Yuh know I mus really getting old in trute yes. Is when I pick up de Gazette and all I see is 72 murders in 72 days, is like we trying to set some kinda World Record in sumtin. I ent know which setta people leaving we faster, de deceased or de refugees. I mean when yuh does compare we little Trinidad and Tobago wid dem big country and see how de murder rate does be high high high yuh does have to wonder why we have to be de way we is.

One ah mih neighbour did tell me de odder day dat how one ah dem murder was jes ah normal murder, not no special kinda wickedness. Is like we reach de stage where we jes doh feel dat life or law or respect mean anyting anymore.

And it have plenty good people who want to put in de time and de effort to fix de ting, but is like de Nation bazodee wid Cepep dullahs and all
de pretty beads dat Digicel and TSTT throwing at we like some kinda Mardi Gras parade in America. All we people want is to grab dey dullahs
and spend it. Dey ent tinking twice about what dey doing. But time does have a way of ketching up wid dem in trute.

It have too much people who cyar remember de 1970s and 1980s when we did have de oil boom and den de oil bust. And all dem expensive house dat people did buy was selling cheap cheap cheap. We does all forget dat because de dullahs flowing like rum at a PNM convention and we slide right in to de Carnival and den crapaud smoke all ah we pipe, because it ent have no body to listen over de shouting from dem yute man on de stage. Is dem so dat want to show off de bling and tell de ressa yute to go and get dey own bling however dey have to do it. Is dem dat does tell de crowd to MASH it up! How come long time de only Mash up in de party was when man and ooman get vex and had a cuss out.

We lorse sight ah respect for everyting. All kinda big intelligent people arguing about if somebody sample Enya song and how much bars, and
notes it use, when de ting is about tief. No matter how dey want to dress up de ting all dem new soca yute only want to copy somebody else
style. Eeef is not Bunji is Buju, or Enya, or Kanye. Dat is where de problem is, and dat is why Soca ent have no future outside of dese
little islands dat we does call home.

Is not like we ent have no example to follow, look at how dem bwoy in Jamaica market dey reggae and dey dancehall. Dem know how to put de ting out in a serious way. We still kicksing around and talking about prize money fuh a Monarch. We looking to call we self World class and create a World music, but we ent even letting we Caribbean brethren in de Road march Race. Is when we go grow up and stop being like ah setta crybaby on dis ting.

Is de same foolishness wid dis cellphone ting. I so tired ah seeing dem newspapers getting rich from all de full page ad it have from TSTT and
Digicel. I ent know which one ah dem could be more econmical wid de trute. Is like dey want to go in competition wid Nelson tailor. Is how
much longer dis pappyshow could go on? Dem CEO want to talk about respect and ethics, is when dey go show we dat dey know what dem words
does mean.

But when yuh have dem politrickians saying dat dey does have dey own morality yuh does have to shake yuh head and ask why anyone else should be doing different. Patos like he feel he have to become de some kinda jefe, now he want to pretend he de President putting de Coat ah arms on he car. Is not like he not running de country, but is about a lack ah respect fuh everyone else. Patos looking to huff de Red House, de
Gardens, de Coat of Arms, I ent know what it have left.

So is when we have a robber mentality in de Nation we really ent going to tek tings serious because we all feel dat we powerless. So now all ah
we keeping we head down and pretending like we ent know wha happening nex door, and when de neighbour get stab or strangle or kill, we all
want to say dat how we really ent know when someone go do someting. We all looking for some saviour to fix we up, and we feel dat Gord is a
Trini, but allyuh remember de early 80s when de World Bank come and buss style on we.

 

BACKCHAT: Issue 10

I just read the backchat of your Tantie Talk Issue 9, you write "at least Pantrinbago have an updated site....", would be nice if so....

For some 6 years ah trying to correct and update information about our bands, twice I offered my help to keep the European list up to date
because some people in the list even passed away, ALL phone numbers in Switzerland changed (new city codes) most of the bands having now
websites, lot of people moved and have a new mailing address, a couple of bands disfunct for years, some new bands popped up..... - no reply!
It would be nice to have an up to date global steel band directory somewhere, Pan Trinbago as governing body seems to be the best place,
they could even use it as mailout base for real breaking news who could be of interest for the pan enthusiast world wide, if we only knew who to
contact.....
//Switzerland