As time pass, I gettin’ mo’ an’ mo’ depress, faif. Buhbayduss progressin’ so fas’, it outrunnin’ itself, an’ de peaceful, safe place we once us-ed to know an’ love, becomin’ a distant mem’ry.
Life en as beautiful as befo’, but dah don’ mean de way we treat one anethuh should change so drastic. Evahbody jos’lin’ to get in de “fas’ lane” – it look excitin’, y’know – an’ in de mad rush to “arrive”, very few able to stop an’ offer help to anybody – onless a “freeness” stirrin’. Duh got neithuh de time nor desire. Today, material t’ings an’ money is de two “gods” rulin’ people lives.
Dah rich, fancy fambly call “Jones” got foolish people scramblin’ to keep up wid dem. It far from easy, an’ duh could scarce mek it, as bills fuh items duh really cyhan afford but mus’ have, keep comin’ widout fail – but duh keep tryin’. Sence we still in recession an’ people losin’ jobs, dese bills causin’ nuff sleepless nights. No wonder a heart doctor come out de ethuh day an’ say Bajans sufferin’ 49 strokes a monf. Stress got people droppin’ like flies.
Traffic ’pon de roads don’ help neithuh.
Check de amounk o’ cars in some areas inchin’ down de roads ’pon a mornin’, an’ yuh could very well onderstan’ why some people so irritable an’ miserable to deal wid at wuk.
While creepin’ down de road, yuh still need to keep a sharp lookout fuh dem fellas ’pon heavy motta-bikes, weavin’ in an’ outta traffic, or yuh
jes’ might en’ up in de horsepittle – an’ dah is de las’ place to be dese days – budget cuts tekkin’ it down to de wire. Or, yuh could be in de right place at de wrong time, get ketch in de crossfire an’ a stray bullet sen’ yuh straight to yuh Maker. Sometimes yuh en even got to lef yuh house, fuh a bottle or a bullet to come flyin’ t’rough de winder an’ finish yuh off. I hear crime gone down. Ha! Ha! Is dat right?
Evahbody en robbin’ yuh wid a gun, doh.
Dese hard times producin’ a new breed o’ tricksters an’ conmen, all intent ’pon tekkin’ ’way yuh hard-earn money, howevah duh could. Imagine, from all de way out in Bulgaria (I en even know wuh part o’ de map to fin’ it), some men could spot dis li’l islan’ an’ decide to come down an’ “try a t’ing” wid we ATM machines. Fathuh? Wuh nex’ we gine hear, neh?
As ef all o’ dis wasn’ enough, politics now got Bajans split down de middle, supportin’ Bees or Dees, an’ mekkin’ no secret ’bout it – yuh only’ got to lissen to de daily call-in programmes. Philomena tell muh she had enough, she cyhan tek it no mo’. Nowadays, she lookin’ fuh somet’ing better to do wid she time.
Now, far as I could remember, we always had two major political parties, but life was never as onsettlin’ as now. Yesteryear politicians all had duh diff’rent views ’pon various matters, but duh us-ed to solve dem widout all de bad feelin’s dat now stirrin’.
Only recently, a Cabinet minister had to tell de country how de police warn ’e dat ’e life might be in danger. Who would wanta kill he, doh?
Troof to tell, I wonderin’ ’bout dat, as I en see nor hear ’bout no bodyguards nor neffin-so sence, so he cyhan be tekkin’ it too serious. Anyhow, he get li’l ease. Bajans now so caught up arguin’ an’ quarrellin’ ’bout de “school sex scandal”, duh cyhan study he right now.
Chile, ef you evah get back, yuh gine ha’ to search long an’ hard to recognize we lovely li’l “islan’ in de sun”. Mark my words!
Tek care o’ yuhself.
Yuh frien’, Babsie.
