Roving with Lalah

[Magician]

So when mi go a Yard couple of weeks ago mi go a di bookstore and mi vex bad! Caw all now mi already own alla di books dem a sell. And what mi already don't have, mi don't want. <kissteet>

But mi set out fi get one new book and mi glad seh it deh pon front shelf a display.

Roving with Lalah. By Robert Lalah.

It's a compilation of the weekly articles in the Gleaner where he goes inna di country fi explore.

Will come with a full report when mi done read it.
So far it mek mi wid some a di story im a tell.

[Bizzy]

Re: Roving with Lalah

hurry up an mail it to mi

[MCHELLEY]

Re: Roving with Lalah

Check out the Other Side of Paradise. It's featured on the review section on this website. You can check out www.Scribessmithpublishing.com for more books like these.

[seemiyah]

Re: Roving with Lalah

I got it for Christmas... I read his articles in the Gleaner so it was a nice gift.

[Magician]

Re: Roving with Lalah

Ya man. Mi like his writing style. And it funny sometimes too.

Mi a ration it so that it nuh done too quick. But mi tink seh tomorrow mi ago finish.

[seemiyah]

Re: Roving with Lalah

Its a quick quick read. some times him writing style annoy me cause him act like him come from a foriegn country and don't know nothing atall, granted as a "town" person I have never visited any of the country places him talk about but sometimes him act well clueless. Apart from that the pieces practically write themselves as its an actual telling of whatever the people say to him and that's what makes it good.

[Magician]

Re: Roving with Lalah

I know what you mean. With him "taken aback" and "startled" and dem ting dem him come in like one fraidy fraidy smaddy that is unbecoming of a big man like him should be.

But at the same time some of the stories are just priceless you know. Especially the direct quotes from some of the country people. Without spoiling it for those who are still to read this book, here's a few to wet your appetite.


From <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">The Scott Town Monster</span>

[One elderly lady commenting on the monster]:
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-style: italic">&quot;People say dem afraid since the beast deh 'bout. But I not afraid. I not locking up myself inside the house. I must go church and no devil will stop me from go church. Mi nuh fear no foe. Him haffi go nyam mi!&quot;</span> </span>

From <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Wentico Duppy</span>

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-style: italic">&quot;The duppy go inna di woman an do all kinda sinting wid har. Only she him tek set pan and do her all manner of evil. [...] Him fold her up and put her in a drawer, put her up in tree top and do all kinda sintin wid her.&quot;</span></span>

Of course the is the mendatory minibus ride experience, a ride inna one robot taxi, a visit to Mocho <span style="text-decoration: line-through">bush</span>, Clarendon. And nuff duppy encounters. Also a story from New York and London.

[Magician]

Re: Roving with Lalah

[seemiyah]

Re: Roving with Lalah

<span style="font-size: 11pt">Today's Roving with Lalah article</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">Sickening visit to the doctor</span>
Published: Thursday | January 8, 2009
Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features

NOW MOST of us will agree that whenever you cram a bunch of distressed people into one tiny room, it's bound to cause trouble. Tell them to wait, and you're just asking for disaster.

In a small, musty waiting room at a doctor's office in Kingston recently, this theory proved itself true.

I had arrived at the office around 10 a.m. and anxiously peered inside to see how many people were already waiting. There were around 15 people in the room that looked like it was made to accommodate five. They were all sitting on white, plastic chairs and were engaged in various activities to help pass the time. Some were flipping through tattered magazines, others were fiddling around with their cellphones. A dusty ceiling fan was spinning lazily overhead and the one light bulb that illuminated the room kept flickering on and off.

I stepped into the room.

&quot;Good morning!&quot; I bellowed.

&quot;Urgh&quot; was the response from a handful of persons. The rest just sat there. I managed to brush this off and walked over to the nurse, a dark-skinned, chubby woman dressed in white, sitting behind a table. She looked like she had been up all night and kept rubbing her eyes. After giving her my name, I got up and looked around for a vacant seat.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

Much to my distress, the only available seating was next to a skinny man with ashy elbows and large, dark spots on his legs. I knew this because he was wearing short pants and slippers. I nodded hello and sat beside him. He grinned and waved.

Now, as luck would have it, he was quite a jittery fellow and kept moving his legs back and forth. Everytime he would move, his legs would rub against mine. I don't need to tell you that this was not my idea of a good time. Everytime this happened, I would move further to my left, away from him. Within a few minutes, I was leaning so much to my left that I felt like I was about to fall off the chair. I was only moments away from unleashing a profanity-infused denunciation of the man and his spotty legs, when to my surprise, he turned to me and said: &quot;So how yuh doing?&quot;

His demeanor eased my temper and I told him that I was doing well. Trying to be polite, I asked him how he was doing. &quot;Well, not too bad, is just di same problem come back again. It hard to handle some time,&quot; he said.

I looked down at the man's spotty legs and nodded. &quot;Yes, that's how it is sometimes, but it should get better with treatment,&quot; I said.

The man looked puzzled.

&quot;Yes, di cough dat mi have is hard fi handle. But as yuh say, it should get better with treatment,&quot; he said, looking me over.

Red in the face, I just smiled and nodded.

I started looking around the room at the other people waiting to see the doctor. There was an older man sitting in front of me, wearing a top hat and jacket. He kept rubbing the back of his head. I wondered what he had.

Read the rest here:

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090108/news/news1.html