Back in Time

Family Feud wid host Steve Harvey, is my favour-it TV Game Show. One ah Mr Harvey’s questions was “ if yuh were allowed to go back in time, at what age would yuh like to be. Foh me is way back, even though ah didn’t like being awakened at 6:00 a.m. to go ‘tie-out’ Meggie, my goat and den “go-foh” milk, fresh, full-cream cow’s milk from ole man Rupert Lockhart’s cows, ( 4 cents ah bottle = 24 cents ah gallon), but ah looked forward to picking (stealing actually) ah fresh fruit, mango, guava, plum from de near-bah’s tree along de way. But while waiting foh what seemed like forever, foh Mr Lockhart to finish milking dem cows, his son Jim and I looked forward to an early morning game of “pitching marbles” or “spinning top.” Jim was ah poor loser and every morning our game ended in ah fight, to be continued de next morning. Ah was happy to read way Jim men-shuns me on his Face Book page as his only friend growing up as kids.

Dat would ah bin around age 12, when we all had locally built scooters and 4-wheel carts. Those of us who had access to ah hammer, ah small saw, ah piece ah bread-fruit board and some nails did we own thing. My wife went looking at ole photos and found one wid me relaxing on Betsy, my rustic BMax scooter, parked next to ah “stand-pipe” the only pipe dat served de whole community with pipe-borne water. While dey might ah bin ah drum under de eave of de house to collect rain water, still every lickle child toted water in buckets, pan, bottles from de public stand-pipe. We bathe and wash clothes under de stand-pipe. Thankfully, everybody is now connected to CWSA with private water service. But last week ah was pleasantly surprised dat after close to 100 years dey it is- de ole concrete pipe-stand, no pipe, no water, covered all over wid moss/fungus but still there, as though waiting to be reconnected.

Betsy was only ah one way ride, but played ah role in conveying water. De MT bucket fitted nicely on de floor board, but it was ah challenge pushing ah scooter, up hill wid ah bucket full ah water. Only dis morning ah went at de bottom of de ole unpaved stone and dirt surface road dat I fearlessly or wrecklessly speed down like ah mad child. Not to men-shun de nuff bruises from de falls. One time ah ended in de gutter wid Betsy on top, poor condition of de dirt and stone surfaced road. Today it is like ah high-way, thanks to de late Eddie Griffith Parliamentary Rep of East Kingstown who surfaced dat road and made it his first project in office. How ah wish ah could find Betsy to ride down dat hill now. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

•  Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.