Wha three-knee-dad look like

During de last seven years ah fly pon plane three times, twice to Three-knee-dad and once to de USA. Ah does feel shame when de wife tell me friends dat ah fraid Plane, but is true. Ah have no problem wid de boats, ah believe is how ah could swim, maybe ah should try learning to fly too. Well ah went to T’n’T last weekend to bury Yasmine, my brother-in-law’s wife. She was one loving and selfless soul. Talk bout giving ah good heckle and tek one in exchange, was she. From day one she and I hit it off well.{{more}} But foh de last three years she was on die-all-sis, lots ah suffering before she finally succumbed to her illness.

Ah tried and put de sadness aside and tek in ah lickle ah T’n’T. Looking down from de sky is unbelievable, sky-scrapers, road networks and as far as de eyes could see is acres pon top ah acres ah flat lands, wid nothing on dem, just sitting idly by. Wid all dat flat lands wasting, is ah P.T. Mr Manning ain’t able to send us dat 32 acres we looking foh to put de Term-annul building at Argyle.

Den is miles pon top ah miles ah highway, wid thousands pon top ah thousand ah vehicles speeding to nowhere. Dey tell me dat dis quarter alone, some ten thousand new vehicles were licensed. De ride to Port of Spain is something else; yuh driving at 100 mph and vehicles cruising past yuh. Dey’s very lickle difference between de highways of My-ah-me and Three-knee-dad, ah crazy scene!

Yuh can’t miss de long line ah trees along de Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, every one ah dem got on white socks, dey painted de base ah de trees to mek de place look good foh President Obama’s visit foh de Sum-it. Talking bout Pair-ah-ducks, why hold all d’s Sum-it when de world E-con-Amy is at ah Plum-it. De G20 (Group of finance ministers) just finished ah Sum-it. Next Obama will attend de Sum-it of de Americas wid de same problem, Econ-nah-mek Plum-it. Shouldn’t dey be thinking of an Econ-nah-mek Plum-it as well.

Ah been reading bout de cry-sis dat T’n’T is experiencing wid de youths. Well ah had ah sample ah two sides ah de coins. At de home of de deceased, ah Christian Home it is, we had wakes every night, and it blessed my heart to see de number ah teenage youngsters from de family Church who came wid dey instruments to have Praise and Worship. Dey made Christianity exciting and attractive foh young people, unfortunately dey are in de minority. But on Sat-dey night ah went up by Trin City Mall, ah thought ah was in NY. Dey tell me dat dis Mall was started by K-mart who chicken-out and ah overs Clico cropped-in on de project (Yuh might have to give me ah discount foh accuracy of info on dis). Close to two hundred shops if not more, eight Cinemas, Restaurants, de Car park is about ten times de Chamber of Commerce Car Park in SVG. People shopping like Christmas Eve in SVG. Is like every youth M and F (14 years up) in T’n’T hanging at Trin City Mall, dey call it de Mall Culture. Parents have no control, trust me de scene is ugly, ah say no more.

De lickle ah saw of T’n’T tells me dat dey trying to catch up wid de US, no doubt de physical and cosmetic strides dat T’n’T is making, leaves our small island Prime Ministers feel impotent. But we should not even attempt to follow dem like copy cats, rather we should focus on our niche in Agriculture and Fishing. De few millions dat de Guv-ah-mint is committed to pump into British American would be better spent, if dey double it and pump it into our Agriculture and Fishing industries.

Now dat dey’s no Clico or British American to offer large interest rates to investors, dis might be ah good time foh Guv-ah-mints to force Banks to drop interest rates on savings to two percent. In de UK interest rates down to one percent in an effort to Sum-it de Econ-nah-mek Plum-it. Low interest rates on savings as well as loans will entice people wid lots ah cash to invest in viable local investments, in SVG we have lots ah projects wid potential, especially in Agriculture and fishing.

Ah almost forget to mention dat ah met ah good many Trinnies who following Vincy pull-ah-trcks. Dey fancy our Prime Minister but dey still heckle we Trinny style, asking me foh Sue-see Gonsalves, why he sue-in everybody, if he trying to get money foh de Airport.

And while ah was away, ah overs dey was ah discussion on de Sat-dey morning program “Letter from de Ground” bout de missing Airport Term-annul from de plan, which reminds me of de joke wid de four engine plane in de sky, way de captain announced dat dey’s ah problem, Engine No1 has failed so de flight will be delayed foh an hour; soon after he announced dat Engine No 2 has just failed as well, so de flight will be delayed foh another hour. When he announced dat Engine No 3 had just failed and de flight will be delayed foh one more hour; ah smart passenger suggested dat if Engine No 4 fails den de flight will be delayed foh ever. First de Argyle Airport was to be ready by 2010, den dey was ah slight problem so de date was extended to 2011, and now dey’s de Term-annul problem, de date is extended to 2012. We due one more hitch foh de third extension; any more hitches after dat, Ah fraid we go get extend-shun infinitum. And wid dat is gone ah gone again

One Love Bassy

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