STILL THE LAND OF SUGAR!
68 SQUARE MILES OF NOTHING BUT PURE, PURE SWEETNESS
By Mutryce A. Williams
WRITING& RESEARCH CREDITS
Teslyn Simmonds & Dave Connor
Radio Broadcaster " Davis Belmont " sobbing as he reads the broadcast
We regret to announce the death of our dear King Sugar of Liamuiga, St. Kitts, St. Christopher. The sad event took place on July 31st 2005. He died at the age of 360 years old. He leaves to mourn 40,000 children, 1 sister Nevis, beautiful plantation houses, and acres of lush green undulating laaand. & He begins wailing.
Jane Sugarbowl frantically leapt from her nap, as she was dozing off while listening to the radio. She runs around the room chattering as if she going mad.
Muddoh! Muddoh! Look me cross ya now! Wha that a hearing? Me arm peets! A wonder if I hearing right? Lord, no tell me, King Sugar dead, dead, dead. Bawling. Woi, Thomaaaaaaaassss, run come here, come here, quick, sugars. Hold me Thomas, hold me, a going faint. Boy Tom, the death announcement just say that King Sugar DEAD. Thomas a dedding! Thomas a dedding! How Sugar could dead lef we so? Why they must kill off King Sugar, man? Whhhyyyyyy? Wha we going do Tom? Wha we going do? St. Kitts gone een if that is the case. What you say to that Tom? What you say? You could imagine, St. Kitts with no more sugar, no morrrrrrrreeeeeeee, sugar. Lorrrrrrrrrrrd Thomas Sugarbowl! Lorrrrddd! Sugar dead! Sugar deeeaaaaad!
Thomas Sugarbowl holds his wife and shakes her frantically.
Janeykins, you gone off? Jesus peace man! I saying dat somebody was murderously murdering you! I cant believe is that? All this noise you got, you going make people think is kill I killing you off in the place. Woman a beg you hush you noise and stop run round the place like a fowl with it neck chop off. HUSH UP. HUSSSSH! Janes tell me something, aint just last week I come with the talk and tell you that I hear the shoo shoo that they may got to take Sugar off a life support and let the man go in peace! Eh, woman, eh! You acting like it was a matter of the Creep Up! Jane shakes her head, still sobbing. Thomas continues- The man was 360 years old. 360, he live long! He time had come. Aint nothing else they could a do for he now. For over 10 years now the man dead, dead, dead! Yearrrs! Jane, is just that they finally decide to pronounce him dead NOW. You hear me. He shakes her some more. Woman, you a act like Sugar walk cross the road and something just knock he down one time. I mean, you going on like is you alone feel it. Aint you alone feel it. I feel it to. I sure everybody feel it too. Me arm with you. I loved King Sugar but lord Jane after a while the man was like dead weight to us.
Carol Sugarcane runs in the yard and gives Thomas one bowl in his head. She starts up on him! Beating him repeatedly she asks.
Eh Thomas, is what you down here doing Jane? Why you have to beat she so?
Thomas Sugarbowl
Same blasted thing, a jus down here a say. Woman you got people a think me a wash you out. You to dramatic! Carol, me dont hit woman eh, and you know me no like you, hit me again. (He ranges up to box her) Make me day, Carols hits me, I say, hits me, hits me! I is a Christian man but I would stretch you out today. Hit me again. I will lay you out flat girl.
Jane Sugarbowl sucks her teeth and screws up her face at her husband.
Carol, dont study he, you hear. Thomas leave the woman alone. Carol, he aint do me nothing man. We just hear that King Sugar deeeaddd! She drops her head in her lap and begins wailing again!
Carol Sugarcane Her hands on her hips, shaking her head in wonderment starts wailing and holding her head!
Janes, no tell me so! No tell me so! Lord, wha mek? What mek? You sure, sure, sure, sure. You mean Sugar. King Sugar. Sugar of Liamuiga. Sugar of St. Kitts. Sugar of St.Christopher. You mean Sugar Dead?
Thomas Sugarbowlthrows his hands in the air
Murder work now, look me cross. Look how the two all you going make people string me up to hang, this lot a noise in me place. Hush! Hush!
Carol Sugarcane
What a calamitous calamity! Sugar gone een. He dead! So you mean no more cane, no more ola, no more loco number 9, no more molasses, no more factory horn, no more tractor, no more factory horn, no more baggase, no more ash, no more cane juice, no more, no more& sobs, she clasps her hands in front of her, and says, no more sweeeetneesss! She shakes her head and looks off into the distance. Lord Jane, you remember when I get the centipede sting and me foot swell, swell, swell, is right in them canefields at Belmont Estate, it did happen when Hezekiah Ash tooook away my sweetness! She begins wailing again.
Thomas Sugarbowl- laughs
Hmm. Well, well! Me never know you ever had sweetness? It take sugar dying for me to know that you actually thought you had sweetness. What a laugh!
Jane Sugarbowl covering she mouth and cackling
Lord Tom, stop it, stop it! You a making the woman vex and is me she going vex with.
Thomas Sugarbowl speaking authoritatively
Is sad to see the old man go eh, but to everything there is a seasonings and timeses under the sun, a time for sugar to grow and a time for sugar to dead, is so the scripture in Eclactic go right? It in the Old Testament and Jane if God put that in the bible, why we must go against it? A scripture just on sugar ALONE! Look it up! Why we must go against it? Is so it go, yes is just so. King Sugar time come and he gone, gone but would never and I say NEVER be forgotten. He give us 360 years, man, 360 years, some them man in the bible aint live that longs. Nopes, nopes, I tell you, nopes. Time to give the man a rest. Blast it man.
Jane Sugarbowl
Boy he gave us times for true. Is in them canes we used to play coop and dolley house. Remember the times we used to wake up to go work with we Mama, weed cane, thrash ola, walk and pick up cane and throw in the tractor. Boy those days! And you know is right out in the estate pond me learn how to swim, not down the bay. You know how much engine and tractor me done hop, if me mother did only know! And Carols for yours informacion Thomas could tell you, aint you alone lose your sweetness in Belmont canefield. She cocks her head in the air.
Carol Sugarcane standing under a bright light as if there is some transformation or epiphany.
Sugar will live on in all of us. It isnt the cane fields, the estates or the factory horn that made us Sugar City. Each of us from the day we were born was born with pure, pure sweetness and no matter when, where or how our paths may take us, we will remain sugary. I say sugary! as if preaching a sermon. I say sugary. You know what, although they have pronounced King Sugar dead. He is very much still alive. Is just the export of sugar that is done with you know, that is it! Jane, Tom, you realize! We will still be cultivating sugar, to think of it, sugar aint really, really dead you know, is just that he will be reincarnated. Watch and you will see. Great things will happen, well they happening now eh, cause even though King Sugars health was fading, St. Kitts has managed just fine, ok damn fine. We healthy and strong. We shouldnt mourn for sugar. We should thank God for sugar. Thomas, you is a bible man where in the Bible it say thank God for sugar?
Thomas Sugarbowl
Carol, I dont really like you sometimes eh, ok all the times, but since you recognize that I is a bible man. Look for it in the Gospel of NuVybes- The Sugarband. I think it says&& Start playing Nuvybes The Song More Sugar .
WE ARE STILL THE LAND OF SUGAR. 68 SQUARE MILES OF NOTHING BUT PURE, PURE SWEETNESS!
