ME DADDY IS ME DADDY AND…

Dat Doris Charles Front Page story in last week’s Searchlight Newspaper would mek “Bold and Beautiful” or “Days of our Lives” look like ‘Nursery Rhyme’, it was ah good read.Reminds me of de days when ah uses to read stories about persons being de only child in a family, but kept dreaming of an unknown brother or sister. “Ah recall,” not “ah can’t recall” like in de petition, where one young man in California, haunted in his sleep by an unknown brother, he could not carry de pain anymore, he published an appeal in ah popular Newspaper seeking help wid his struggles. He gave details of himself, his photos, shared his nightmares, etc. Sure like hell, within weeks he got ah reply from ah young man, exactly his age, looking exactly like him, but living in Australia. Dey pursued dey investigation, at hospitals, Registration Centres etc. and as it turned out dey were identical twins, separated at birth. Ah really happy foh Doris, she can now shout and sing de popular chorus: “I know who I am, I know who God says I am, what he says I am, where he says I’m at. I know who I am.” Dis August is her real Emancipation. Congrats, lady!

I was sharing my “Brer Nansi Roots Problem” wid Lie-Za. In fact my grand-daughter went ahead ah me, and discovered dat she had ah mixture of African and European in de family. Ah done gone out to Stubbs and settled de African side, and ah found out dat my paternal Great-Grandparents were slaves on de Argyle Estate. De European side is both paternal and maternal. De father side ah Europeans hail from Germany. My Great-grandfather and ah bunch ah Germans were either deported or banished from Hanover, Germany to Jah-mek-her. Lie-Za say dey went looking foh Blue Mountain Coffee foh dey milk. Whatever de reason, de group found dem-selves in de extreme western end of Jah-mek-her, felt at home and renamed de place Hanover. My Grandmother really loved her German surname, Zincke and if she only knew dat when she got married, dat she could ah kept her maiden name, she would ah bin Artilda Zincke-Alexander; but she corrected dat and made sure my middle name is Zincke. My German friend in Bequia, Otmar Schaedle says “Zincke” is like Royal family.

But my other European link is de Baileys from Ireland. Doc Fraser was telling me, dat is highly possible dey came to Bo-bathe-us from Ireland to wuk on de Plantations; ah believe dey were skilled in meking and drinking Rum, Irish Whiskey; and dey made beautiful Mount Gay and Sunset using our Sugar Cane.

Doc Fraser also said dat when Slavery was abolished, correct-shun, when Massah sent home de Slaves, went back to England to collect dey Rep-ah-eear-shun; some ah dem Irish blokes went to de hilly side ah Grin-Ada, some to de hill-side, Mount Pleasant, Bequia and those who came to SVG, de Baileys, Mascolls, Brookers et al went up Dorsetshire Hill.

So my immediate problem is getting my DNA to send foh my Bailey cousins in Ireland, de original owners of dat Billion dollar concern known as Baileys Irish Cream, (Cream-based Liquer and Irish Whiskey) de best in de world. Ah overs it is now owned by Gilbey’s in Ireland, ah want to know how he manage to own it, and how much he paid foh dem shares. Ah want “My Grandfather’s Back Pay (Share).” Is ah pity my mother didn’t give me ah second middle name and call me Sebastian Zincke-Bailey Alexander.

Is only now ah have me wuk cut out, ah have to meet with my beloved Sister Doris and get some help wid my DNA procedure. Right now ah want to thank Doris foh sharing her Triumph wid us, her Emancipation, for indeed it is, and dis could be inspiration foh so many of us “Dis-ownees” in lickle SVG, some knowingly and some unknowingly, who are literally imprisoned in Pandora’s Boxes: “We Daddy ain’t we Daddy and we and we Daddy ain’t know!” Ley me address Doris like her father, de ole warrior, Baylis would say: “De De, Thank You!” And wid dat is gone ah gone gain.

One Love Bassy

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