Dr Jules Ferdinand will forgive me if ah write just ah lickle piece on his book, âBe Inspiredâ, he must give way to Mr Inspiration himself, President Obama. But it is not eye-run-ache dat Jules, de man who has been an Inspiration to so many people in particular students, delivering lectures all over de Caribbean, writing hundreds ah articles, feature addresses, should chose to write ah book dat will inspire us to de real purpose of living. Ah bought one of de books at de launch, in fact ah picked up two, yes, ah plan to read de Book ah second time. Sobrina, his lickle 12 year ole daughter spoke at de launch and recommend dat we read âBuffalo Soldierâ.{{more}} Jules recommended, âWhy ground dove donât build good nestâ, ah read dem both, but none is as inspiring as âKindness Paysâ, bout de poor hungry kid who begged foh ah drink ah water, instead he was given ah glass ah milk by de kind lady, no doubt she saved his life. But he grew to become ah doctor and later attended to her at de Hospital, she didnât recognize him, until she got de hellavah medical bill, âAmount paid in full, one glass of milkâ! Quite an Inspiring Book Dr Ferdinand.
AH COULD AH DANCE ALL NIGHT
Talking bout Inspiration, well me belly full. First ah got to big-up GHS Headmistress, Andrea Bowman foh putting SVG on CNN at de right time foh de right reasons. De name Stephenson Wallace was mentioned as sending de clip, and ah believe SVG TV might have had some involvement, whatever, ah was watching CNN âSituation Roomâ covering reactions to President Obamaâs inauguration from countries around de world, alas or is it âlo and beholdâ big and bold on de screen, who should pop up but de students of GHS as lively as ever, screaming âObama! Obama!â while dey were watching de proceedings live. De clip was only 10 seconds, spoke highly of Obamaâs popularity among de kids and de people of SVG. Too short, but whatever lickle was reported could only help restore SVGâs image internationally. When yuh consider de last time SVG was on de CNN news flash was wid de alleged rape involving de PM, so dis lickle positive publicity is ah blessing.
And if yuh ainât tink dat is reason to Be Inspired, hear dis. Same time de lickle GHS/SVG clipping was showing, one ah me faithful buddies from de village, Arnett âBulletâ Edwards called from de US to tell me to switch to CNN to see SVG meking it big on de news. âBoy I fell so proud,â he said, âsitting here watching CNN highlighting dem High School girls, screaming like American kids foh Obama at de swearing in ceremony, ah feel to scream too, and to tink SVG is de only Caribbean country to mek it,â he concluded.
Well it was de opposite foh me, tears ran down my soft face. Just watching dis âLickle Black Boyâ waiting in de corridor to be announced, even in his greatest moment he remained de essence, de he-pity-me ah humility. From Day-One, four years ago, Obama was my choice foh President, in fact de Obama family is an inspiration, de girls are adorable and Michelle, wow! ah does swell when people say to me âI tink your wife looks like Michelle Obamaâ. Ah fraid to tell she dat, it might just get to her, next ting she might want me to run foh president of de new Republic of SVG, so sheâll be first lady too. Seriously though de First Family is foh real, everyting bout Barrack and Michelle is real, de way dey touch, hug or place ah gentle kiss on each other is genuine affection, no putting-on, dat like it does happen regularly.
Ah set up all night watching dem dance, at one time ah was so jealous, ah thought of waking up me wife and tell she â ley we danceâ, instantly my better judgement put dat thought to rest, ah know she would ah handed me de broom, not before de lash! So like ah witch, ah danced by me-self wid de broom. Michelle is ah graceful dancer, tink ah will get Nina Maloney and Jus Edwards to give Bro Bama some lessons on de slow pieces like de Foxtrot, but he safe wid de young people ting, boogie down stuff.
Man ah sat glued to my TV foh four hours on Chose-dey, ah overheard my wife telling somebuddy on de phone dat when she got home, she checked de cushion dat ah was stuck into, and it was as hot as fire! Ah mek sure and listened carefully to every word ah dat Inaugural speech. Obama started out wid âI stand here today…â and in dat same sentence he said â I thank President Bush…â. Lower down in de speech he mentioned de pronoun âIâ again foh de third and last time. He spoke foh 18 minutes and used de pronoun âIâ three times, but wreak havoc wid de pronouns We, Us, Our, Ours, Ourselves, 145 times, what Greatness and Nobility. Clearly Obamaâs obsession is not about himself, Me, I Mr President, de power house, no! He simply wants to be given ah chance to inspire de nation, de Weâs, Us Ours to do tings differently, people from across party line wuking together to lead de world again. Ah not talking bout Together Now, dat was de biggest trick in de pull-it-tek-all his-story book. Never has dis country been so divided with bitterness. If ULP does not change dey style, dey will leave dis country ah legacy of pull-it-tek-all victim-I-say-shun, hatred and spite. Ah know what ah saying.
So dis is why Obama has to be my President. It will help if we all pray foh Obama, remember de US Sneeze we freeze wid cold, nah forget to mention our Prime Minister in our prayers too. And wid dat, is gone ah gone again.
One Love Bassy
Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.
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