you know you party mus’ tek ’nough blame too – dat de onlies’ t’ing Guvment coulda do was to tek de “advice” – no, “instructions” – comin’ from on high an’ sen’ home de “onfortunate 3 000”. Ethuhwise, we mighta fine weselves up dah famous creek widout a paddle.
T’ings bleak an’ set to get mo’ bleak as mo’ an’ mo’ people go home. So ef you party could fin’ fun’s fuh dis “mission impossible”, yuh got de blessin’ o’ evah Bajan. But lemmuh tell yuh a li’l “secret”: don’ look to Guvment fuh no help. As far as I know, dem coffers “dry”!
Guvment got a brave heart, doh. Tellin’ we how dis an’ dat to do, ’pon de cards, an’ evaht’ing startin’, always “shortly” – cruise terminal, jet bridges; I even hear Mr Sinclair hintin’ ’bout buyin’ de Globe Cinema an’ mekkin’ it a cultural centre. Dis is all to do wid national heritage? An’, of course, dese “dreams” gine cos’ millions.
Philomena been laughin’ evah sence she read Guvment might buy de Globe. She hope jes’ as fas’ dah t’ought enter duh heads, jes’ as fas’ it gine disappear. Duh would turn it into wuh? A cultural centre? When duh been playin’ hide-an’-seek wid de ethuh two – Empire an’ de Daphne Joseph-Hackett T’eatre – fuh God knows how long? Politicians really believe duh could fool people, faif! Day after day, Bajans gettin’ de stuffin’s lick outta duh, an’ dem might buy de Globe? Ef duh got summuch money to han’, c’dear, put it to better use, neh? Like rehirin’ some o’ de lay-offs, an’ callin’ off ethuhs dat soon to tek place.
Same t’ing wid dem jet bridges. Bofe tourisses an’ Bajans been doin’ widout dem fuh donkey years, as neithuh Guvment evah t’ought ’bout installin’ dem. Sudden so, Guvment decide “now is de hour to say goodbye” to $20 million. Aldoh it would mek life mo’ easy fuh passengers, it is a “luxury” I don’ t’ink we could afford right now. I even see a letter from a “repeat visitor” sayin’ dey en no reason to install dem. So why de rush now? Guvment believe jet bridges an’ buyin’ de Globe mo’ impo’tant dan de daily problems Bajans strugglin’ wid to survive?
Well, ef dat is so . . . dream on!
Tek care o’ yuhself.
Yuh frien’, Babsie.
