Without a doubt, my grandmother’s voice is a pillar in my life.
And her voice is often weaving memories together to reminisce on what her life was like growing up and how it compares to now - a classic category of elder banter. But her flavour brings a special originality to her narrations, a flavour that makes me want to belly flop from laughter, and at other times, squirm in disgust.
In this moment, she shares her experience of parental love and party fever.
Feel free to share this story with friends and family that could use a trip down memory lane, a good laugh, and maybe something to think about.
And remember, take these tales with a grain of salt.
Transcript
Childhood consequences:
[0:00] “Oh boy, wasn’t easy. Long time wasn’t like ulyuh now. Ulyuh have everything to use and still chirren now en know how to use nothin’. Chirren now en know how to do one thing. You en do something good, yuh geh a cuttail. Yuh knead flour to make bake and d bake en come out good … yuh geh some good lash in yuh skin. Knead over flour. It wasn’t so … it was good long time, but d parents of my small days, they wasn’t easy. Yuh cah make a mistake. Doh make no mistake in doing nothin’. If yuh wash clothes, and she fine d clothes en rinse properly, yuh hadda do over ALL.
[1:02] That was in my days. My mother wasn’t no - she was nice. But she wasn’t no dood in doin stuff. That is how I know now to do lot of things. Yuh understand? Boys and girls … everybody have to do everything - cook, make yuh bake, clean house - I tell yuh that woman wasn’t easy, but thank God for her. I could do lot - I could cook, I could bake, I could wash, I could iron, I could keep a house, put away a house. And long time it didn’t have no settah furnture like what I have. Yuh know some jokey chair - right now it jokey for me because I does remember it. And when yuh see she shine them thing and shine up the floor, yuh dare not walk on it. I don’t know what a floor did make to do!
[2:00] Yeah, yeah…like now yuh have teacup and saucer on d table and ware plate - it was enamel plate!! And yuh had to eat yuh food dey - when yuh done d plate have to be shinin. And doh talk for d pot. If that pot en scrub like it new - I tell yuh!! And it didn’t have no like Vim and Ajax and all ah that to clean wares. Yuh have to get d gravel in d yard with wire netting and scrub dem pot and bring it back silver - it wasn’t easy. It was nice, but it wasn’t easy. But I still say thank God she didn’t play with us cuz all now so we woulda been dummies - nasty people doin nonsense. But thank God. I still does say with all -
[3:00] Sometimes my brothers and I, we will sit down and talk about it and laugh. Who did get lixx and who did get - yuh coulda beat children long time. But now yuh cah hit dem, that is WHYYY they only know bout guns. Yuh understand? That is why the generation now is as they are now. Yuh couldn’t do them ting before. We didn’t know nothing about that. When yuh done do yuh work, yuh bathe yuh skin and yuh sit down with yuh book. Sometimes yuh have d book in front yuh n yuh en reading nothin eh noh but yuh have d book and as she coming, yuh have yuh head down in it. Yuh know ... Yuh understand. And everybody - I used to - when I go to school - I wasn’t THAT, but I was good in school. My mother didn’t have money to send me to college and high school and all ah dat.”
Getting big and working:
[4:02] “We go to school, but when d teachers missin in school, like dey en come, they used to send me to teach the children … to keep the class going for d day. I did like dat but I never like teaching cuz I en got patience with chirren in school. Cuz everybody bigger than me - I was the smallest in class, cuz I did done short already. Yuh know … I did like just as what I was doing - sewing. I always wanted to be a seamstress - sew man pants, which I used to sew for Daddy [her first husband]. Sew man pants, sew clothes … I was good in that. But the after I started to run business. Right now I don’t know if I could cut ah blouse.
[5:00] Because I forget about all - taste gone from dat. Cuz is night and day ah wokkin. I en have time to sew for nobody again. But, I fall een in where I makin money. Sometimes yuh sit down whole day sewing a dress, for what? $10 and all dem kinda ting, but still the money was big at that time. And when I fall in een in this business and I start to make money well I done sew. And dat is how I had it in my youthful days.”
Carnival fete and bumpy bambam:
[5:53] “Every lil fete - I goin in it. That time it was what they call it - record session. And yuh goin and yuh goin and yuh deyyyy - oh gawwwdd if yuh see d gyal on d floor! Well now I get old. I get tired. D body tired. I ah diabetic now. So I have to park up in meh corner. Stay put. Every yearrrr, Babarosa money sure because ah playin meh mas. Monday morning. I doh play Ju’vert , but we does play Monday mas. Yuh come home, yuh bathe o whaever, yuh bathe and yuh geh a lil rest. Tuesday morning yuh put on yuh whooole costume. O gawwwwd! Yuh take yuh two HAAAD drink ah Whiskey and d band start. O gaaaaawd!! Hm.
[7:00] Till night time. And yub coming home, yuh TIRED. Yuh head BAD! That was nice. But now?! I doh even come out carnival time to watch bands. I doh like goin and watch bands now. Because I does still remember meh days playin meh mas, so I doh bother. I doh even look at the television, I go and I see bout meh plants. Carnival day I outside and I make meh pot ah pelau … yuh know … and I outside with meh plant. I stop going out there. I want I don’t like is this string dem people wearing in dey bottom. I EN LIKE THAT. YUH TWO BIG BIG BLACK BAMBAM OUTSIDE goin down d road. Not me! Not me! I en going dat road at all. Some ah dem dey bottom have dimple, it have BUMP!!!
[8:00] And dem oman still have dey bumpy bambam outside. I, I, I cah … But you could tell them how to make yuh underwear piece. “I doh wa no string. I want a whole piece to cover meh body.” And that’s it. But them want d string. And dey backside dry, dry, dry, dry. HAAAAD. And they goin down d road. They en even using a pantyhose. Because it have a pantyhose, we used to call it um … is a quality pantyhose yuh used to wear, cover yuh body. Shimmering stockings. Well dem eh even wearing that. They wouldn’t even pass a lil coconut oil to look shimmerin’. HAHA!!
[9:00] So I stop going out on carnival day. I stay home and see bout my plants n dem. And that’s it.”
[End.]
If you enjoyed this story, I want to know just how much. What made you laugh? What made you tick? I’m curious to know all of it.
Looking forward to sharing more stories with you <3
Long-Time Parents, Carnival Fete, and Bumpy Bambam (no. 1)