And Still I Rise

I've been having dreams but not the lovely ones of vacations in exotic places or winning the lottery(which I never play). Instead I've been dreaming of fish and pigs. Silly me mentioned to some persons that I dreamt of fish and all now I cannot convince them that there are no formulas and diapers in my immediate future. It seems the Vincy dream book with its explanation for dreams of fish is stronger than my reality. Nevertheless, I will certainly have the last laugh.

Last night I dreamt of pigs,virus giving pigs. Pigs contaminated with flu and gleefully infecting us all. Everywhere I looked people were wearing masks as if Soufriere had erupted and we had to protect ourselves from sulphur and ash. I saw long lines at the hospital looking for vaccines that were either nonexistent or insufficient to meet the demands. Disappointed persons could be heard wondering aloud if corilla and other forms of bush medicine were strong enough to fight off this threat. Meantime, visions of Stephen King's The Stand were dancing in my head.

Then I woke up and first thing on the television was news that this flu thing cannot be contained. Now I'm wondering if my island has the capacity to handle it should it arrive on our shores.

Nine (9) men ranging from 28 to 64 in age were dragged before the Magisrates Court to answer charges of sexual intercourse with a 13 yr old child. It is rumoured that the child is pregnant which probably served as the catalyst for the men's arrest.

In a perfect world these men would feel the weight of the law. Phrases such as "dem little gyal too womanish" and she gie(give) di man dem" would be meaningless. Sadly, I fear that they will be given a slap on the wrist and worse the court of public opinion will heap scorn on the victim.

There used to be a time when sexual crimes, particularly incest used to incur the scorn of the neighbourhood. Mock hangings, designed to publicly shame the perpetrators were a common feature. Nowadays, the shift is noticeably placing the blame or most of it on the "womanish girl children". Very few seem to want to unequivocally condemn the men for their criminal behaviour or even examine the factors at play that cause this womanishness. It is easier to simply blame the victim and go about our merry little lives.

It must be really hard to be growing up in this age. More than ever children are being confronted by sexual images and with no proper guidance they become an easy target at a time when they are discovering their womanhood. I once had a young girl explain to me in detail why a much older man is her dream partner. As you may have guessed she saw him and others like him as a means of getting a cell phone, MP 3, Ipod or whatever is the latest craze. With parents unable to provide their young bodies become currrency. While I do not endorse this way of thinking I understand the materialism at play and recognise there is much educating to be done.

Unfortunately for these young ladies they do not make the rules. They do not even understand the game but it's by these very rules that will "die".

The great Teofilo Stevenson, son of a Vincentian father and a Cuban mother,along with the Cuban cricket team is now on our shores. It's the first visit by a Cuban cricket team and while here the 19-member Cuban team will engage local teams in a number of limited overs cricket matches.

According to a news excerpt on SVG TV, an official programme will be planned in Stevenson's honour. I really hope I would be able to attend that programmme seeing that I am such a huge fan of the great man. I think we should just make him our second national hero and forget about all the others. Just kidding folks, but I am offically excited and that's no joke.

It's funny how certain customs never or hardly change. Take for instance the Good Friday tradition of not eating meat, All Souls candle lighting and bussing(bursting)bamboo joints in honour of Guy Fawkes. When I was a child I always disliked Good Friday since I was never allowed to eat the things I wanted.

There were many Good Friday morning battles over my desire to eat sauasages and not cheese. Needless to say I always lost but consoled myself with the thought of being grown up and able to eat whatever I want,whenever I want. Life had the last laugh though because invariably on Good Friday mornings I eat cheese and crossbuns. Old habits die hard even the ones forced on you.

This year I didn't go to church but I am eating fish so two from three is not that bad...riiiight? As much as I would like an egg white to tell me my fortune I can't deal with the potential bad news so that too will wait.

Happy Easter y'all and please to stay away from the sea today. Remember,the sea allegedly claims a sacrifice on Good Friday and I can't have any of you becoming a martyr.

One thing I love about Easter is the increased presence of fish. Seems like everywhere I turn persons are literally begging me to buy fish of all types. While the small fry are going dirt cheap(3lbs for $10), the bigger boys like kingfish, dolphin and the like are still going at pre Easter rate.

Not so long ago Easter time used to be great for bargains on dolphin etc. Back then fish sold for about $3.50 and it was not uncommon to get 3lbs for $10 or lower.Since then fish price has shot up to as high as $10ECD pushing it out the reach of the average citizen. In effect fish became a luxury item moreso for those with families and chicken ruled supreme.

This upcoming weekend though it will be fish, fish and more fish. It will be interesting to see if the price spikes by Thursday given the increased demand. Despite the presence of abundant fresh fish there will still be a huge market for codfish and mackerel. This is the one weekend of the year when meat takes a backseat and I am not complaining. I think I better go in search of some fish recipes.

If I told you a mother rented her baby,would you believe or say it's just an April Fool's joke? Well truth is really stranger than fiction as that drama was recently brought to the nation's attention. One mother rented her baby to help another woman con her boyfriend into believing she had given birth. Yes folks,baby rental can be a sure way to beat the recession blues.

Strangely, the only charge I read was the use of a false instrument(a birth certificate). I would have thought there would have been some charge relating to child endangerment,abuse,neglect or anything applicable on the books. It's disgusting enough that women/parents accept money rather than allow the courts to prosecute child molesters but this is a new low.

It's high time mothers/parents desist from using their children as objects to be sold to the highest bidder.It's high time too that we have a Family Services with enough teeth to undertake the serious business of protecting our children.