Hey, hey, b’looka how funny life is, neh. You coulda stop up dey in Engelant las’ week an’ hear yuh frien’ gone long to meet she Maker, easy-so.
Tuesduh mornin’ gone, li’l after 5 o’clock, Bajans had a “wake-up call” when de earf start to rumble, mekkin’ mos’ people realise somet’ing strange was happenin’.
When my winders start rattlin’, I t’ought it was a onwanted visitor – dese days yuh never know – but de bed like it was movin too, an’ dat mek muh feel it could be a earfquake , or “tremor” as people callin’ it. My nighber did “dead to de worl’”when de shakin’ was gine on – she sleep t’rough it all.
I had to say it woulda been too funny ef she did wake up an’ fin’ sheself ’pon de ethuh side, tryin’ to get pas’ Sin Peter at de Gate.
Dis tremor – 6.4 – din las’ too long – onlike de one back in 2007. Dah wasn’ as big, but it do de “rock an’ roll” wid some houses. I hope evahbody tek heed o’ how dem an’ duh precious “t’ings” could disappear in a minute, ’specially as a “big one” predick fuh de Caribbean area at some time. Anethuh opinion see Buhbayduss gettin’ jes’ tremors in de future dat en gine cause we no big lotta harm. Which “voice” right? Only de Master know, but fuh now, we need to watch an’ pray an’ hope we luck hol’.
Philomena don’ t’ink dis luck gine las’ fuhevah, doh. As she say, we better tek a good look at de direction de country headin’. We ’pon a slippery slope an’ goin’ down fas’; dis en de same Buhbayduss as befo’-time. All manner o’ t’ings gine on – “drugs” got de youff killin’-off one anethuh, road accidents an’ house fires daily, bullyin’, domestic abuse risin’, murders . . . evahbody like duh ’pon edge. I wonder ef it is de food we eatin’ got we so, neh? Young an’ not so young always ready to fight fuh de slightes’ reason, an’ not wid a slap or cuff – nor even a “big rock”. Is knives an’ guns now!
School trildrun en like de ones in my day, when li’l fellas would slap one anethuh ’roun’ duh heads an’ tek off like a jet befo’ anyt’ing else could happen. Scissors, once fuh cuttin’ cloff, is now part o’ de “instruments o’ destruction”; boys – girls too – now armin’ duhselves fuh de daily fights dat gine on at schools an’ elsewhey; bullyin’, sometimes causin’ serious injury, seem to be one o’ de pas’times fuh some youngsters.
Nowadays, yuh tek a big risk ef yuh look at anybody too hard. Duh always ready to bewze yuh an’ mek all sorts o’ t’reats ’gains’ yuh life.
Me, soul? I’s walk ’bout wid my eyes lookin’ to de earf. I mekkin’ sure nobody en gine get de chance at me.
Four murders in de pas’ week, mekkin’ muh wonder ef we tryin’ to ketch up wid Trinidad, who seem to be tryin’ duh bes’ to ketch up wid Jamaica. De po’ police wukkin’ overtime; my niece frien’ jes’ went t’rough hell, when some bol’face t’ieves hit he bizness an’ home an’ clear out wid evaht’ing. De force tryin’ duh bes’, but jes’ check de attitudes o’ some youff towards aut’ority an’ yuh would onderstan’ how rough duh got it. One time – “olden days”? – de sight o’ police had young fellas shakin’ in duh boots, but now?
Dis recent “tremor” put muh to wonderin’ ef de Lord gettin’ ready to start “cleanin’ up” ’E worl’. Y’know, I always t’ink ’bout de “Flood”, when evahbody excep’ Noah an’ ’e fambly get wash ’way. But why Noah din pelt dem two monkeys outta de ark when ’e had de chance gine always be a mystery to me!
Tek care o’ yuhself. Yuh frien’, Babsie.
