-CARLINGTON WILMOT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Students of Vaz Prep perform a piece entitled 'Fiesta Fiesta' at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's festival finals on Saturday, July 2, at the Little Theatre, St. Andrew.
Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
IT'S THE eve of another anniversary of Emancipation. Yawn, yawn, yawn!
Who did that? Okay, it wasn't you, but somebody did. Somebody still want to know why we have to do this in Jamaica? What is this all about? What Emancipation good fah anyway? Would that be the same born and bred Jamaican who was delighted to be invited to and be seen at the Bastille Day Celebrations? No? Then maybe it was someone whose social calendar revolves about the opportunities for getting away for special weekends with friends and family 'up north' - you know Fourth of July, Labour Day (fe dem own in September, not fe we own in May), Thanksgiving and maybe Halloween.
Oh beg pardon, I mis-speak. You no longer need to make the pilgrimage for Thanksgiving and Halloween, those are now heralded as international days of celebration. You can stay right here and spend out de likkle savings, so the children won't feel left out, after all everybody is into these festivities these days.
But still, it is rather silly not to fly up to catch the related sales, some great bargains to be had, yaahde, yaahde, yaah!
TECHNO AGE
See now, the Emancipation ting is giving Likkle Miss Jing Bang a hard time. Nobody loves a party like her. After all, she born into de age when if yu nuh bawn wid music an dacta an nurse and midwife nuh have headphones over dem aise an de teevee into de delivery room nuh deh pan de music video channel, yu bawning nuh count.
Well, dat's how it seems to Miss Lady who still drop legs when cricket and frog start sing. Jing Bang sey even dat happier dan how she see dem celebrate Emancipation. Distinguished Ladies and Genkkleman haffe put awn de hattest jacket and tie and high heel shoes with stockings, out inna sun hot a fan an lissen to other distinguished genkklemen a sweat unda some big wuds and solemn countenance a sey dem a celebrate Emancipation.
I don't know what you notice, but de first ting Jing Bang observe is dat de hooman dem nuh up pan platform a gi de keynote talk pan Emancipation time. Look like nuh matta how dem try dem can only qualify fe sey de prayers, sometime, an announce who fe come up come colleck de ting fe put round dem neck, sometime.
Afta dat, she notice how some people face long, some a sleep, and in her way of estimating tings, de heng dung lip and whole heap a squirming don't add up to say dat anybody is having a good time celebrating nutting.
So why dem dweet? Dat's what Jing Bang wants to know? Big people a suffer chu something dem keep telling har is important, but nuff a dem too tired fe pay it any mind after de Bastille frolicking.
BLACK PEOPLE CORNER SHOP
JB sey she wudda frolic too if har madda did leff her even wan likkle shop fe inherit. She wudda maybe remodel it, teck out de ole time window, put in couple French windows, hehehehhhh, put in some extra shelf so it cudda pretend like it was a supermarket. For she doan see anybaddy who look like har pan parade as owna o supermarket.
But, all de talk dem a talk bout corner shop she kean fine none. Fe dem carnar shap always jus stay deh an pap-pap dung till de chi-chi dem win de wa an wan day de whole ting jus drap a grung. She would like to investigate fe herself if black people corner shop could grow into emporium or even supermarket.
Every adda baddy corner shop seems to have that ability, to grow into something de children could inherit. She sey she daon even inherit a bankra basket for it look to har like sey as soon as globalization did come dere was an injunction placed pan de bankras an in came de plastic drinks carton bax dem a try gwaan like dem a bankra.
She sey wan day she was fortunate enough fe see wan dankey a go a market, for dankey do not go to market much dese days, people a call dem ole time technology. Enyway dere was dis donkey with two drinks carton jine up by wire, dat a how dem understand de modern terminology of wired, a try mask up demself like dem is hamper. She wudda like fe know if donkey cudda carry multiple hampers.
Imagine she an a three-hampered donkey with three times de provision har granny use to provide step boasily into de market! Den she cudda lef dat fe smaddy inherit an add a next hamper. In time she would be part of hamper lineage. But no, everytime she waan go a market she haffe a try fine wan bax fe borrow.
She sey nat even har granny glass case she kean fine. For if she did have three a dat she wudda meck a tree-storey glass case emporium an each storey wud have een a different item. Imagine pikney outa school gate a salivate roun it compartment by compartment. She sey she wudda devote one whole storey to mackerel an banana for now is not is de days when yu eat dat a yu yaad a Satday mawnin time an wash yu mout clean before people a road ask yu how yu mean fe be in de public smelling of yaad food? No mackerel now tun into delicacy, it hype up outa street an people who did de fus ones to fine out sey mackerel cudda eat naw benefit affa de hype.
An de lady what grow har a sing de same song as all a fe har fren dem madda, bout go to school, turn into something and den turn out yuself nicely so yu cudda get a job. Maybe even trun a dacta so yu cudda look afta Mass Supermarket children who work so hard to maintain de 'family business'.
Or, betta yet, turn into a teacha so Mass Bank Owner children can get enough of what dem need to know fe go run de family business, drive big kyar, set up Empire. One day one a dem might even memba yu an invite you to manage a rural branch of it an bequeath you many stories to tell bout all de rich people of non-Emancipated nationalities and ethnicities who 'pass chu your hands'.
STATE OF FAILURE
It come in to har like sey she wudda like some a what dem have fe stop inna fe har hands too and maybe dat is why de lang face dem into de so-called celebrations of Emancipation. De whole a dem feel de same way. Dem into a state of failure to own an can ongly a en up a manage. Maybe dem get emancipate just to have greatness and riches pass chu dem hands.
She sey she want reach de pint where it stop when it buck up pan fe har hand. Ah dat emancipate fe mean, sey peple like she can see what dem buil fe demself but is like every generation haffe start over. A time fe we get emancipate from dat!
