Dear Nesta
GREETIN’S AN’ SOLUTIONS fuh de New Year! Don’ worry to t’ink I mek a mistake wid dah word; I mean jes’ wuh I write – “solutions”, ’cause when I look ’roun’ an’ see all de prophets o’ doom an’ gloom mekkin’ duh predicktions fuh 2012, as far as I concern, we gine ha’ to come up wid all manner o’ solutions ef we want to stay afloat.
Now, I don’ mek New Year resolutions. Mos’ people mek dem when de “spirits” movin’ in duh head Ole Year’s Night, an’ couple monfs later, all good intentions gone to de win’. So, to me, it is only a was’e o’ time. I jes’ inten’ to carry over to 2012 de same way o’ life I been leadin’ in 2011. I gine ’long mindin’ muh bizness, praisin’ muh God an’ tekkin’ one day at a time.
I been tryin’ to get Philomena to follow my advice, but she en lissenin’ to me. She say it is now 2012 an’ time fuh CLICO policyholders to get positive news ’bout duh hard-earn money. She recently read dat some Trinidad policyholders inten’ to go after de hundruds o’ millions o’ dollars in assets belongin’ to de people directly responsible fuh dis fiasco, an’ sence even mo’ news come out from Trinidad dat “state an’ guvment officials knew long ago that CLICO was not only routinely breaking the rules but was operating well outside the law”, yuh cyahn hol’ she. Ef dah is really true, Philomena got mo’ dan enuff reason to get upset. I been still tryin’ to calm de waters but she answer is dat while de grass growin’, de horse starvin’. I suppose she right.
Well, dis year should be a int’restin’ one fuh some people. Over in Amurica, my boy Obama got re-elections comin’ up in de latter half o’ de year. I read dat ’e campaign was ’pon track in raisin’ a record $200 million in 2011 an’ lookin’ forward to de total target figure dis year o’ $750 million. Wuhloss, dah is money, awright. All durin’ las’ year, dem Republicans put de man t’rough de grinder an’ now wid elections dis year, duh lookin’ to share out mo’ licks at evry turn, but I sure dah en gine stop he from gettin’ back in. I tell Philomena I t’ink ’e gine get a second term, ’cause I cyahn see no Republican beatin’ ’e, wevver it is Ginrich, Romney or whoevuh.
Elections been in de air fuh dis part o’ de worl’ as well. Firs’, de Sin Lucians went to de Polls an’ sen’ de Guvment packin’, Guyana was nex’, but change don’ happen dey, an’ las’ week, in Jamaica, Portia Simpson an’ she Opposition Party catspraddle de rulin’ party.
Yuh mussee know dat we, too, lookin’ out fuh elections any time dis year, or early nex’ year, but de onlies’ body dat really know de date is de Prime Minister an’ he keepin’ it close to ’e ches’. Chile, sence news o’ dah famous, or mebbee I should say, “infamous”, letter reach de public, upwards to now, de PM en onpick ’e teef. I en got to tell yuh how ’e gettin’ flood out wid advice from evry “political pundit” ’bout wuh an’ wuh ’e should or shun do. But ’e jes’ gine ’long, cool an’ calm…… fuh now, while de “Eleven” waitin’ to see ef, when an’ how de axe gine fall.
I hope we en de nex’ country to hol’ elections. Dah would mek we number t’ree (cyahn counk’ Guyana) an’ I always hear t’ings happen in t’rees. Opposition Parties seem to be ’pon a roll, so de PM better hol’ strain an’ leh anethuh country tek de No. 3 spot. I en superstitious, but yuh never know!
Tek care o’ yuhself
Yuh frien’ Babsie
