Ah one-dah-full lady name Peggy

Pardon me if ah boring all yoh wid dem set ah “Non-cents Stories,” ah keep writing bout. Ah believe is how ah is ah “never see come see,” man is like everything fascinating me up hey.

Dis particular one is touching and ah say ah must share it wid folks back home. Since ah dey up hey, every morning ah Volunteer-driver from de Cancer Society comes to pick me up at my door-step, take me to Toronto foh my treatment, comes back foh me when ah finish and drop me back home.{{more}} Dey are all retired, senior citizens and dey do dis service foh free; dey not like dem greedy pensioners and tired and re-tired Pull-ah-trick-hands posing as Add-vise-sir and reaping ah harvest on boards. Ah have nothing personal against Sir-Vin-Sin but ah think he and others like him should step down or give voluntary service. De country cannot afford dis pay-back ting. My Canadian volunteer friends are all excited to hear about my lovely country, well de good side, correction, what’s left ah de good side. But is like shock wave does go thru dem when ah divert ah bit and tell dem why we need help from de Canadian Guv-ah-mint. How when ah left SVG, de Hospital didn’t have any facility foh CT Scanning (wuking), no Radiation or Die-I’ll-assist machine, is Bo-bathe-us or Trin-dard we does have to go, and LIAT passage to dem islands is more dan it cost from SVG to Canada. Den dey would ask “What do people do when dey get sick in your country?”Ah tell dem ah don’t know; ah full-well know de truth, but like our PM, ah does tell ah lickle lie sometimes, not all de time. Ah plug foh our International Airport being built by de “Collision ah de Wailing,” but is more questions coming when ah tell dem who all in dis collision, and Canada not included. Ah dare not tell dem dat Lie-Za say de PM like he fraid to come Canada. A couldn’t help telling dem “tails out ah school” bout how de Guv-ah-mint still victim-eyes-in de three teachers and de dispenser, but got de nerve to say our motto foh In-dip-and-dance dis year is “Working together to transform our nation. Together what! dey mean “to-get-her/him” or to-gather.”

As ah was saying bout dem Volunteer-drivers. Last evening ah got my usual phone call to say which Volunteer will pick me up and what time. De caller was Peggy as was expected, as every Wednesday is her day. Man ah almost freeze when she said my pick-up time was 6:30 a.m. Anybody who know Canada in October, will overs dat at 6:30 in de morning de place cold and dark, de others would pick me up at 9:00 a.m. Man ah wanted to tell Peggy go to hell, but is beg ah beg de Lord to open ah way foh me, and His way ah answering prayer is not necessarily man’s way, furthermore “beggars not chosers,”so ah hush me mouth and give de Lord thanks and tell Peggy thanks. Is only in SVG dem beggars and vagrants does tell yuh give dem ah $20.00, and if yuh tell dem yuh ain’t got no cash, one ah dem in particular does tell yuh to write him ah cheque.

So dis morning ah got up at 5:00 a.m. mek me break-fuss and ah sand-wage foh lunch, and waited foh Ms Peggy. Man ah vex when ah see her vehicle coming up de road at six-thirty on de dot. One thing wid up hey, time is time! She drove de Society’s van and had to pick up four more persons foh treatment. It took dat good lady one hour rounding up everybody in de district, and wid de tight traffick it took another two hours to drop us off, at our different destinations. She den went to de Hospital Lodge to wait until everybody is finished treatment to drop us back, I got home at 3: 00 p.m. So what is so special about Peggy and my transportation?

Well dis morning when she picked me up, we were alone going to find de others; ah really felt obliged to let her know how much ah really appreciate what she was doing foh me and de others; same time she apologized foh being so early and explained dat one ah de other ladies had an 8:00 a.m. appointment and she was trying to accommodate her. Ah was so touched, ah couldn’t find words to continue. Ah decided to mama-guy her ah bit first, so ah told her dat even though she still young and fit, looking like she is still in her fifties, ah sure she would ah much prefer to be wrapped up in her warm bed wid her husband. She stiffened up, flattered maybe and said: “Thank you Sebastian, you are so generous and kind, but next week I will be 83 years old!” Immediately my thoughts ran on de story when Jesus asked his disciples: “Where were you when I was sick?” Ah believe dat deys ah place foh people like Peggy some-way in Heaven.

YOUNG LADIES, NAH WALK ALONE

My prayers go out for de Caesars of Evesham and dey loved one, Shanika Small now missing foh almost ah week. Shanika is ah close relative of my wife and being ah parent, grand-parent and great-grand-parent ah could empathize wid Shanika’s family and friends tonight. While ah still hoping foh ah miracle, ah cannot over emphasize de need foh our young women to avoid walking alone, whether day and night; and we as citizens must be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers; do unto yuh near-bahs’s kids as yuh would do foh yuh own. And wid dat, is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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