Lickle Tings Mean Ah Lot

Ah tell me-self dat ah going write bout some ah de Lickle Tings dat does happen and we does let dem slide, only to realise later dat dey could become important even death-tree-mental; and right away de title from ah ole song of de 1950’s come to mind : “Lickle Tings Mean A Lot”. Dat song got Lyrics to break de ladies heart : “Blow me ah kiss from across de room, say ah look nice when I’m not; touch my hair as yuh pass my chair, dah-dah-dah-darrr, dah dah darr (ah foe-get de rest), lickle tings mean a lot”. Becket later updated de song in Soca wid: “Small pin does chook hard”.{{more}}

My girl Lie-Za fear-foh-hit Lickle Ting is “Lickle Axe does cut down big tree”.

On ah serious note doh, ah does feel to cry every time ah go to Villa foh ah swim. The supposedly best beach on mainland SVG, formerly ah white sand beach, in fact it is/was de only white sand beach on the mainland, will soon be no more. Even Buccama dat uses to be all black beach is now 50% white, 50% black, is white sand foh far-reign white people and black sand foh local black, Hans and Buns does say ah talking race, teking “Lickle mound and mek ah mountain”.

But somebody is going to get seriously damaged at Villa. Getting to de beach from Young Island wharf, using de narrow, slippry piece ah cat-walk by Robby sea-wall is life threatening. Adults falling into de sea and rocks, children falling as well! And all dat is needed is a simple, 4-feet walk-way along de seafront. Yuh tink is now ah tell Tour-is-him Beach to fix dat walk-way and put some white sand back at Villa Beach. His dad is a great politician which makes him a fine son of a Beach!

Talking bout Lickle Ting, look how my Lickle hero Luke Browne getting swept “off course” over ah lickle see (C) or ah see plus (C+). I does marvel how people does get up-tight over Subjects and Grades. Yuh ever check de grades foh dem lickle, no-Subjects people dat build dis country, dey inspire me. Remember Ira “Val-u Electrical” Young; Mc Neil Trotman’s Electrical; Vivian “ Bonadie’s Supermarket” Bonadie; Clarice Hadaway Stores” Hadaway, Leila and CK Greaves, PH Veira, Dennis George, Gurney “Gibson’s Building Supplies” Gibson; Randy “Mini Mart” Kennedy and lots more. GCE and CXE were just letters in de alphabet to dem. Subjects would ah only mek dem fellars Subjective, dem get de Object, and became Objective. But as ah overs, Luke has his dream, it might be ah lickle ting foh us, but foh him :”Lickle Ting Mean a Lot”!

YAM AND DASH-IN

Man who ain’t Kay way dey say or do, is Yuh-seen Bolt. De Bwoy win him race dem, an him dance, an him mimic an him tease an we luv de Bwoy! How dare de Oh-limp-pick Cheerman to chastise Bolt say he must not celebrate his victory in true Caribbean style. Is de same way de World Cup Cricket people did come out hey and say we must not walk wid we food and we drinks, and nah mek noise pon de field. Everybody treat it den, like ah Lickle Ting, but dey killed we spirit and wid it our World Cup. Lie-Za say she heard de US press-people interviewing Bolt’s father, dey ask him way he does feed Bolt pon, and he tell dem “My Bwoy, him feed pon Lickle Yam, yes and Lickle Dash-in too, see him how when him run, him “Dash-in” front dem other runners and come fuss”! Dis is one time ah want us to recognise dat our Lickle Yam, Lickle Dash-in, Lickle Cassava, Lickle sweet potato and so on could Mean ah Lot foh us. Congrats to de Lauders Agro Processors Inc who will be hosting de first ever Dash-in Exhibition in September. Ah glad to see de Dash-in fever is catching on in SVG once more. And wid dat ah Dash-in off till next week, ah Gone again!

One Love Bassy

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