How life treatin’ you an’ yours in London, muh girl? Hey in Buhbayduss, I would ha’ to say dat evaht’ing as nusual – dah mean de cos’ o’ livin’ still flyin’ high wid no signs o’ fallin’; an’ evahbody, young an’ ole, doin’ wuhevah duh like, whenevah duh like.
An’ yuh frien’ hey tryin’ she bes’ to live by faif – sight, too – mid all de trouble an’ strife.
Sometimes I got to ax muhself wuh we got laws fuh. Only to brek? Wheyevah yuh turn, yuh could always hear ’bout somebody – or somebodies – ignorin’ rules an’ wukkin’ de law to suit duh own purposes.
You could imagine dat a bizness place in dis islan’ could owe as much as $10 million back taxes? Now, it din tek two mornin’s to get to dah amounk so dah would ha’ to be buildin’ up fuh some while, even befo’ dis Guvment come to office.
In dese li’l Caribbean islan’s, evahbody got some frien’ or fambly wid connections; an’ it turnin’ out mo’ an’ mo’ dat it en wuh yuh know, but who yuh know. Dah’s now de way o’ life an’ dey en much we could do ’bout it, neiduh. Sad, but true.
Only ef yuh is a lunatic you could t’ink any li’l people like Philomena or muhself woulda get ’way all dese years widout payin’ up we taxes.
We names woulda been plaster all over de papers, an’ ef dah din wuk, a trip to de courts woulda been we nex’ experience.
Actually, de problem o’ owin’ summuch money woulda never come up anyhow as somebody woulda wake up to de fack dat we din payin’ long befo’ de amounk reach even $10 000, far less $10 million, an’ start mekkin’ a fuss.
I keep pointin’ out all dese t’ings to Philomena but she en payin’ muh much min’. She too bizzy tryin’ to fin’ a good psychic – dem really exis’, doh? – to leh she know wuh happenin’ to she CLICO money. She finally comin’ ’roun’ to de fack dat any connections she t’ought she had en worf wuh Paddy shoot at.
Nowadays, brekkin’ o’ de law en nuh big t’ing. People doin’ wuhevah duh like widout a t’ought o’ how duh actions gine affeck de res’ an’ it mekkin’ t’ings hard fuh anybody else dat got diff’rent ideas.
Law-abidin’ Bajans now got anethuh danger to face ’pon de roads. It bad enuff fuh de mottacycles to roar pas’, scarin’ de livin’ daylights outta yuh, but a new breed o’ daredevils now ’pon de scene to add to yuh troubles.
I onderstan’ yuh call dem “wheelies” – young fellas ridin’ mottacycles ’pon one wheel only, de back wheel, widout care fuh life, limb or de law.
I meet up wid one de ethuh day – he comin’ down an’ I gine up de road – an’ I en got to tell yuh how fas’ muh heart was beatin’ when it look as ef ’e front wheel, high in de air, was headin’ straight fuh muh win’shiel’.
I onderstan’ dese stunt riders want a special area set aside fuh dem to perform duh art. Very well. But who gine pay to provide dis area? Ef duh lookin’ at Guvment, I wish duh luck.
Ef dese riders rich enuff to buy expensive bikes, buyin’ a spot o’ lan’ whey duh could do duh stunts should be easy pickin’s fuh dem an’ duh admirers. Ethuhwise, de law ought to get in de ack.
I know one body dat brek de law, an’ pay dearly fuh it, now happy enuff today. We Cuban onwanted visitor can now joyfully shout: “Free, free, I’m free at las’!” Good luck to he.
Tek care o’ yuhself
Yuh frien’ Babsie
