Roving with Lalah - Independence Day 'parading'
Published:Tuesday | August 10, 2010 | 12:00 AM
IT WAS close to 1 p.m. on Independence Day and, Dimple, an affable shop owner from King Street in Spanish Town, was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Parade on Hope Road, St Andrew.
The Independence Day Parade, after all, was the event to be at that day and, like hundreds of others, Dimple, an eye-catching woman whose protruding bosom was attracting more attention than the approaching marching bands, was out early, ready to enjoy the day's festivities.
"Mi reach around 11 o'clock, still," she said, her voice surprisingly husky.
I had met her only moments before, the two of us seeking shelter in the shade of a covered bus stop near a supermarket.
"Di day hot, though, and all kind ah crosses just ah hitch up under mi arm like roll-on," she said, flashing a dirty look to two men who were standing close behind her.
The two men, one wearing dark sunglasses, the other with a gold front tooth, were standing in silence. Their eyes, however, were exploring all the curves and corners of the woman's anatomy.
"Den, hi! Wah mek unnu just ah look pan mi so? Unnu ah mussi customs officer!" she yelled, turning to face them.
"Just cool, baby. Cho! We just a look pon how yuh sexy an ting, is not nuh disrespect, baby," said the man with the gold tooth. The fellow in the dark sunglasses only grinned.
The sound of drums and trumpets got louder as the parade got closer. This seemed to snap Dimple out of her anger and she quickly whirled back around to witness the spectacle.
"Raaay!" she shouted, waving her hands in the air. She apparently spotted someone she knew in one of the bands. "Raay, Shauna! Sexy body Shauna, raay!" she yelled.
Dimple had all but dismissed me, so I walked further down the road where a woman was holding a young girl in her arms, pointing to the mascots standing not far away.
Daddy?
The little girl pointed at me and was trying to say something. I smiled, thinking to myself how cute she was. I couldn't hear what she was saying, though, so I got a little closer.
I leaned in close.
"Daddy!" she shouted, still pointing at me.
It was a bone-chilling moment.
Luckily, the awkward silence that followed lasted only a few seconds.
"No honey, Daddy is at home," said the woman holding her. She smiled. I walked away, quickly.
The parade was now close to the iconic Half-Way Tree clock and the crowd awaiting its arrival there was larger and more animated than at any other spot on the route.
Irate bag-juice vendor
A woman wearing a bikini top and jeans shorts was gyrating her way into the parade, only to be ushered aside by one of the marshals. A policeman was having noticeable difficulty keeping a section of the crowd out of the roadway and a bag-juice vendor was yelling obscenities after being told to leave the area by a police sergeant.
"Afta ah nuh phone mi ah grab! Mi ah sell mi juice and min' mi owna business. If man like me never deh yah, nuff people woulda drop down long time," he shouted, pushing his juice cart up the road.
A woman tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hello! Yuh blocking me. Yuh caan stand up dere," she said, looking annoyed. I apologised and stepped aside. It wasn't long before I was tapped on the shoulder again. This time, it was by an even more displeased middle-aged woman.
"Hello please, yuh caan stand up deh so, wah wrong wid yuh, man? Yuh believe is you wi come yah fi look pan?" she said, regarding me with contempt over her spectacles.
By then, the parade was well on its way down Half-Way Tree Road and I figured it was a good time to leave. When I turned around, I noticed the indignant bag-juice vendor making his way back into the crowd, still muttering to himself.
"Is just likkle juice mi selling. If is never man like me, nuff people woulda drop down long time," he said.