I wonder how many of us remember these days of old…It’s a Sunday afternoon, just past lunchtime, the household has been fed and the dishes are washed. It’s now time to head down to the pasture, cause yes ‘d boys and dem playing’. Whether it was a game of cricket, football or track and field, there was always guaranteed to be something happening down by the pasture. I remember my neighbor passing by…”Trishooooyeee, gul u doh ready yet? Make haste dey nah…ah waiting for you. Ah hear Boca team coming up this evening so ah doh want to be late”….and then “but bonjay gal how you could turn so? Wah you putting on so….coupra?” and then fretting under she breath… “Stupse… and watch how I go vex if this blasted gul make me miss the damn opening eh.”

Finally we are on our way…the pasture is not far off and as we approach you could see the crowd gathering and hear the greetings and snippets of conversation flowing in the air; “Ms. Doodsie, you ent frying chicken today?” “No my dear…so is you alone dat want to watch the game den?”, ‘Teacher Erica good afternoon, how you? Long time no see…how is Mr Raymond these days? And what about you mudda…how she wid dis foot of hers? I tell you when you getting ole is ah sin we…all kinda aches and pains…’. ‘But look wah dis gul wearing nah…fuss she does fret me! AH simple cricket match and she dress to the nines…it good for she too fall…ah ent know wey she going wid dis ‘koksey kokes’ in this mud, ah mean ah ent wishing bad for she but if she fall…ah go well laugh we…monkey muss know wah tree to climb.’

Nevermind the melee, bachanal, ole talk…what I remember most is the sense of community, togetherness, that sense of being part of a bigger whole. A whole that cared about your mother, your dying grandmother, your new born baby all the important moments in your life. Nothing can replace that and the values and grounding that are derived in such a space is not to be undervalued.