Going to JA & Puerto Rico

Well its down to Kingston tomorrow for me and the fam. I was there last year, but this the first time I will actually be visiting WITH the wife in tow. Yikes!
Tried in vain to get a free car to drive and had to settle with a bandoolo rental. Don't know how I am going to spot the bredda at the airport though because we have never seen each other and him seh him nah whole up any sign. I will probably have to beg a call when I reach down and try to link up that way. I have my bredrin coming to meet me too just in case that falls thru. I hate being stranded at that airport! Worse with wife and pickney in tow.
Hope to get in some decent photography as this will be the first trip with the DSLR. I know I will get lots of shots with old friends as we are going to a neighbourhood reunion ting, but I want some of what I call "Real Jamaica" also. Come to think of it I have been so preoccupied with photographing people for money up here that I have hardly done any artistic shots. Just a few when I first got the camera in December. Took some in Puerto Rico and Antigua that turned out pretty decent though.

Speakin of PR, do you know that they are actually still debating what status they want for the near future?? Dem mad or what?? Dem nuh know how fi enjoy freeness?? They are still debating, statehood, independence, or the status quo (colony). If they went for statehood they would have to pay taxes and earn their own way. Right know they have less than 50 % of the earning capacity of the poorest state in the union, Mississippi, so that would be disasterous. they would also get to vote in preseidential elections, but that would really amount to just one electorial vote for the island out of over 200 in total.
Independence; they need to spend a month in Ja and then rethink that.
Status quo; okay so you can't vote and you have no real identity, BUT you have free room and board, excellent freeways and highways, a metro subway system, 1st class airport, all the consumer goods you could ever desire, etc, etc. (and even your own flag). In this 2006, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, it is not nice outa street on your own.

Gi We A Break Nuh!!

Its the night of July 4th, I am taking my one pickney, my 8 yr old daughter out to see some fireworks, that great U.S. independence tradition. We normally go and see the Stone Mountain Park display every year as the park is 2 minutes from my house and their fireworks (at least for the 4th) are really fantastic.
Now we don't actually drive into the park (its a couple thousand acres, huge), we go to a Target (department store) parking lot which is just next door to the park and pretty close to where they set off the fireworks, as there is usually a traffic jam to just get into the park on any holiday from early a morning. Now you have to understand this Target parking lot thing has become quite the tradition for most of us folk that live close to the park. Therefore the lot is packed to the gills with cars, people, loud music, lawn chairs, blankets, kids, dogs, etc.
Now naturally once the lot got full people start to park on the side of the road, not on the road (a busy 4 lane road) but all for wheels off the road and on the grass and sidewalk. Imagine as soon as the fireworks start de dyam cops dem come with dem power hungry self a threaten to tow all cars parked on the side of the road! Nobody is blocking traffic! My car and at least 30 others all parked OFF the road, not troubling nobody. Yes we were straddling the sidewalk, but that is no big deal, the sidewalk is just for style as nobody ever walks anywhere in Atlanta, worse the suburbs like Stone Mountain. Nobody ever uses that sidewalk or even missed it for one nano-second! Yet de dyam cop dem come with loudspeaker, interupting the good fireworks just to remind us that they are still in charge. Now don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the men in blue (they are saints compared to those in JA!), but a man fi know when to stop or when we have reached "too much" - cop or not.
I never did and had no intention of moving my car. Afta mi a nu idiat. No tow truck in sight, just two fool a drive up and down shouting on their loud speakers. Most of the crowd were immigrants just like myself trying to appreciate a little American culture. Who knows, maybe that would have even brought me one step closer to deciding to become a citizen had they not tried to spoil it for us. The sad thing is that it totally distracted my daughter who constantly asked me if I was absolutely sure that they weren't going to get my car. We have just a handful of things that we traditionally do alone together with no wifey around, and I kind of look forward to just me and her hanging out together to have a good father and daughter time. After all when I am old and in the rocking chair those are the times I will look back on and smile about.
Well I guess that is one less smile for me and one more reason why my daughter had better not ever date or marry a cop.

European Cup Now!

Yes I know European Cup is really a club ting, but we may as well call the World Cup that now. I know like me, half the world was well dissapointed when Brazil got kicked out. Don't even talk bout Argentina! Maybe Quarter finals should be a best of three ting so no foolishness decides the games. What uno think?
Well it look like France going win this ting now, dem must can handle Italy, and it would be good to see some black youts take centre stage for a change.
I tried to order the official FIFA T&T world cup shirt,.... dem run out!!