Ah feel it so ah know it

Common Entrance Exams results came out early and de results good. De kids all said de exams was easy which means dat de were examined on work dey covered. Dat’s how it should be, it is ah good system, foh too long have we been setting-up our children to fail. Ah would imagine dat dis is part of de Education Revolution and credit must be given.{{more}}

Foh de first time in twenty-five years ah know what dem poor parents does go thru. Yuh know dey saying: “Yuh ha foh feel it foh know it”? Well dis year ah was in it, ah feel it and ah know what it like. Our lickle Babiluv who was ah baby only yesterday took us thru de Common Entrance fever dis year. It was not easy, lessons after lessons, evening class after evening class, thank yu Marquita Daniel; home-work every night, and don’t talk bout de fortnightly tests woes, dis week Maths marks up, English down; next week de reverse, den when de marks start looking good, de position in class drop; but yuh know while we done hit de panic button ah hundred times, Babiluv was as cool as cucumber, stuffing while watching her Cartoons and Food Channel, ah body language that was literally telling us: “Why all yoh don’t chill”!

Monday morning when my older daughter phone to tell me dat Common Entrance results were out, instantly ah freeze, de only part ah me move was me bowels, ah didn’t know whether it was ah poop or ah toot-to but ah know ah wanted to hit de toilet. Den ah felt ah bit ah relief when she added dat she heard dat St Mary’s School did well. De phone kept ringing, every body asking “What she did”? Den de lickle stress bomb herself called :

“ Daddy ah fail”, she said, but even she couldn’t hold back de excitement, “ Not true man ah pass”! Dat was ah relief, but only when yuh feel it yuh will know it.

So we all give thanks to de Almighty foh all de kids, and ah want to congratulate all those children who took Common Entrance; all who pass and all who didn’t meet de required marks, there is no such word as failure when it comes to our lickle ones. Ah can’t resist bigging up Utamu Rose, Conley’s Son, it’s good to see ah boy taking de first spot, OK! OK! No gender thing. But Utamu is also talented, ah Starlift panman and de school Drummer. Ah heard when his Mom, Janet Wilkins heard de good news, she jumped and kicked so high in de air, dat both shoes pitch-off, one went east de other west, and why not? Now ah want to big-up de Teachers, all teachers, especially Common Entrance Teachers, but because ah my personal situation ah want to say thanks to those at St Mary’s, 90% pass, 70 of de 77 children passed.

Nuff respect to Mr Farrell whom de kids all dread but respect and love, Miss Johnny and Miss Culzac, Mr. Priddie who manages his classroom well in conjunction with his stressful role as NOBA President. And there is ah Miss John who does everything, in addition to her regular Composition and Comprehension classes, teaches Drumming, Dancing, Drama and Singing, ah true Folklorist dat. St. Mary’s has always had ah strong, vibrant PTA, committed parents, when Clydie Fitzpatrick was at UWI, he would run away from Bo-Bathe-us and come home to Bar-B-Q his allotted 1,200 pieces ah chicken and pork foh de Fund Raiser. And ah leave de Principal Sister I-V, de Best Wine foh last, ah woman Blessed by God, these Catholic Nuns are ah special breed ah people, no money, what ever salary dey get goes to de church, dey live by Faith thru Grace. We may buff de Catholics and de Seventh Day Adventists on dey traditions but when it come to Education dey “Practise what dey Preach” … good Christian values.

YES WE WILL HAVE NO BANANAS

Ah still can’t get over dis Moko Disease at all. When ah think dat our life-line was at one time, and still is tied to Bananas, and de way we treat Banana and de Farmers, ah feel God go punish somebody. Imagine we have been in Bananas foh over 50 years, we mek billions ah dollars out ah Banans and we don’t have ah facility, no testing labs, here nor elsewhere in de Win-words to test foh killer diseases like Moko and so on. Ah war is taking place over Bananas, and like we not even aware ah dat. We not in de business ah Bananas, we not even in de science ah Banana. We are prepared to let de Farmers plant, weather permitting and no disease, dey reap, and hope all is well on de market. Only when it look like we getting dumped by de EU, we send Renwick dem to mek noise and ball fowl. Ah all time say dat when Renwick done wear out his soul case fighting foh Fair Trade, dey will be ah big market foh us, but Yes we will have No Bananas to market, it will be Fear Trade.

We have people who studied Bananas as ah science in Cuba, Daisley is one, Grant did soil, and there are others, so our Banana Industry, if allowed to be managed by de right people and not de Pull-it-tek-all direct-to-rape, should never come under siege by Moko.

It is not too late, look Tie-One is instilling faith and con-fee-dents in de Industry, faith dat we ourselves don’t show. Dat four million dat Tie-One is plugging into de recovery ah de industry could ah been better spent on building and not repairing or rescuing de Industry, but it’s all about carelessness, negligence, square-pegs in rong holes on one part and Pull-it-tek-all folly on de other. May de Lord have mercy pon our Farmers.

WHEN RUNS DON’T COUNT

West Indies loss again. And like dey monkeying dey-self in England, de comments dat ah reading sounds like is clowns playing, ah suggestion ah read was dat it would be more fitting if both sides were to dress in clowns outfit. Ah don’t gamble but ah betting Lie-Za ah dollar dat now dat de series is all over, Chris Gayle making ah century in de next test. Ah wouldn’t be so mad if ah lose de bet, but is me dollar ah hate to lose, dat could by ah whole snow-cone or pass me thru immigration at the Grenadines war-ff. And wid dat ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.