We-Key-Leak again

Ah beginning to feel dat dis “We-Key-Leak” Intelligence Agency is an Arm-in de NDP or Vie-see Ver-saw. Like dey really come out to create con-fuse-on in de Ralph Gonsalves ULP Administration. Yuh remember bout two months ago when We-Key-leak did publish doc-yuh-mints bout our PM, exposing some uncalled fah comments he made in an interview wid States Department dat he thought was private and con-fee-den-shell?{{more}} And yuh remember when de Press here asked him what he got to say bout de We-Key-Leak Doc-yuh-mints; he simply add-myth dat he could do nothing, and warn us dey will be more We-Key-Leak documents to come, but he is not too concerned bout dem.

Well said Prime Minister; de doc-yuh-mints coming like yuh promised. Lie-Za is one person who was not surprised to hear de number ah “conned-son citizens” (she calls dem), who were willing to speak freely and frankly wid de US States officials in Bo-bid-us. She say she too did get ah call from ah man in de States Department, when she tell him up front she want ah Green Card and ah wuk in de US; he did promise to call back, but never did. Ah ask her if she ever got de Green Card, she say “Fire foh de US ah get me ULP Red Card and we naar tun back”!

Our PM should not feel betrayed because even his close all-lies were concerned and confused when all of ah sudden he returned from ah trip to Venezuela and drop de news pon we say, President Shove-his forming ah ting call ALBA and dey want he to join. Remember is Shove-his and not Gonsalves did announce dat SVG was part ah ALBA. Den he start ah lie in bed wid people like God-have-he and Ah-mad-in-Ejad.

Member when President Obama went to de OAS sum-it in T’n’T, how de Allbarians dat included or PM, had big pre-gathering, to come up wid dey own Awe-gendah. Lie-Za say de world was watching Gonsalves as he Wine’n’Dine wid his new fren-M-E of de USA. De US States Department was greatly concerned about USA interest. Wid lickle or no warning, de Kingstown Medical College pulled out; and when Lie-Za said was “more in de mortar dan de pistle” Casper London called her backward and reactionary. So de US officials had to speak wid ah few “Conned-son Citizens” of SVG who are not necessarily Traitors.

We-Key-Leak publishing ah set ah names ah persons wid whom dey had close contact; most ah dem were Gonsalves insiders, loyal people close to his heart. But of greater importance to these people, is dey first loyalty, which is to God and Country. Ah don’t know what dey Leak to We-Key-Leak, dey might ah said tings not fear-foh-able to Gonsalves autocratic policies, but ah will bet dat dey spoke mostly truth, it will all come out soon, even who killed Glenn Jackson; as ole people say “mout open tory jump out”.

DE MAKING OF AN ENGINEER

Talking bout Glenn Jackson, ah was almost stunned last week when ah checked de Obits in de Newspapers and saw an “In Memoriam” of Glenn’s dad, Robert “Bob” Providence. Stunned to think dat ah lost ah good ole buddy and didn’t hear to go pay tribute him wid some Cuatro music.

His cousin, Leroy Providence who writes serious letters to de Press, did a good job wid de Eulogy. Ah could identify wid most ah what he said. How when Bob finished Primary School, he told his Dad he wanted to be an Engineer and de “ole man” told him :”Yuh an Engineer? Yuh can’t even become an Engine-far”! Bob, unlike his other siblings, Bumpy, Fred, Louie, Glasgow, Tab and de rest, never got de chance to attend Secondary School, so he missed out on things like Algebra and Geometry. From Primary School at Troumaca, he came to town and went straight into Auto-mechanics as an Apprentice at PWD; back ah his head he wanted to become an Engineer.

Was at PWD Mechanic Shop, Arnos Vale at met him in 1960, I wuk as ah Store-keeper. He was way above de average Apprentice and was selected to go to Suriname on ah attachment to learn to repair heavy equipment, tractors and bull dozers. I transferred to Surveying and in 1969 we were both selected on CIDA Scholarships to study in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Bob went did ah Diploma of Technology in Auto Mechanics.

When we got to Canada, Bob, Chico Ellis and I were room-mates, we shared ah basement. Ellis and I were able to handle de Maths and Physics which began at O-level; but Bob was lost at sea. Within two months and wid our tutoring, Bob was on target, his marks went from some big “Zeros” to sixty and seventy percent. Everybody on Campus gravitated to Bob, students, lecturers and den off Campus, he was ah favourite wid de small West Indian Community.

His cooking, his sense ah humah, he had ah way he uses to cackle “he! he! he! dat had everybody cackling too. Because of his years ah experience in de practical field back home at PWD; Bob got ah part-time wuk as Assistant to de Instructor in de repair shop. And when he saw our ole Landlord shoveling snow, he worked out ah contract whereby we did de shoveling foh a reduction in our small rent of $100. 00 ah month.

At de end of his two year Diploma Course, he was granted ah one year extension to study Diesel engines. Our basement suite was de regular meeting place foh Caribbean students on ah Friday night, Guy-on-knees, Three-knees, even ah Shy-Knees Chemistry student from Jah-mek-her. Food was cheap, pig foot was 25 cents ah pound and we introduced pig-foot souce to Calgary. One night we were under de breeze drinking Labatt’s Beer and President 45 wine, some real cheap alcohol dat Bob discovered. And Bob had de floor; he told us de story about de time when he told his dad he wanted to be an Engineer. He had some skills in Drama, and when he demonstrated how his dad expounded: “Engineer! you want to be an Engineer! my son you can’t even become an Engine-far!” De house went upside down wid laughter, and Bob got himself ah new name “Engine-far”.

We had ah one-dah-full experience in Canada studying on Canadian Tax-payers money. Canadians are nice people, anybody bad talk or offend ah Canadian, dey bad talk and offend me too! Ah guess St Peter got ah lot ah Chariots up dey dat need fixing so de Engine-far Bob had to go. May he have ah peaceful rest.

And wid dat, is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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