I WOULD LIKE TUH KNOW why evahbody pon the roads – I talking ’bout the motorists – seem tuh be always bore-ing or speeding or overtaking at the most dangerous places or trying tuh push ya off the roads all the time so. I know I woulda write ’bout something like this before but . . .
What got me is this: I cahn remember nuhbody adding on nuh extra thousand or so miles ontuh Barbados dat would make some people want tuh put duh foot down pon the accelerator and stretch out tuh all.
The thing is this: just because dem might be a li’l higher up off the road in the big SUVs and might be able tuh see a li’l further ahead, you would hear and see dem in ya side mirror or rear-view mirror flying coming up the road behind you. Next thing ya know, dem does fly past you, then zigzag in front o’ you, then fly cross in the next lane, and on and on duh does be going till duh cahn get nuh further.
I doan know where these people does be going suh hard, hear? Look, it is frightening when you get on pon the roads nowadays, ’cause you ain’t know who you gine butt-up pon out there and wha’ state duh in.
If you mind ya’self sometimes ya would stand home, too frighten tuh go out pon the roads fuh the way things happening.
Look at the accident duh just had there in St John, where the papers say dat the men, both from St John, one was riding a motorcycle and the other driving a van or some kinda motor vehicle. The paper say dat the body pon the motor cycle fell off and the vehicle hit he and kill he. Now ya ain’t want nutten more freaky than dat.
Last Sunday gone there a young man duh say ’bout 18 years old was in a car where the driver like he lost control and the 18-year-old end up dead as a doornail. Only this week a man get kill somewhere out there by Whitepark Road, or somewhere in dat region, by a ZR van.
The other day I was pon the road and when I get cross there by the Belle, I see a car down in the trench; the woman was standing up holding she head, one li’l boy was standing wid some people around him and another one was pon the ground grimacing and holding on tuh he foot. The next day I read in the papers dat the lady had lost control o’ the car and it ran off the road.
Now duh got the ATVs dat the young fellas does ride all down between the traffic. Then there’s the young boys pon the motorcycles. Look, both o’ dem does keep so much noise dat when you hear dem motorcycles and ATVs come up ’longside o’ you, you does feel like you eardrums gine burst. Dem would deafen ya, man – the things does keep bare noise.
Another thing is this: wha’ happening tuh the young girls at all, though? Duh like duh cahn wait. Duh brekking duh necks and gine ’long like duh think dat something gine ’long and left dem. Evah minute ya hearing ’bout this teenage girl who gone missing and this teenager who left duh mother house this time or the other tuh do something or go a particular place, wearing this kinda outfit but haven’t been seen since.
The next thing ya does read is dat they does frequent this area or dat area, and this is now days or weeks dat she left home and duh cahn find her. Wha’ happening tuh dem? Who does be harbouring dem? All o’ this I would like tuh know because, look, I believe dat duh got a lot o’ big people who does be enticing these li’l girls wid all sorts o’ things and encouraging dem tuh do bare foolishness.
Sometimes when I hear the young people talking I does eavesdrop pon dem and ya does hear dem talking ’bout these places where young girls does go and get on like real rab-scrabs.
I hear dat the lyrics in some o’ dem dancehall and dub songs does be giving instructions and these girls does be trying tuh do all the things dat duh hearing.
The next thing ya know, evahthing does be pon Facebook fuh evahbody tuh see. I believe dat this is one o’ the reasons why so many young girls getting duhselves in a lot o’ mess too; duh does put all o’ duh business out pon Facebook fuh evahbody tuh see, pictures and all, and next thing duh does find demselves in too deep, cahn get out and have tuh be at some unscrupulous person mercy.
Talking ’bout the Facebook, I was in a meeting the other day and somebody was trying tuh get my contact information and one o’ the younger fellas ask me if I was on Facebook and I told him no. You woulda believe dat I tell he something bad – he just couldn’t understand how somebody wouldn’t be on Facebook.
So, I told him very politely dat Facebook means time and I ain’t got suh much time tuh waste or even spend pon the computer right now.
He look at me like I was crazy and tell me dat everybody pon Facebook. And hear my response: dat is why I ain’t pon um – I ain’t everybody.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
