TANTIE TALK:

Is like everybody jes staying home dis week and preparing fuh de Christmas. Because is next ting yuh get ketch and is New Year and de ole mas start. Lawd bachannal in town, de Big truck on de road and Machel telling allyuh to touch allyuh toes.

But dat is how we does like we life yes, we does live from fete to fete, and from Carnival to Carnival. It doh matter eef tings ent right, we have a party to go to soon.

Dat is why we doh have nobody who jes lose it and do a grap ah people some kinda touble like dem Post Office people in furrin. Life jes too sweet and easy fuh we here in Sweet T and T.

So is time to pull out dem jar of fruit dat soaking since Adam was a boy and start baking cake.

Gather all de chirren and dey frens round de table in de kitchen and make pastelle in assembly line style. And yuh dun know dat who ent put ah hand ent getting none to take home.

And is now yuh een town looking fuh de ham to boil Christmas Eve. All dem kinda ting does mek we realise dat family is de whole point of de Christmas. It doh matter eef is de Baby Jesus family or eef Mohammed and he teddy Bear come over to lime in de house. All ah we does jes slow down and realise dat what real important is living good wid yuh relatives and neighbours.

But dat does only last fuh de day and den is fete start, from Boxing Night till Ash Wednesday yuh know it ent have no rest fuh nobody.

De neighbour have one ah dem bookish grandson. he study away and come back because he want to help build up de Nation. I tell he to go and build up de fence in de back dat fall down, and he start to tell me dat in furrin it have whole neighbourhood wid out a fence in sight.

Like dem so doh have pothound to run or what!

But he sit down on de step by de front gallery and tell me Frankomen dat what we need in Trinidad & Tobago is a good Winter. he talking about ice and snow and cold and freezeing like yuh wukking down by de Ice Factory.

So I had was to aks why he say dat. Yuh know dat boy say dat is only when Trini realise dat eef dey doh wuk dey go freeze dat dey does straighten up.

Yuh know I feel de boy on to sumtin here...where mih cardigan?


 

BACKCHAT: Issue 048: Vol 8

Hey Tants,
That is so wid de love! I don't forget though, as I see my friends and family in others and do my part to save this dying feeling from the rest of the world. I give what I want to receive.
I remember once in Barbados when an old man told a tourist....
'Excuse me sir ...do you speak english?. You do? ...ok...Well here in Barbados we does get up and give the old people the seats!'' I thought that is a very good slap in the face for those who think they visit 3rd world countries but see they have 1st class manners!
Keep on writing your nice newsletter. I enjoy it tremendously.
Love and hugs aus der Schweiz!
//Switzerland


Tants

Some heavy vibes in your "love story". I doh know what it is people eatin', drinkin' smokin', sniffin', breathin' in dis town - an' yes, ah know it happenin' in other towns too, but is here ah livin'. Seems to me dat de more we "grow up" as a people, is de more we regress as human beings. 338 families - an' countin' - not goin' tuh be able to enjoy de festive & holy season dis year. Sad, sad state of affairs.......
//Trinidad and Tobago