Jennifer Keane-Dawes, Contributor
ME dear mam, de other day me deh a foreign when me hear one heap a run an tumbledung inna me yard. When me look through de windah quick, me see dis lilly white pickney. A dawg. An a black pickney a try ketch de dawg. Suh me fly huppen de door fe hear what's de position. Turn out dat de dawg weh belong to de little black pickney from roun de road, see de white pickney a pass. Buss offa de chain an decide fe run him dung. An de run de white pickney lef all de way an run inna fe me yard an out fe come inna de house like a deh him lib.
A so come de dawg ketch him right a de bottom step. Block him way an decide fe look up inna him two yeye. Well ascordin to de lilly white bwoy version, him neva fraid a de dawg. No siree! Him neva fraid. But him just decide fe tek de best precaution an run. Suh when me tek one look pon him an see how him little heart a flatter through him chest like pidgin, me ask him why, since him neva fraid fe de dawg, why him neva stop. Well, him mek me know seh "Naw, I just felt like I should keep on going." A laugh till a nayly dead.Well, de little black pickney knot up de chain roun de dawg neck an carry him back dung a dem yard.
Heart attack
But missis, yu see dis ting weh name frighten? Is notta nice ting yu nuh. Frighten is a ting weh wi mek yu hab heart attack an drap dung.
My dear lady, when me was a lilly pickney, we used to lib a dis yard weh a lady weh used to lib next door. An my dear lady, yu believe a lilly bit a time das dat ooman used to almost mek me madda drap dung?
Me memba how me madda woulda inna house a fold up clothes. Or a iron. Or a spread bed. Or something. When all on a sudden, a me madda dat bawl out because she tun roun fe see de ooman tan up right a de window a stare pon har widout a wud in English.
Meanwhile, notta soul neva know how long or how short she did tan up deh. But all we see is har two plait a hair, cock off har head side like cow horn, an har face steadfast inna de house. Well, nuh matter how me madda use to beg, beseech, or cuss to har nuffi dweet, she still used to galang galang frighten har same way. Till one fine day, when de whole a we siddung a de table a eat we dinner, we dis hear when smady roun de table bawl out. An lo an behold a de ooman. Tan up big an tall, right a one a de windah.
Me dear mam, all now me nuh believe seh she did realise seh me fahda did deh home. Suh when him light inna har dat day, dat was de last time she eva come back deh.
Thunder
Das why when one a me yardie fren tell me how thunder did buss up sudden a England an nayly mad him. An after de frighten tun him inna idiat till him nuh know if him a go or a come. Him dis see when de door pitch huppen. An dis frighten wet dawg das a run from noweh. Come een pon one piece a skid. An jump up inna him bed. An begin hooping an hawing like smady a jump poco. Suh wid de frighten, lightening, thunder an dis big ole wet dawg pon him bed, yardie seh from dat deh day till now, him nuh hab no use fe dawg. Wet or dry. Yu get me?
But, me dear mam, sometime, nuh matter how we
fraid, we haffi confront de fear or we weself or others might suffer sake a it.
Cause there it is now, me notice seh de lilly white bwoy nuh pass back a de yard weh de dawg live. An yardie hate all dawg. An me nuh want no pickney jump outta noweh an frighten me. An den talk bout a play dem a play.
Suh while me nuh quite know a weh de Russian government did fraid fa why dem neva ask fe help when de submarine sink. Nevertheless de result of fear can be a terrible ting. Suh dem shoulda did try an put de fear oneside an memba seh de heap a man weh inna de ship belong to wife, madda, fahda, pickney an others. Suh dem shoulda did put all fear behind an try fe rescuede man dem right away.
Tek care!
Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes is a communications professor and a radio talk show host in the University of North Carolina system.
