Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

[cdmsunshine]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

Great report SH. and i forgive for taking your time to give us such a revealing and touching journey so far, since I am a fan also of '24'.

Patiently waiting on the rest of your trip report.

[Sinco01]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

yuh haffi guh siddung Mommy SoulHunter sooon
[img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
mek har kno seh yuh is now an official 'soul hunter' fe Uncle Sam ... an ... tings can happen out deh
but yuh an yuh 'buddies' ah look out fe each odder ... but ah kno ah need yuh prayers more than ever now [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]ray:

[Bink - the Only]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

earth to Soul Hunter............... i have a request, nay, i have a DEMAND.

rename this thread "coming in from the cold .... a REMARKABLE trip report".

with no equivocation, i will say this is the very BEST trip report i ever read on any site!

much respect to Marilyn, Napi, Vi, Angie, et al .... but this one touches my heart, mind and soul in a fashion never felt before.

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

Thank you all so much for the kind words. It's going to take me weeks to properly thank you all for the kind words - but I intend to! Those of you who requested the link should have it now - if not, shoot me a pm.

I'm on a break from a training exercise that just won't end, but with any luck I should be able to get through day 3 - so here we go...

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

so woman, no cry, oh no no
say it one more time,
no woman, no cry -
oh my little sister,
you can dry your weeping eyes,
no woman, no cry…

Robert Nesta Marley - No Woman, No Cry

Day 3:

Death hangs in the air on this trip to Jamaica, as heavy as Atlas’ burden. My mother’s good friend Grace lost her youngest daughter to cancer (of the liver) 8 months ago. The pain she and her remaining daughter feel has yet to subside and it wears heavily on their faces and hearts. We chat with them briefly this morning, and we depart Grace’s store knowing all too well the pain that she feels. A sense of solemnity envelops our aura as we make our way home.

My mother, who lost her youngest sister in 2000, arrives in Jamaica 7 days ago to find another near death. She too has been battling cancer (bone marrow) since 2002, and we fear she has lost her will to fight. So desperate is her condition that my mom summons her eldest sister to Jamaica to bring my cancer-ridden aunt back to Florida for medical treatment. Aunt E.H. grabs the next flight out of Miami that evening, and Aunt T.P. is in a hospital the following day clinging to prayers and medicine.

Mom cared for her youngest sister for the last few months of her life before leaving her for an already planned trip to Israel. While she was away on that trip, her sister died and it weighed heavily on her. She has been the primary caretaker for Aunt T.P. since 2002.

When no one would insure aunt T.P., mom obtained a policy.
When she needed medical attention, Mom would fly her back and forth, from Florida to Johns Hopkins in Maryland. I last saw her in 2004, in Jamaica, and Aunt T.P. seemed well on the path to recovery. However her spirit to battle has faltered and on her most recent trip to Jamaica, she arrived on a one-way ticket without any of her medication.

My grandmother is taking it hard. She too is of the belief that no parent should ever out live a child. She’s lost two of her own so far – one shortly after his birth, and then Aunt E.P., her youngest, in 2002. She now stands on the brink of losing another and her pain is overwhelming.

With this heavy burden on our hearts and minds, we set out to my home parish, St. Catherine, and my home city, Spanish Town. I’m at the helm as we navigate our way due south, through Fern Gully, pass the birthplace of Bob, until eventually making two stops in Bog Walk.

The first is to obtain that Jamaican staple that guarantees the Atkins diet will never take root in Jamaica – Hard Dough bread. Mom loves the stuff and so does grandma, and somewhere here in Bog Walk, there is a famous bakery (believe it’s called Crystal) that purportedly makes the best Hard Dough bread on the island.

A little further down the road, we stop at some roadside stalls. Our fruit bowl requires replenishing and this spot has the goods.


almost depleted - but not for long!

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

Up until this point, I've had two meals: breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and bread (I gave mom a stern look on this one - wheh di ackee deh!?) and a piece of bun and cheese, my absolute favorite snack, around mid morning.

But after this stop in Bog Walk, what follows is sheer gluttony! We purchase jackfruit (my favorite fruit!), star apples, sweet sop, otaheite apples and plantains. With the exception of the plantains, we try everything!








I’m almost positive I’d marry the first woman mi meet wid a jackfruit tree inna her yaad!




Maggie no know wha she a nyam, all she know is it taste good. The power of jackfruit mi a tell you!

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

While mom prepares to launch into negotiation mode, I turn my camera towards the hills of St. Catherine and prepare to snap a few pics when I spot a young man on the side of the road. It gives me pause for self-reflection, as I wonder what my life would have been like had I remained in Jamaica.

It’s an exercise in futility, for I will never know the answer to that question, but I feel a deep sense of sadness for this young man’s lot in life – and yet a deep sense of pride in his determination. I take a lot of things for granted in my life. Hungry? I’ve gone months without cooking a meal, choosing instead to visit a restaurant. Too many miles on my car? I’m prepared to hit my dealership tomorrow and figure out what the next “whip” will be. Fancy piece of technology flashes across the tele? I occasionally check Jamaicans.com from a Treo smartphone that sells for 15 times the Jamaican minimum wage. To this young man, my life would appear to be one of privilege and excess, for surely I have no idea what it takes to stand on the side of a busy road, day after day, and attempt to sell crawfish to passers-by. I whisper that quiet “thank you” to Jah again.

There are more profitable, albeit illegal ways, to make money in Jamaica. Drug trafficking and its resultant violence flows through the island with the disastrous effect of a tsunami. This young man could easily opt for such a way of life – and yet here he is. Still in the struggle, still doing the right thing, still with his honor in tact. I am reminded of a few lines from Ehrmann’s Desiderata:

…and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

Despite the daily struggles of his life, I know his soul is at peace and I quietly salute him for his courage and determination:

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

I snap a few more pics and then we are off, continuing south across the Rio Cobre via Flat Bridge and into Spanish Town. As a child, Flat Bridge was a source of wonder and terror. Believed to be the strongest bridge in the West Indies, it has remained in place since the days of Columbus.

Many lives have been lost on this small bridge. I can remember harrowing experiences as a child, when idiotas would attempt to cross this bridge despite oncoming traffic already on the bridge. When I left Jamaica the traffic light that now controls the flow of traffic across the bridge did not exist. The picture below gives some idea of the lunacy one must possess to attempt crossing this bridge against the flow of oncoming traffic.






interesting place for a tele, no?




the Rio Cobre to our right, with Flat Bridge in the distance


Flat Bridge

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

We arrive in Spanish Town and the first order of business is to visit the cambio. Mom found this place through uncle E.W., and she swears the rate is the best. We’re really talking a difference of .30 cents from the numerous cambios in Ochi folks, but money is money, right?

For those interested, the cambio is located across the street from the shopping center in Spanish Town, just after you bypass the two exits that take you up to St. Johns Road. From there, we cross the street to pick up a few supplies, though not before meeting the local daredevils.

These three young men are standing outside when we arrive. They see me get out of the car with my obviously tourist camera and hail me up with a “wheh yu a sey sah?!” I say hello and ask them what they are up to, and the “boss man” responds, “bwoy we jus a mek it, you no see it?!” This kid doesn’t look a day over 10 years old folks…David gives them each a U.S. dollar, and we become instant friends.

We go inside and cash out some money and when I come out, these kids are in the middle of performing acrobat feats that would make Dominque Daws proud!


boss man…





I’m troubled by the “bad man” pose this kid has adopted, yet I remind myself that when I was his age I was running around my grandmother’s yard acting like a awtical bad man! I pray that this child can break fee of the cycle of violence that has gripped the country and prepare to head up to grandma’s house. But not before they demand I take a picture of their final performance.

A rather serious conversation ensues as to who should do what, and when. The topic even encompasses the issue of money placement…”No no, you shoulda put e inna you mout and den do di flip!” “No man, mi ago put it inna mi toe and hol’ on pon e as mi do di flip.”



Sensing that they are about to lose their audience, the three amigos spring into action. They execute a running flip that would make any mother cringe in utter fear. It’s so fast I can’t even bring the camera on target before the move is executed. The final move is similarly heart stopping.

All three take off on a dead run and execute a flip off a wall, without using their hands and land feet first on the ground. I’m thinking to myself as I snap the pic, "[w]hat a raas if one a dem bwoy ya buss 'im head!?”


lawd have mercy…

[Soul Hunter]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

pause day 3

It's 0200 folks, and i'm off to my night shoot. will try and get through days 3 and 4 tomorrow...

Thanks to all, again, for the kind words as you share what's starting to become a very intimate journey with me. Hopefully I haven't bored you all to death.

[hannahcommunications]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Soul Hunter:

These three young men are standing outside when we arrive. They see me get out of the car with my obviously tourist camera and hail me up with a “wheh yu a sey sah?!” I say hello and ask them what they are up to, and the “boss man” responds, “bwoy we jus a mek it, you no see it?!” This kid doesn’t look a day over 10 years old folks…David gives them each a U.S. dollar, and we become instant friends.



boss man…

SH - this really resonates with me...poverty is indiscriminate but choices that we make, circumstances handed to us, a kind adult, etc. can make a difference. That bad bwoy culture take root fast...we need more young men like you returning to say a kind word and lend some motivation/inspiration to these little guys and girls. Thank you SH for this report...it lights my spirit.

Oh yes, and I'd like that link too!

[yardy]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

(((((SH)))) darling nat because mi aan yuh deh, but dis a de bestess report mi eva read aan si

Always know that you are the best when it comes to other things but this blew me away fully

Love ya :love:

Yardy

ps keep it coming

[nattydreadgirl]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

((SoulHunter))

Really, you are leaving me speechless with this trip report. I can't began to tell you all the emotions I am feeling while travelling on this journey with you.

Simply Beautiful!

[ama]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

Thank you...thank you..bored..not a chance you have me both speechless and spellbound.

Your report is really beautiful.

[Laurel]

Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report

Oh Soulie - sending cyber hugs your way!! for the burden of loss you all had to carry on this reach home -

to the Hard Dough bread bakers!! Got to Love Them!! :verymad: it really is the best and I NEVER should have sampled it!!

Love Maggie - look at her enjoying her fruit!

to Moms for growing up a young man with such integrity!! You Shine!!