Island Soul City Dreams

I reflect. I analyze. I speak my mind. ~ I Keep it Irie ~

Archive for the category “Roots & Culture”

14 Feb 2012

A Valentine Tribute – Whitney, I Will Always Love You

Whitney Houston

I have never been one to celebrate Valentine’s Day. And no, it’s not because I am jaded about love. My four long-term romantic relationships total about 16 years and were for the most, filled with unconditional love and beautiful lasting memories. Yet, I never get fussy about February 14. When anyone asks why, I’ve always tried to justify my lack of enthusiasm by saying, I’m so constantly showered with love, I don’t need a holiday to commemorate it. Corny, I know, but that’s how I feel. But I get why people are excited about celebrating their love on V-Day. And I don’t think these celebrations are or should be limited to romantic connections.

My fondest V-Day memory is actually from when I was 16 years old and still in secondary school. I was class prefect for some junior students, who on the one hand adored me for my jovial nature and on the other hand “feared” me for being a strict disciplinarian. I was also well-regarded for my punctuality; I’d arrive daily to school about 90 minutes early. On Valentine’s Day that year, I got there at my usual time and standing on the steps by the main entrance were about 12 little boys holding single-stemmed red roses. They were waiting for me. Each handed me a rose as I walked in and one of them, Neil – my colleague in the school’s choir, serenaded me. He knew it was one of my favorite songs and at the time, an anthem for many of us – “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston. That day, like so many others in my teenage and young adult years was made all the more special because Whitney was part of it. Today, like millions of fans around the world, I mourn her death. Anyone who knows me, knows that I loved Whitney and her music. So for once, I am celebrating Valentine’s Day; I’m celebrating my love for Whitney Houston. Read more…

Posted in Roots & Culture, Sugarcane Sentiments and tagged Celebrating Whitney Houston, I Keep it Irie, Maquita Peters, Valentine's Day, Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston The Star Spangled Banner

30 Jan 2012

The Anniversary of My 25th Birthday – The Sequel

Ever since I turned 25 (about a decade or so ago), I have been in denial about aging. For sure, I am grateful for life and every year as January turns, I get excited about not just new beginnings, or the uncertainties that lie ahead, but about the celebration of my birthday at month-end. My birthday is made all the more special because I share it with my younger sister, Sancia. No other birthday gift has been able to surpass that beautiful bundle of joy my mom brought into my life the day I turned four. That was a long time ago. Still, because I don’t feel a day over 25, I started calling my annual birthday celebration, “The Anniversary of My 25th Birthday.” This year, I added to that “The Sequel.” But having recently watched an episode of The Dr. OZ Show where he said that it doesn’t matter how old a woman feels, her eggs are still getting older, I got into a slight state of panic. Here I am 10 years (or so) after my 25th birthday and I am still unmarried, still childless and still having a hard time accepting that I’m getting old. Read more…

Posted in Roots & Culture and tagged Accra Beach Barbados, Approaching 40, Barbados, Caribbean, Celebrating My Birthday, Concerns About Aging, For I know The Plans, I Keep it Irie, Maquita Peters, Rockley Beach, Self Love | Leave a comment

07 Dec 2011

The NYPD Misbehaved at The West Indian Day Parade; So Did We. But Was Our Behavior Worth Their Horrific FB Rants?

I’m a proud West Indian. But if I were a member of the New York Police Department, just like many of the officers cited in the now controversial Facebook group, “No More West Indian Day Detail,” I wouldn’t want to work at the West Indian American Day Parade either.

For several years now, New York has been my home, but anyone who knows me has little, if any doubt about my loyalty to my West Indian heritage. I’m perennially waving the blue, yellow and black colours (with a “u”) of my beautiful homeland Barbados. And while I never let anyone forget it’s “Barbados uh come from,” I’m just as vocal in promoting the fact that I’m a bit of what we in the Caribbean call a “callaloo” – the offspring of a Vincentian mother and a Trinidadian father. With that and having lived on three islands in our region, I relish the title “Caribbean woman.”

Yes, I was bred and born in the Caribbean. It’s there I learned about and practiced using the Oxford comma. It’s there I climbed every imaginable tropical fruit tree from mango to coconut. There I had my first kiss and my first heartbreak. It’s in the Caribbean I ran through deep gullies, played cricket on country roads, football (soccer) on lofty green pastures, soaked for countless carefree hours in crystal clear sea waters and basked under golden sunlight on white sand beaches.

My favourite food to cook and eat is Caribbean cuisine. My favourite genres of music are Caribbean: reggae; soca; calypso. And equally musical are my favourite accents – Caribbean. Even my favourite type of man is Caribbean. Everything synonymous with the culture of that chain of islands to the south and west of the North Atlantic Ocean is deeply imbedded in me. I love the Caribbean: our lands, our traditions, our people.

Me at the West Indian American Day Parade 2011

With this type of unconditional love, one can understand that I would always be ready to defend my people no matter where I roam. It’s hard when living in New York, not to adapt to the way of life here, but I’ve tried as much as possible to keep a firm grasp on my Caribbean roots. One key aspect of that is the annual West Indian Carnival – a fixture on my calendar. Read more…

Posted in Roots & Culture and tagged I Keep it Irie, Maquita Peters, NYPD Facebook Rant, NYPD FB Rantings, NYPD Rants West Indian Day Parade, NYPD West Indian Day Parade, West Indian Day Parade 2011, West Indian Day Parade Labor Day 2011 | Leave a comment

29 Nov 2011

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Stop Asking Me Foolish Ish Bout My Dreadlocks

Month six of my dreadlocks fall 2003.

I’ve been growing my dreadlocks for the past eight years. I say dreadlocks, because to me they’re more than a hairstyle or some fad being embraced by a particular new wave of black women who are sporting natural tresses as the “in-thing.” My dreadlocks are somehow entwined with my spirituality, my attitude, much of who I am. I’ve heard many women say they started locks because they were having problems with relaxed hair. That wasn’t the case for me. In the 12 years I wore my hair relaxed, I never had any issues. In fact, I’ve always had a healthy head of hair whether worn long or short.

I’d dreamt about having dreadlocks years before I would even begin the process. Read more…

Posted in Roots & Culture and tagged Barbados, Brooklyn, dreadlocks, I Keep it Irie, Maquita Peters, myths about dreadlocks, natural black hair, natural hairstyles, stupid questions about dreadlocks

27 Oct 2011

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As Bajan As Yuh Could Get: Remembering David Thompson and Coucou & Flying Fish

David Thompson, late Prime Minister of Barbados.

Oct. 23, 2011 marked a year since my beautiful homeland Barbados lost our beloved Prime Minister David Thompson. I still find it hard to believe that he’s dead. I grew up watching Thompson, then a young politician and attorney-at-law and I fell in love with his oratorical skills, candour, humility and just plain brilliance. In time, at the age of 46, he became our sixth and youngest prime minister under a Democratic Labour Party government. Alas, Thompson never got to complete his task, as his death to pancreatic cancer came mid way through his five-year term. Read more…

Posted in Roots & Culture, Sugarcane Sentiments and tagged Barbados, Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, Coucou and Flying Fish, David Thompson, I Keep it Irie, Maquita Peters