In recent times I have found myself in a place of total confusion. It seems sometimes as if all order is lost; what is right has been usurped by wrong and the acceptable is no longer the norm. More importantly, as I talk to people it seems sometimes that perhaps the problem is me, that my expectations are perhaps a little too high and that I make mountains of molehills. The suggestion is that the order is changing and I had better get used to it rather than complaining all of the time. In this context, I want to do something a little different this week. I am going to give a number of scenarios and you the readers can judge whether I am justified or, on the contrary, need my head examined.
First, I am utterly disgusted at that fact that within the last two weeks before the new school term begins roadworks have popped up on a heavily trafficked road which I use on my route to work. During the school term you can expect 30 to 40 minutes’ delay.
The road is narrow but it is a major artery for not only entry into Bridgetown but for about five schools in the area. When I passed on Friday morning we were being diverted through an even smaller road, which is somewhat obstructed by several parked vehicles on one side, the property of a mechanic in the area. What manner of folly!
A whole eight or nine weeks of vacation when there is clearly less traffic on the road and a project is started within two weeks of school that if it follows recent trends will . . . continue to perpetuity?
More importantly, I also recently heard that a major Barbados Water Authority project will soon get started in an area into which the traffic from my area normally flows. Every time I come around the corner and have to pass the area I just want to get out of my car and shout, “this is madness!”
Has anyone thought of the loss of sheer man hours and the aggravation? Am I expecting too much?
I went to purchase some items recently. At this business you must pay for the newspaper separately and then the other items. As I approached the clerk I put down my items, said a loud “good morning” (I always make it loud to make sure that I am heard), reached for the money to pay for the newspaper and handed it to her.
She completely ignored me, began to ring up my items and at the same time struck up a conversation with a passing colleague.
When she is finished ringing up the items she puts them in a plastic bag and tells me the total in a most impatient voice. Please – someone tell me – when I looked at her and said good morning loudly again at twice the decibel I had said it before, was I wrong? Was I wrong when I proceeded to look for every cent of the seven dollars I owed her in my change purse?
I needed some air in my tyres recently but when I arrived at the pump there was someone already there. I parked in front of them and sat to wait patiently for them to finish.
Just before the gentleman finished a man comes up with a truck and parks immediately behind him with the back of his truck to the road. When the gentleman finished, he found himself stuck between our two vehicles – everyone is looking at me.
I am confused; I parked in a way which meant I would have to navigate my reversal while the gentleman at the back just needed to move forward. Hands gesticulate, swear words flow because I apparently, like all of the women drivers in Barbados, do not have any sense.
I am still confused and continue to eat my nuts patiently. In the end, the gentleman navigates his way out without the other gentleman or I having to move. The gentleman with the truck then proceeds to rush in, jump out of his vehicle and picks up the pump. Now tell me was I wrong when I wanted to get a piece of two by four and . . . . you tell me: Was I wrong?
Shantal Munroe-Knight is a development specialist executive coordinator at the Caribbean Policy Development Centre. Email [email protected]
