LEMMUH TELL YA: where evah ya turn nowadays,ya could see people all about, selling all sorts o’ things.
Some people haveall of a sudden become adventurous, ambitious entrepreneurs almost ovah night. I come along and hear theold people saying dat necessity is the motherof invention but I nevah thought I would live tuh see the day when I could actually experience it.
I could remembergoing tuh a cricket match one time inJamaica and was in awe at the amount o’ people dat was selling and even the things duh was selling. Look,I ain’t telling you nuhlie, evah time ya turn around somebody was walking up and down between the seats in the stand hollering out wha’he was selling.
Who ain’t had straw baskets, haddem white buckets or duh had something like a bag in duh hands. Duh had from nuts tuh sweets, duh did even walking ’bout selling food. I mean all o’ this activity was going on constantly while the game was happening, ya know?
You know dat lot o’ activity couldn’t happen here when a Bajan watching he cricket? Duh woulda have tuh get a li’l lull in the match and even so, the very sellers would want tuh take some time tuh watch the match. But not dem Jamaicans, boh. Demis some serious sellers. It was a constant flow of sellers and dat is wha’ I now seeing’bout here.
Some people like duh manage tuh squeeze out a few dollar bills and built on a li’l shed pon duh house and now selling fry fish and chicken pon a Friday and Saturday night and the ones who cahn do dat selling li’l snacks and soft drinks from duh house tuh the neighbourhood children during the day in the hope o’ generating a few extra dollars. I know a few people who have finally turned duh long-time ideas in tuh li’l businesses and duh ain’t doing too bad neither.
I have been going in the market tuh buy my vegetables evah single Saturday fuh years now and recently I have been noticing husband and wife, family members, old and young people selling duh produce.
I must admit it isgood tuh see especially the husband and wife teams who does beselling all the things dat dem grow wid-out chemicals in duh kitchen gardens.
Look, people selling suh much nowadays dat where one time people would pick some o’ the fruit off duh trees and give the neighbours some. Not so now, boh.
Instead o’ giving away like one time, duh selling evah one. If duh ain’t selling dem ’longside the road, duh carrying dem down in the market in a big-able box when the Saturday morning comeor duh selling dem tuhthe supermarkets.
And wha’ ’bout the sellers pon the highway? Dem does sell dunks, fat porks, hog plums, nuts, goose berries, chili plums, Jamaica plums and ackees. Doan talk ’boutthe ackees at all.
As soon as you seethis time o’ the year come round, dem sellers like duh does have duh eyes pin on pon the people ackee trees. Look, before the ackees could get li’l flesh on pon duh good,duh selling dem all ’bout the highway. And look, a bunch o’ ackees dat sometimes sour as France and dat got on ’bout 25,if suh much, dem selling fuh two dollars. Some people coming up widall sorts o’ ways tuhmake a dollar, hear?
The truth is, I doan blame dem at all because from the way things going in this sweet little island. It looks like we gine have tuh be growing and selling most o’ the things dat we eat. I ain’t got nuh problem wid dat.I got a problem wid thepeople who ain’t seem tuh want tuh wuk hard fuh nutten but does want tuh be at evah single cockfight. But I gine talk ’bout dat next week.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans.She has an opinionon everything.
