…Christmas
From our perspective on Earth, the alignment, earlier this week, of the two largest planets in our Solar System – Saturn and Jupiter – making them appear to be one massive “star” – was taken as a good omen by some. They think it’s this “conjunction” – which happens every five hundred years or so – that might be the “Star in the East” that led the three wise men to the newborn Child of Mary and Joseph. And, of course, it’s the birthday of that Child on the eponymously named “Christmas” that we’re commemorating today.
Your Eyewitness was going to say “celebrating today”, but hit the backspace button to substitute that term with “commemorating today”, since he isn’t so sure whether this COVID-19 pandemic would curtail the typical Guyanese celebrations, which of course are mostly about eating and drinking and a desire to “be merry” by one and all. Because of our British colonial history, Christmas is celebrated by the members of all the different religions – and even with greater “wokeness” in the present generation, that tradition still holds.
Of course, we’ve put our special interpretations on some of the British traditions – with, for instance, the garlic pork of our Portuguese citizens joining the black cake derived from the English dessert plum pudding” in being washed down with copious quantities of our good, old Caribbean rum!! Two slices of an authentic Guyanese black cake and you don’t need to imbibe anything from the bottle to feel tipsy!
Your Eyewitness had reason to be in Georgetown earlier this week, and if the traffic in and out of the city is any indication of the intensity of the shopping, he predicts not much will be different today than before COVID! Now, your Eyewitness doesn’t want to be a party pooper, but he hopes we’ll be prudent and observe all the protocols we’ve been bombarded with since March. So how exactly can we do this? Well, we can have friends and relatives over who can assure us they have no COVID symptoms and they’re coming directly from their homes. And then he’ll have them wash their hands at his door, just to make sure they don’t bring in anything other than their gifts! And wear masks that they’ll pull down discretely for every mouthful of the goodies from his well laden table.
Now, you see how awkward this can be – if not downright unrealistic? So, actually, he isn’t having ANYONE over, but his kids – who live with him, in any case, and have their protocols down pat. He’ll send around slices of the black cake the missus is traditionally famous for in his circle – and make some calls via WhatsApp to his close friends and family members.
What he’s NOT going to do is give a free pass to that sneaky virus!
…that NCM
Naughty! Naughty! Naughty! That’s all your Eyewitness can say to Charrandas Persaud for his surprise appearance in Parliament – albeit at the ACCC – on the second anniversary of his famous “Yes…yes…yes” of Dec 21, 2018. If the “shot heard around the world” was the one in Lexington that launched the American Revolution, then those three monosyllabic responses to the Clerk, who was asking how he voted on the NCM, was the stake driven into the hearts of the PNC, which eventually ousted them from the Government.
And they have never – and will never – ever forgive him for it!! After a momentary acknowledgement by Nagamootoo, Volda Lawrence and Granger that Charrandas’s vote was in the highest traditions of democracy, up came the red banner headline in the Chronic: “JUDAS!” That was after that criminal lawyer offered them the “33 not greater than 32” Cool Aid!
But Persaud should’ve known his mere appearance was like throwing red meat to sharks.
Even though he might’ve just wanted to wish his old comrades a “Merry Christmas!”
…banking
Your Eyewitness is pleased at the opening of a new bank branch at Mahaica. Those farming folks are the salt of the earth, but they have been forced to become targets of banditry when they’re forced to use the Georgetown banks.
