Order is Heaven’s first law

Despite de Lawlessness dat takes centre stage at times, Sin-Vin-Sin is supposed to be governed by ah set ah Laws, Rules and Regulations which in de simplest language means that things “must be done in proper and satisfactory Order.”

Otherwise K-us and confusion will rain! Jerry Rounce, ah famous village character, ah labourer, illiterate but loved his Strong Run, drunk or sober, Jerry uses to say “Order is Heaven’s first Law!”{{more}}

Dey are Go-venom-mint Departments specifically placed to ensure dat Law and Order remain alive and well. To name ah few, we have de Police, de Customs and we have de Physical Planning Department (PPD). Which brings me to de responsibilities of de PPD, chief of which is to enforce proper Order of development in de country. Where to put ah church, or ah school or ah home, ah shop or ah Bar, almost any structure. So it is important that before anybody set about putting down structures he must first get de approval of de PPD. Approval means dat what yuh got permission to do, yuh will do. If yuh want to mek changes yuh must notify PPD and get approval again. So dat if de owners of Chill Spot Bar at Arnos Vale had stuck to de initial application foh which dey got approval, de PPD could not have gone to Arnos Vale last Wednesday and “Break-down” de Bar! It is therefore not mischievous to assume dat either de Chill Spot did not have permission or did not comply wid de initial application dat was granted to dem by PPD.

My challenge to PPD is dat at times dey slip-up badly and are not very proactive as dey ought to. Developers are allowed to get away wid murder, people start and even finish structures widout PPD’s approval, widout Plans sometimes. PPD had to be jokers to allow Chill Spot to start ah structure widout approval, right next to de Highway, way all Go-venom-mint officials passing everyday. Where are de field inspectors? Is only when de near-bars come-plain dat de excessive smoke and loud music have become ah torture camp at nights; dey decide to “Lock de stable gate when de horse done break loose and gone.”

Lie-Za say ah must be fair to de PPD, because sometimes, and on numerous occasions too, de PPD would issue ah cease operation, “close down de wuk.” But at times ah developer who might just happen to be ah friend of ah friend, who is ah girlfriend of ah Big-man in de Party; she tell me dat some people does even reach de Prime Minister, ah stop she right dey, true or false ah never heard dat ah friend of ah friend who is ah girlfriend of de PM, ever got him to interfere. If she did say Julie-Ann ah would ah rebuke she de same way.

Chill Spot, unlike most developers is blessed wid two of dis country’s leading Architects in de immediate family. Taking care of excessive smoke and noise, as challenging as it might smell or sound, should be like ah piece ah cake foh Moulton or Milton to correct. Ah dey hey wondering what ole man Milton Mayers, de Patriarch of dis nobel Architectural Establishment is saying about dis “Pin in ah Haystack!” De big difference is dat Ole Man Milton was NDP foundation member at dat, and dem boys is ULP and so is Chill Spot, Lie-Za done tell me to stay out, dis is ah Labour Love Ting!

IS DIS REALLY CANCER AWARENESS MONTH???

Ah don’t know if ah should be vex or embarrassed to know dat dis is supposed to be Cancer Awareness Month, and de whole month seems to be one of silence. Man I had treatment foh Pass-straight Cancer exactly five years ago; my 39 daily treatments started in September 2011. De most devastating piece ah news dat anyone could get, is when yuh Doctor sit yuh down and tell yuh he has bad news, dat yuh have Cancer, Yuh might have had an I-dare dat something is wrong, but in yuh heart of hopes, yuh were praying foh good news. What was even more devastating foh me, is dat Dr De Shong recommended Radiation Treatment, and told me dat ah have company, dat ah lot ah folks whom ah should know, were having similar problems. Wid de exception ah Keith Boyea who had surgery and not Radiation, ah did not find one single candidate until ah was ready to go off foh treatment. Everybody was mute, top secret as if dey had something precious to hide. It was right dey and den dat ah realized dat de God had allowed Cancer to occupy my Pass-straight, dat He wanted to use me to be ah Witness foh Him and to testify of His power to heal. Ah made no secret of my afflict-shun, I have been sharing my experiences in dis Column and whenever I get an invitation to speak on Radio or TV. All ah wish to say at dis stage is dat all men over 40 years old, “go and get tested.” If yuh wait till yuh feel like something unusual happening den something has already happened, and it might be too late. To err is human, to delay is deadly! Go and do de Test! And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

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