YEARS LATER
"So on a serious note honey tell me what do you fear most for our unborn children?" he asked. Giving it a moment's thought she replied, "I guess that they wouldn't have the kind of days that we used to have when we were growing up and when I say that I mean real, real, real days eh!" There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone. "Boy is true you know! I remember the days when we used to... The conversation torpedoed into the days when we used to go and buy 5 cent pull pull, jawbone breakers, tamarind jam, mocca, and fat pork from Ms. Hazel.
The days when we used to save up to buy sugar cake, sucker or as some people call it now frozen joy from Ms. Connor on de hill. The days when we used to go Rawlins to look 'manseport,' stone dates and end up running from the big bad dogs... They days when we used to go down de bay to look sea grapes, pick whelks or go line fishing... The days when we used to go mountain with Papa and Mama to pull pinda or dig potato but end up just liming and being told, "Lord it best all you had stop home cause all you aint no help to grace..."
The days when we used to hop tractor and engine cross Belmont&The days when we used to have we 'chambalay,' bamboo canons and light old tires and roll them down the road at Guy Fawkes. We remembered the days when we Nen Nen or Tan Tan used to yell, "All you look me sin and trouble ya now! Is pitch dark and them children still out a road a play coop..." These were the days I tell you. There were the MISSISSIPPI days... The ripping up you old panty them, to make string days...The hearing the screams coming from one of the neighbours house, when a mother had discovered that some treasured bed sheet or garment had been destroyed to make that coveted MISSISSIPPI...The rabbit in de cub days.. The 'On de River' On de Bank Days.. The 'Dog and Bone Days... Old Grady... Red Rover Days... We remembered the hand tennis in de road days... The jax days.. The rivalry and arguments that ensued about how slippery the bottle was, whether we should have used a shoe instead of the bottle and on how the measurements on each side was off and how the person who was judging whether the victor who rushed back to his or her side was touched by the other before making it safely home, had judged accurately... We remembered the "why I always got to get picked last days...The rounders days... The morals days.. The stick and ladder days... The farmer in the den days...
We remembered the making dolls from match stick, jumbie beads and the 'pinky' that fell from the breadfruit tree days... We remembered making our own little sophisticated oven from the NIDO or KLIM tins and stealing the dough from your granny's kitchen to bake we own bread...This would go well with the ground doves or coney's that one's cousin had shot with his prized catapult. We remembered the days when all we would save up their little 5 cent and 10 cent to put money to buy mackerel and come together on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon down the bay and make we own fire and feast on roast breadfruit, mackerel or tackee. We remembered the days when it was just innocent laughter and sheer joy.
We remembered the days we used to pitch marble, spin top, fly kite, make phones and high heel shoes out of milk cans, make sand box carts, make dove traps, fight mongoose... The days we used to go look tamarind, guava and mango and crop time was a thing eh...cause there were the days we used to broke cane whether crop in or not... The days when we used to go feed pigs but throw away half the pig food on de way...and end up getting licks when we reach home.
We remembered the days when we would make mischief and our mother would come out and shame us...saying, "She can't come out a door to play today, cause she no got no kind of behaviour, so go home to you mother you hear, when she get a lil behaviour then she can come, but for now and a say but for now...she going tap right in dey..." then she would turn and say "You see you, I have a good mine to let the Soucuyant come and take you tonight, cause you no got no behaviour, one thing when children don't behave the Soucuyant just come for them."We remembered the days when we would all sit out under the breadfruit tree or at the top of the road and tell all kinds a Nancy and Jumbie stories and the thing is when we done everybody fraid to go home cause they aint want de Rustleman, Jumbie or Jack O' Lantern catch them.
We remembered the getting Mumps days and ending up eating the roast potato that we granny put in the stocking and round we neck to make the swelling go down. We remember the getting red eyes days and crying cause we aint want she to wash we face with pee. We remembered the fever days when we were properly wrapped up in the madden apple bush and horse rub down. We remembered the roasting of the aloes or what we call the 'simpiriri' days to 'draw out the information' but what we now know to be inflammation.
We remembered the Johnny cakes, fry dumpling and mackerel days for breakfast days, dipping crackers in we tea days, the sour sop bush tea for a good nice rest days, the ten cent bread and red butter days, the bread and sugar days, the swank days...boy I ask where did those days go? We remembered the making shoes out of card board and elastic band days, the running wheel days. We remembered the days when everybody had to go church every Sunday days.
Sometimes we need to ask ourselves as West Indians, Kittitians and Nevisians are we really progressing and if so, where are we going or are we in the process losing who we are as a people? When I look at life today with all of the happenings I can't help but wonder where those fun and innocent days went off to. I can't help but wonder what is lacking in our society! I can't help but wonder how our society has changed so drastically in just such a short time.
I often say that all of these little things that we take for granted gives us our identity as a people. Are we satisfied with our identity now as a people? Do you think that our young people have a strong sense of who they are or of what makes them Kittitian or Nevisian, of what sets them apart from the Antiguan, Lucian, French, American or Australian? What we need to realize is that all of our experiences build character. All of these experiences shape the way in which we think of the world, the way in which we interact with each other, the way in which get our sense of belonging. Our little going down the bay days, were they days when friendships were friendships and a community was a community.
We have become so modernized that we often snub these things and see them as backward or unsophisticated. What saddens me most is that my children may never have these experiences, these experiences that build character and gives a sense of culture and heritage. I understand that in this day and age globalization is the way to go but we must ask ourselves whether or not we want to be a generic people. We need to understand that even though we may embrace globalization we need to take stock of who we are. We need to try and find that balance. We need not sacrifice who we are as a people.
Sometimes I wonder...
WHERE DID THOSE DAYS GO?
"Fish In De Market!"
"Fish in de market, ten cents a pound, who don't like it, leave it alone. Fish, fish, fish! Open, open, open Georgie Man, Open! Open! Open! Fishhhhhhhhhhhh!"
