Jennifer Keane-Dawes, Outlook Writer

Keane-Dawes

Me dear mam,

me deh a fareign de other day an seh to meself seh me haffi pull yu aise bout dis ting weh name dry drowning. For fram me bawn till now, me neva know seh people coulda g'a sea. River. Pool. Or any weh go swim eena heap a water. Walk come out. Tell howdy to anybaddy dem see a road. Go home. G'a dem bed. An den drown eena de dry, dry bed. Massy.

Suh me dear, when me hear bout dis lilly ten year old pickney fram South Carolina weh drown said way eena him bed couple week aback. Me frighten. Plus, based pon weh de dactah seh, is a common common ting weh nuff people nuh know bout. For, weh happen, is dat water get eena de smady lungs, mek dem feel tired. Tun dem eena half eediat like. An sometime, like de lilly bwoy, dem defecate or urinate pon demself. Well, de madda seh after de lilly bwoy did go to him bed, she go back go check pon him. Only fe see a heap a white something fava sponge cover de whole a him face. Suh after she do de necessary bawl out an rush him to de hawspital, de po pickney was dead as nit.

strong feeling

Well, me dear mam, me neva know bout dry drowning till now. But in a way, me did know seh me did a do de right ting when me used to kick-an-scream-an-holler-fe-Jeezas-an-bawlout-an-mek-murderation-noise-an-run-go-under cellar when me madda used to grab after me fe wash de lilly bump a hair pon me head when me was a lilly pickney. For me dear mam, Massa God really help infant an fool. For me neva know how me did know, but me did hab a strong feeling seh dis-kallah-me-up-an-tun-me upside-dung wid me brain eena de wash pan. An de pipe water a gillup straight fe me two innocent upside dung nose hole was a ting weh coulda did kill me. Not fe mention das while she a cuss parents weh woan put a stoppage to dem pickney weh a come a school wid lice eena dem head. Me did still a galang bad fe mek de soap sud slide an drap me outta har han. But if truth was to be told, a did fe me fault. For after she used to beg me hard nuffi cry. She a tek har time. An after me beg har please wash me hair while me stan up a bathe. But den begin bawl how me back a wet up. She neva had a choice but fe kiss har teet an fling me an me fren dem heap a lice eena de wash pan.

My dear lady, a plenty tings we nuh know. But we can learn dem before some tragedy happen. For if, when me was a lilly pickney, dis bwoy Doonie parents did know seh him an him fren dem a tief weh fram school an g'a sea. Dem wouldn't haffi witness de two body haul up outta de said sea wid fish eat off de whole a dem mout lip. Suh, now das we know das a nuh evry drowning tek place like weh happen to Doonie. But das there is a ting weh name dry drowning. Mek we huppen we yeye an tikyah. For as Massa God seh, Him people a perish sake a lack of knowledge.

Tek care.

Dr Jennifer Keane-Dawes is a professor of communication at Elizabeth City State University, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System. Send your email to: jkd876@yahoo.com.

Joel Hines (left) and his friend Kevron Grizzle take a swim in a river in John's Hall, St James.- photo by Tashieka Mair