BLABBERMOUT’ BABSIE – When lady luck smile ‘pon yuh

Dear Nesta,I hope you still gine good as gole an’ dese crisis times en brekkin’ yuh up!  Only las’ week, Philomena an’ me was sayin’ dat ef t’ings don’ start turnin’ soon – it en got to be a complete turn  ’roun’, jes’ show li’l movement – nuff people, an’ we in dah crowd, gine get brek-up!  I never see monfly bills come ’roun’ so fas’!  Befo’ yuh could even scramble ’bout an’ try to get one settle, de pos’man back at yuh house wif de nex’! An’ don’ talk ‘bout de food! Less said, de better! I swear dem prices got-in yeas’, faif! Look sharp, I gine soon be sittin’ in de dark, muh belly touchin’ muh backbone, an’ not even a drop o’ water to put in de kettle to mek li’l tea! I always wonder how poor people wif two or t’ree trildren does mek out. ’Cause, I know trildren need good “bittle” an’ duh stomachs en too small!   I see dese hard times en playin’ favourites. Imagine de Queen, of all people, gettin’ touch-up! Not dat she would get affeck in de same way it hittin’ we, far from it, but it seem she still got to do some cuttin’ an’ contrivin’ when it come to any spennin’, or repairs to de palace! Now dis en mean dat when rain or snow start fallin’ she gine get wet, she got summuch places to live in, dat ef de worse come to de worse, she only got to lef’ one palace an’ go to anethuh. Or perhaps she won’ even got to move out a-tall, jes’ transfer from de norf wing to one o’ de ethuh wings an’ perhaps even lose she way while movin’!  Dem palaces could house you, me an’ a multitude!  Anyway, she subjecks certainly cyahn complain dat evahbody ketchin’ a fit to survive while she livin’ light ’cause she is de queen! I en know ef you-all know, but I hear one o’ de Amurican announcers sayin’ a couple days ago while de queen was visitin’ New York, dat she real cos’-conscious, gine t’rough de palace rooms when de night come, an’ turnin’ off any lights dat en need to be on, an’ keepin’ on she winter coat to keep down prices when it real cole. Dah’s really “leadin” by example”, neh!  Some people I know could really tek a leaf outta she book, faif!   One body dat certainly en know wuh hard times feel like, is a ’oman livin’ in Amurica I recently read ‘bout. Would you believe Ness, dat she win de Lotto four times sence 1993!  In dah year, she win $5.4 million and tek it in yearly instalments, de secon’ time was in 2006 when she haul in $2 million an’ tek dah in a lump sum. She keep on playin’ an’ two years later, she win anethuh $3 million an’ dah too, she get in a lump sum!  Finally, jes a couple weeks ago, she buy a scratch-off ticket an’ de amounk dis time is $10 million! Add up all dah, an’ yuh see dah ’oman win jes’ over $20 million! Wuh, dah should las’ she fuh a lifetime an’ beyon’! You could believe Lady Luck would smile ‘pon anybody summuch times an’ fuh sech big amounks? But it appear she en de only one dat defy de odds. A Canadian man hit five jackpots in five years! De bigges’ one ’e win was $17 million in 2009! I en know wuh happen, but ’e din get de money at firs’ an’ had to go to court!    Imagine ef somet’ing like dah coulda happen to we, neh? I en need to win four times! I en even got to win ten million – one million would do muh fine! But firs’ I mus’ buy a ticket, wuh yuh say? A Bajan jes’ win over two million. I only want Lady Luck to glance my way!    Tek care o’ yuhself, Yuh frien’ Babsie