From I was a child, as de Jamaicans would say, I had to live wid the rules and under the control and spell of women.
First it was sleep time, sometimes a mandatory whipping so yuh would go to sleep. Growing up in a house wid seven women wasn’t easy. The one consolation was that de rest gwine get a whipping too! Yuh had to live by rules; at nine o’clock, turn off de radio, de TV and go to bed.
Yuh had to comply or else face de music. Yuh playing cricket, try and catch de bus and get home before 7 o’clock or prepare to hear questions like: “Wunnah does play cricket in de dark?”
At school, same ting: deadlines, rules, limitations pun play time and when dah bell ring every man jack, every bad boy fall in line and observe de rules. Yuh didn’t mess around wid the Presentations brothers at Verdun in St John. Even de Transport Board used to control yuh life; get down by Rediffusion after 8 a.m. and de bus gone! Muh whole life been controlled and it look like tings ain’t changing any time soon.
Yuh see, de Vendor know ‘bout curfew. From small it was curfew; is de first word I learn to spell. I even get a lash when I first utter it as me mudder thought I did say curse you! Yuh is a teenager and yuh want to fete but yuh got to get back by a deadline, a curfew time and iffing you brek curfew, de doors lock and yuh now got to wake up de sleeping guards, woman power again, yuh mudder! People passing pun de road and you standing outside looking like vagrant and yuh mudder lecturing yuh ‘bout feeling yuh is a man and strangers laughing at you.
Yuh start to date a girlfriend and she mudder like Police Commissioner Dottin, checking yuh out from head to toe and when all said and done yuh got to get she back to de house by curfew time. De movie only halfway through but you leffing de place ’cause you got to beat de curfew. Yuh now is man and yuh got a lady friend. De first time yuh sleep over, yuh feel like you is Bruce Willis, lying in de bedroom hands behind yuh head, you in control. And then dem dreaded words: “Yuh got to leave before it get bright ‘cause ah don’t want de neighbours to see no man coming out muh house!”
Curfew time again. Night after night, you like a burglar dodging neighbours and brekking fuh home! Yuh eyes puffy next day due to lack ah sleep.
Yuh is now a real man and yuh got yuh own place and the new lady coming over. But wait, she gwine home, too. Yes, she got a curfew. Frustration setting in. Yuh get married. You is definitely de man now. You large and in charge.
De first night yuh come home late, big bassa bassa. De wife not talking wid you. You Pivileges withheld and you sleeping pun yuh back all night. You still pun curfew!
And don’t talk ‘bout no nights out wid de boys. She got to have answers to questions that people like Kaymar Jordan does ask: who, what, where, how and when! And yes yuh got curfew again.
So when muh Trini brethren complaining ‘bout Kams and how she introduce curfew and how things rough and you got to be in yuh house by nine, de Vendor smile. Woman in charge again and it is curfew time!
I, Market Vendor, gone fuh now. You have a blessed and a wonderful day, yuh hear?
