Old to the New

What goes around comes back again.

I remember well enuff! My mudda used to tell me nuff stories bout old time Buhbaydos when I was lil boy. Stories from she school days and from mi granny school days, must be why I like story summuch now looka that, and even though I gettin on in years I duz still remember a ting or two.

Things she tell me as a wide eyed impressionable yout like the foolish drills the school children in the country used to have to do in war time laying down stiff like a jukkin board pun the pasture when nuff planes flying over the island on their way to God knows where.

Stories bout Pinpunshe, wunnah know dat wun? and how the woman put she sick husband in the oven cause the doctor say to mek sure he stay warm. Stories bout how them young fellas swim out to the SS.Cornwallis and liberate cans a corn beef and such that was on the ship when that German U Boat lik it wid one Torpedo to the blasted bottom a Carlisle Bay back in the World war 2!

Yes Iyah, a ol veteran business dat!

How the school children din have shoes and chiggers was in people foot and something in the cuss cuss grass in the bed giving people lice or something so. I cant remember too good now boy and we din deal wid no book was strictly griot businesswunnah understand? Word a mout pass on! Selah! All dem stories so an nuff nuff more that I aint got time to mention, dem good ol stories.

And ya know wha mi mudda tell mi bout too? Wunnah might not believe me but still look she say once upon a time when ya go to the shop ya din used to get no plastic bag and paper bag with big supermarket name mark on in bright letters for the groceries. No Sar! You used to have to tek ya own bag to the people grocery. Actually wasnt no grocery in them days was just lil shops in the village and in the town wid big barrels a briny salt meat and sacks a flour and rice and other staples. But yes you used to have to tek ya own bags. Serious ting mi nuh lie!

So see the women wid their crocus shopping bag, and each woman know which bag is hers too incase um get lost or stolen (which is anudda story that i aint got time fa hay right now too) and it divide up in sections so one section for the flour and the other one for corn meal and a third wun fa the rice grains. Ya have a special tin for the salt meat or the butter and the lard too. No ya din buying no breadfruit and ground provisions at the shop though, that was still coming outta people land and sharing cause people was living good in love and community, sharing eddoe and sweet potato and n**** yam and them sorta things so. Everybody got them own lil kitchen garden too. Yes that is how it used to do. A shilling in flour and half tot a butter and 1/2 pence a corn meal to mek bakes or pap.

And everything compartmentalize and wrap up in one. No plastic to undo and throw way, no seperate bag for the rice and the flour and no double bagging unless ya had a extra old flour bag or crocus bag handy. Ya see where this gine right?

Well boy them tings come back in today cause in Toronto the powers that be ban off all free plastic bags . If you want plastic bags you got to pay an extra 5 cents if ya please from yesterday. Lawd a merci!

And mi say. Well look how everything that is old come back new. Back then wasnt no environment business people tryin to protect. Uh uh, is juss them aint had no better. Then wrap things wid what them had and tek them home an put them in their own containers when they ready.

But then we get industrialized and rubber flood the place. Plastic cheaper than dirt and people double, and even triple bagging groceries instead a walking wid their own shopping bag.

Now all we saying is the dump cant tek it nuh more. Bio-degradable-ness cant work wid dem bag and we children children gine still be dealing wid dem in decades and ting to come. Plastic becomes anthema. Fadda God come fa ya world nuh!

So see how the cycle duz work? One day we pompasseting wid plastic, then next we cussing plastic cruel like is sin and corruption bredren dat.

And that aint the only old thing come back either dat is why I never throw way dem stone wash pants friom the 80s cause any day now them gine be fashionable again.