Surprise! Surprise!
Deyâs dis story bout ah Vagrant who died and went to Heaven like de beggar, Lazarus did in de book of Luke in de Bible. De Vagrant was full ah Surprise wid some ah de faces he saw, even more so, those who didnât make it to Paradise; all dem Sun-dey blest people, who uses to pass him straight, hunger killing him, as dey headed foh church come-union. He couldnât hold de Shock and Surprise no more, he turned to de Gate-keeper and said: âSt. Peter, yuh sure ah dey in de right place, way all dem nice church-clothes people deyâ? {{more}} St. Peter smiled and said to him: âHeaven will continue to Surprise everybody, look at de faces ah de people who made it, Like you, dey too are Surprised to see ah face like yuhâs hey in Heavenâ. Ah thought of that lickle story on Chose-dey when ah arrived at de Roman Catholic Church and saw de many faces who turned out to Beltoâs funeral, ah was Surprised! Belto himself might ah bin Surprised and maybe upset, wondering what he did wrong again; all his life he avoided being among us, and now in death, way he had hoped to finally find âpeace and tranquilityâ, we had come to deceive him again and drag him back into our vicious, dog-eat-dog society.
Rebelto âBeltoâ Diaz, would have completed his mission on earth during his late teens and early twenties. We both wuked at de Surveys Dept back in de 1970âs where he was de Vault Attendant and dark-room Printer. He was very much into dance, modeling, organizing Fashion Shows, best of all he was lead singer wid ah lickle Band âVolume 5â later renamed âClimaxâ. Ah recall when de Band had problems getting ah loan from de Bank to buy its own equipment; most of de members didnât have ah job or were temporary wukers, and it was Belto and Noel John who committed dey salaries to de Bank. De lickle Band instantly rose to fame; ah second singer was recruited, but dey was ah fall-out, Belto was side-lined! At de wuk-place he lost interest as delinquency stepped in, Belto was subsequently laid off. Lifeâs burdens had become ah lickle too heavy foh de budding star, Belto; and rather dan take off some ah de load, he rest down his burden, all of it and walked away from Source-higher-tea dat neither he nor most of us understand. Belto sought refuge within de Vagrant Community.
When my Kids went to St. Maryâs Primary, ah would pass him every morning at de R. C. Church office on North River Road, ah believe datâs way Jesus does hang out pon ah morning, but I call it Vagrant Avenue, de block way most ah de town Vagrants come-mune, and itâs not foh come-union or Morning Mass, dey waiting foh dey breakfast, and it better be good or is riot. Within de Church is âde Poor-is Trustâ, ah group ah caring people headed by Father Jim, an ole English, R.C. Priest. Dis Fr. Jim fellar, before he took ill and had to leave, found âinner peaceâ, ah strange feeling ah satisfaction one gets in providing foh de Poor and Needy. Jim and people like Dye-Ann Da Silva (sheâs going to be mad wid me foh calling her name) helpers like Guy Low, Pope Paul and others, provide ah decent breakfast and lunch foh de less fortunate citizens, dah many ah we tun ah blind eye pon. In my low tolerance level, or just my ignorance and uncaring eyes, ah think some ah dem âso calledâ Vagrants does overdo it, dey could find some-ting to do. Dey sit dey all morning, looking quite happy, relaxing, chatting, bigging up de folks whom dey know as dey pass. Ah seen dem getting into serious arguments leading to fights. But Jim and his âDe Poor-is Trust membersâ, overs well, dey care! Vagrant Avenue is way Belto and many more like him find solace and rescue, daily and dearly. How strange dah we seem only concerned bout de pee-doh-feel-yah in de Priesthood, but say lickle or nothing about those who care foh Godâs people.
Ah listened on Sat-dey as Randy D who overs life, dedicated his Radio Program to Belto. Lots ah genuine Tributes, lots ah blame pon those who Source-higher-tea. Ah didnât manage to get on to de program, but ah wanted to tell listeners, to save dey breath, deyâs still ah chance foh us to redeem ourselves, foh example, we can pass along Vagrant Avenue and leave off ah lickle change, maybe ah $5.00 wid de secretary at de âDe Poor-is-Trustâ office, so dat Beltoâs surviving colleagues could get ah hot meal. Believe it or not, deyâs ah potential Vagrant in every house-hold, we never know way dey out dey waiting foh us, in de meantime we can do some-ting. Which reminds me of one ah Lie-Zaâs non-cents ting she does say: â If yuh must judge ah Guv-ah-mint, first check out de way it treats its Ole people, de sick, and de Disabled, mental and physicalâ. Visit de Lewis Punnett Home, de Mental Health Centre, de Milton Cato Hospital or Vagrant Avenue and yuh will overs way she saying. Maybe we could be more gentle and humane to our less fortunate citizens. At least deyâs one consolation, dah might just help us mek it to Heaven, and if it does, we would get to see Beltoâs face as he interrupts his singing and shouts out âSurprise! Surpriseâ! 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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