Amina Blackwood Meeks, ContributorMISS LADY took due note of Likkle Miss Jing Bang carrying on over de pikney dem who kean find dem parents. And in general she agree sey if nuff of dese children did know is what dem was going get as parents dem wudda decide not to bawn at all.
But she also sey she live long enough fe know sey dat is not so it go in all cases. Some people try dem bes to be worthy of de tikle but dem circumstances gi dem a hard fight.
She sey she know a man who tell har sey him wudda like fe siddung wan day wid him two children and dem madda an eat a good dinner. For when him was growing up wid him granny, dinner time was de bes time, dat is providing dat dem cudda fine de dinner.
SUNDAY TING
For dinner was not a everyday affair back den, it was a Sunday ting. Is like him granny use to save up everyting she cudda save up fe put inna de Sunday pot. And everybaddy get dem likkle plate a sumpen, except him grandfada.
Him did get a plate fe every ting. Rice an pease inna one, meat inna wan, salad inna one, dung to fe him gravy did come inna it wona plate. An nobaddi cudden cook like him granny. Is like she put a secret ingredient inna every pot what she put pan de fire.
But mostly it come in like she did put something in dere fe meck everybody talk. As soon as de firs smaddy lick dem mout an gi out sey how de food nice, is like talking spwile. Every jack man, hooman an pikney start find someting fe sey. Sometime before dem know wha dem a sey, some important juicy likkle secret drap outa dem mout an de whole fambily inna dem business, who fe laugh laugh, who fe criticise tun critic an who fe gi advice dish out dat too.
Sometimes long afta yu feget is what yu was eating when such an such did meck dem confession yu memba what dem did confess to. Dat was de importance of dinner in dem time. But she sey now some people kean even find de time. Every likkle time dem have dem spend it a walk round a try find someting fe do fe get de dinner.
Is so comes it dat she did buck up a man wan time way up into a Stony Hill, face dung pan de concrete, blood a come outa him mout. She sey ascardin to de time she did tink sey de smaddy did deliberately fling dung himself a grung as a trick fe ketch any good Samaritan who stop fe render assistance. But a mind tell har fe teck de chance. Is drap dung de man drap dung.
WUTLISSNESS FEELINGS
Him wake up from early mawnin fe go a street go look it. Pick up him tool box in case him cudda get any likkle ting fe fix an him machete in case anybody did want dem yard fe bushin. An him tell har sey when him see dinnertime a come an him nuh succeed in getting nuh likkle nutten fe do, an him have dat deh long distance fe walk go back home go listen to cries of hunger, a piece a wutlissness of feelings, wuss dan low self-esteem, jus come over him an lick him dung a grung an him jus feel like run whey an never go home again.
FAMBILY WAAN STRUCTURE
Him tell har sey him lissen all de time to people a run up dem mout bout how fambily waan structure an dem waan propose a low bout how de strutcure fe go an wan bag a mout, like dem deh pan IMF restructuring committee. Him sey him wudda like fe buck dem up fe tell dem wan ting, is de structure what IMF an dem economic hitman frens propose mash up de whole a we structure in de first place.
Any new restructuring haffe put people in touch wid job an money. For yu cudda structure it anyhow yu want if people cannot find de means fe feed demself an dem pikney, nuh dinnertime conversation is nat going to teck place fe nobaddi get a chance to share into nutten but sufferation.
So jus like how some people learn an grow roun dinner table wid dinner pan it, some people a diminish chu how dem fraid fe approach de so-so empty table widout nutten pan it, an him doan hear nobaddi talking bout dat. Dem ongly a talk like sey people deliberately mean fe hide when dem a eat an nat even share prayers wid smaddy else.
Him sey maybe some people stay so but if all dis talk bout lack of fambily life mean fe sey de whole island tun wutliss we might as well bow an come dung for talk is nat going change dat. Him tinkg sey nuff adda people like him wudda put dem fambily life back togedda if de means did deh-deh.
So him personally a recommend some more job fe help people like him put someting pan de table for if is even fe smaddy siddung an ask is wha dat, dat wudda start a conversation. At least some pikney wudda know sey at least once a week dem cudda find dem parents at de dinner table.
