Chuts man, is when it go stop?

Dat have to be de hardest question to answer because is like one side trying to ketch up wid de nex side in de league table of who could have more facing charges. If we continue dis way we go reach de stage where in order to stand for election mankind go have to declare how much charge dey have outstanding.

Doh bodder wid no Integrity Commission trying to trap honest people; we have ah easier way, jes count de charges. De sad part is dat if dis continue it go be normal to have charges.

Anyway I go have to let dat one go because I ent have no clothes for court yes. And we ent even know if we go get charge for going in de courtroom in de wrong clothes. Allyuh doh get me wrong, I does feel dat it have a certain way to dress when yuh has to be in serious people business, but when Judge want to chase man out for wearing a Nehru collar I feel dat tings ent right.

It had a time when a swift calpet was all dat was needed to encourage a young man to tek he hat off when he come in yuh house. But now...chile I ent know if to try to even ask some ah dem chirren if dey have broughtupcy or not. Everytime yuh ask dem sometin, yuh feel yuh taking yuh own life in your hands.

And is not like dey parents teaching dem any better, is de whole family wearing dey New York baseball cap everywhere dey does go. Ah suppose we could hope for small mercies when Jack finally start to sell Soca Warriors hat.

Is when we go stop dis foolish talk. Now some joker calling for de team to be called de Soca-Chutney Warriors. Now let we sit down and think about dis carefully. Fust to begin most of dem in furrin feel dat de team name Soccer-Warriors, so we have to take de time to explain dat Soca is sumtin different. Den most of de English-speaking World (and dat doh necessarily include all ah we), does feel dat Chutney is a kinda Indian chow-chow dat yuh does put on yuh food. So now dem even more confused about why we does eat Soccerball in dis Trinidad and Tobago.

Yuh would feel dat de same people who calling for Soca-Chutney would be up front pushing for de Soca-Chutney-Parang-Tassa-Lavway-Extempo-Calypso-Warriors. Is when it go end?

Ah pick up de Gazette and see dat de Honourable Minister Short-man want to introduce a breathalyser law, and say dat dey need to develop a standard for being 'charge-up'. Is how many years we hearing dat talk?

Is how difficult it is to phone up a nex country dat do it already and ask if we could have a copy of dey law. But no, we feel dat we need to have a standard jes for we, because big educated people seriously feel dat 'Trini could handle dey liquor' better dan dem people in furrin who not accustom to de ting.

Dat is de same foolish people who agree to exempt de Police from wearing seatbelt in de car.

But back to de drinking and driving, is not about laws dat go fix de problem. Is about people seeing how dey family get mash up in de accident. Is about people losing dey license, and is about people begining to tek responsibility fuh dey drinking.

It ent only on de road it have a problem, it have all dem club who happily selling alcohol to all kinda force-ripe chirren, as long as dey have de dullahs. we cyar hope to stop de drunks on de roads if we cyar stop dem getting de drinks.

BACKCHAT: Issue 01

You are so right. In my most recent trips home, I noticed the North American subculture taking over. A friend who lived here many years ago was here for Christmas as his children live here. We went to a get together at his sister-in-law’s house and he talked about the best Christmas he had in years, here in Toronto; visiting friends here over the Christmas here he felt like it was the Christmas of long ago when we all lived back home,. He said he has not enjoyed Christmas as much as he has because it was so much here like days of long ago which are not lost. He mentioned how much Christmas has changed at home over the years, in the big cities.. He said only the the real rural country it has not really really been lost. I agree as we went home for Christmas back in 93/94 and what a disappointment. We had to go to Arima on Boxing day to really feel like it was Christmas… oh well, I guess that is progress for you.

//Canada

I only just got a few free minutes to read this. It was a coincidence to read the contents of the last two paragraphs becuse only yesterday or the day before I was telling a Canadian colleague of mine how back home we all took part in the celebrations of Christmas, Eid and Divali regardless of which religion we belonged to. Now it seems, according to the e-mail below, T&T is getting caught up in the political correctness like North America and replacing Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays.

Also, I can't help but agree with the writer's point about Boxing Day sales and how so many people run to the malls to return gifts and to do more shopping wih the Boxing Day sales. Gone are the days when Boxing Day was a public holiday and all stores were closed and people spent time with each other eating out the neighbour's ham and drinking their booze. I also agree that T&T is copying the wrong customs of North America and that what they should copy are those things that really make progress and efficiency. In being copy cats they are copying the wrong things and losing their own values and identity.

//Canada

But, Tantie, yuh disappoint me. Of course people in government and Opposition have done the math on the tickets. Who you think getting the extra tickets? Ministers, dey people, de party, de supporters, de bribers, etc. Plenty tickets 'cause they have plenty people to pay back.