Childhood Days
I spent some of my childhood years growing up in a small community called Lionel Town in the parish of Clarendon. It was a sugar town, meaning sugar canes grew and were harvested there for the Monymusk Sugar Factory. Lionel town had its own hospital of the same name; it had a court house, a […]
Growing Up Like A Jamaican – Remembering Grandpa
Markdown:This month my Grandpa Stafford would’ve turned 95 years old. He was such a strong and wonderful man. I miss him being here physically because that means no more long talks on the veranda or nights under the stars discussing everything under the stars but his ethereal presence is hard to deny. I always took […]
Mbira dza vadzimu
Mbira dza vadzimuIs not your everydayRun-of-the-millMusical instrument.Hence the name: Mbira dza vadzimuIt is the conduitLinking the nether world of the living,The here and now,With the spiritual realm of the ancestors;Thru the person and agency of the spirit medium,The shaman, yes;Who, by strumming out those ancient tunes and soundsOn his ‘thumb piano’,Instantly invokes and transmits messages […]
…oh, the bushman!
When you see him Flip-flopping on those heaps of sands That have been his natural habitatFor tens of thousands of yearsYou’d be excused to think he were a weightless creatureFloating upon the sand dunesOf the vast KalahariOften enough barefootedAnd increasingly so, nowadays,He’d be running In that familiar zig-zag fashionIn front of the inevitable 4X4With the stocky figure […]
Jamaicans.com 2008 Mid West/Chicago Bashment
Come meet your online friends. Join us in Chicago in July 3 thru July 5, 2009 for the Jamaicans.com Chicago Bashment. For the latest information please see the Midwest bashment topic in the community forum. Please contact boardite member, Sinco01 Friday July 3rd, 2009Meet with group – Taste of Chicago / fireworks- @ dinner (place to […]
Is it break-up to make-up? : Memoirs Of An Illegal Alien Part 45
Two months had passed since my near proposal. I will never forget that night. Rosa was visibility upset when we left the restaurant. Our relationship changed after that. She was not around as often as she used to be. Her demeanor towards me changed. When she did come around she hung out most of […]
Growing Up Like A Jamaican – Happy Anniversary
Markdown:Back in ’96 I had an overwhelming need to know as much about my grandparents as possible. I think at that time I was afraid that they would either pass on or forget their history. Although my grandmother didn’t remember a lot about the past my grandfather had a mind like a steel trap. I […]
A Marriage Proposal Plan: Memoirs Of An Illegal Alien Part 44
I was having second thoughts about getting married. I was now regretting having mentioned my proposal plan to Sue. She told my mother who now called frequently to find out when I was going to ask. The pressure was building in my family. I asked them not to give Rosa any hints. The reality of […]
Homeless woman
Dedicate to all who face adversity She holds her head up high As frigid blisters upon her feet Reminding her of her struggle, of her plight In a wintery night, she feels the chills running down her spine Has her tears become frozen, She keeps the vision of hope Alive And for a second, she […]
Growing Up Like A Jamaican – Being Grateful for the little things
Markdown:Even in the toughest times my Grandparents never wanted for much. The cylinder they requested in this letter is for gasoline for the stove. Since they didn’t get electricity wired through their house until 1997 they still lived by lantern light, there was no TV and only a transistor radio that was powered by batteries. […]