No one has ever been able to convince me that I should even begin to contemplate pulling up stakes and fleeing from this land of my birth. When Sniper sang Portrait of Trinidad, followed many years later by Denyse Plummer doing Nah Leavin', Cro Cro's Still de Best and David Rudder's Trini to the Bone, I felt that they were in fact chronicling my life on a very personal basis.
So what brought on all this gushing and pangs of patriotism you might ask. Actually, it's a number of things.
On Tuesday I had to get to La Romaine much earlier than I even get out of bed on mornings and the drive down south was nothing short of awesome. The scenery, the plains of Caroni, the rolling hills beyond Couva into Pointe-a-Pierre at that hour of the morning was simply breathtaking.
There are so many positive things that keep me grounded in this place, in spite of all its ugly, repugnant elements which I need not elaborate on in this space.
I have this friend whose family probably owns half the land in Aripo and the times I've spent in this green, rustic district served like an elixir and balm to any stress I may have taken with me on my journey from the concrete, hustle and bustle of the city.
I have another friend whose home is built on the banks of the Lopinot River, another site that causes stress and woes to evaporate.
Just picture it-being in the middle of Lopinot River on a moonlight night, having dinner on three huge boulders strategically lodged by Mother Nature in the centre of the river's flow.
My T&T remains an unrivalled paradise, which is why I am befuddled by another friend who seizes any holiday or opportunity to "flee" to Miami or London, on what she fashionably prefers to call "a shopping trip."
I ask, what can one purchase in Miami or London that isn't available right here.
My US visa expired many moons ago and I have refused, much to my Orlando-based sister's chagrin, to renew it, more so in the wake of harsh and discriminatory so called security regulations instituted since 9/11.
T&T, by its flora and fauna, sites and topography, has every enticement and inducement
an explorer desires, naturally honed to whet
all appetites.
But there's more to T&T, such as its most important natural resource-it's people. Going to the sister isle and spending time with the villagers of Glamorgan, Parlatuvier, Bethel, Moriah or Charlotteville always proves to be a memorable and pleasing experience. It's the same when one visits any rural town or village in Trinidad. Country folk have retained so much of the old values and etiquette, not to mention hospitality, that perhaps our Tourism Ministry might consider offering them more work to nurture and develop domestic tourism.
Last but not least, is the feting and liming. Even I was taken unawares when I was invited to more than one mas band launch on a Monday evening last month. Nowhere in the world do people party as hard as we do. On this note, I must salute the composers and performers of our music, inclusive of calypso, soca, chutney and parang. The strains of Machel Montano's winning Jumbie are yet to dissipate and already new music has been launched on the airwaves.
I am a Trini to the bone and ah nah leavin' because we is still de best.
BLood notes
Ziggy Rankin' is greeted at Sweet Lime Restaurant by Parang Soca Queen Marcia Miranda last Friday evening.
Photo by Dilip Singh
A sweet Friday evening lime
KUDOS are in order for the management of Sweet Lime Restaurant on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, for spoiling local artistes as part of its Friday evening, after-work menu. Some of the artistes and personalities already hosted by manager Colin Marshall and host Ravi Persad are Destra, Iwer George (The Boss), Denise "Saucy Wow" Belfon, H2O Phlo, Surge, Cro Cro, West Indies cricket allrounder Dwayne Bravo, female boxing champion Jezelle Salandy, and last Friday Ziggy Rankin'. This evening's artistes in the spotlight are expected to be Kes and Nadia Batson.
Marshall explained that one of the benefits of this Friday event is a "Wall of Fame, onto which Sweet Lime will affix portraits of our star personalities."
Masquerade for 2008
Despite rumous to the contrry, Carnival 2007 medium Band of the Year Masquerade will be on the streets come C2K8 with a portrayal entitled Caribbean Splendour. Though reluctant to disclose too much, veteran bandleader Earl Patterson revealed that the band's camp remains at 19 de Verteuil Street, Woodbrook. A hybrid of Wayne Berkeley's epic productions of the '80s and '90s, Masquerade is consistently in winner's row in carnival.