Good night KC Old Boys and Guests!
Thank you for your kind invitation. I am honoured to be here tonight to speak about a topic that is near and dear to my heart.
I am particularly grateful to Glen Laman for that wonderful introduction. He is, without a doubt, one of Jamaica’s’ finest who goes way beyond the call of duty to promote the interest of the KCOBs, Jamaica and the entire Diaspora.
The first time I saw him, I told my wife: “That guy over there looks as if he could be my brother” I had to go over and introduce myself. We have been friends ever since. But Glen is everybody’s friend. Ladies and Gentlemen, let's show our appreciation for your friend and mine, Mr. Glen Laman.
Yesterday, I read the following in the KCOB Newsletter about one of your famous alumni, Principal of the Norman Manley School of Law and Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Stephen Vasciannie: “But unlike most of us who studied abroad, Vasciannie eschewed the lure of financial security and comfort of America and returned to his native land.”
When he was asked why he choose to return to Jamaica?, he said: “I responded to the pull of my roots. Partly because it's home: I needed to find out whether it was true that you can never return home. But, perhaps more importantly, I had never seen myself as a migrant while I was away; I had always wanted to live in Jamaica and to make my contribution here. So I returned home when I believed the time was opportune.”
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My mother died recently because of complications resulting from diabetes. This motivated me to get the weight off that I gained over the recent years. I also have a closet full of size 10 clothes that I had wanted to fit into having gone up to size 14.
I see sand rocks the ocean the river
Jamaica ah waan mello place
Cone shaped mountains
Round mountains valleys gullies
Jamaica hab nuff up ah dung
Bauxite waste seeping to its red river
Markets the farmers meeting place
Jamaica mix up lacka mash callalloo
Shacks mansions faith houses
Ah suh Jamaica ress
The unruly the great the ill the happy
Jamaica hab good ah bad
The school where rote was my first love
Children holding hands
The spot where innocence was robbed
Whitewashed mounds of loved ones
Jamaica wi mek yuh siddung wid yuh han ah yuh jaw
Naked feet against trodden path
A crooked road touched by the swift visit of a mongoose
A meager dog walking aimlessly
A cat pulling the towel from covered food
A lizard romancing the walls of my house
Ah suh Jamaica luv tek risk
A rat dashing through a cane field
A rooster chasing a hen
A pig rolling in mud
A fowl scratching the earth
Jamaica full ah nuff fun
People conversing
A cockroach approaching
Trus mi Jamaica show up when yuh least expect it
The sun in recess
The moon spreads its face
Stars huddle against the dark sky
Jamaica ah waan romantic island
Handcarts the bobsled fancy
Robots the transportation champions
Dreadlocks-do the crowning glory
Coffee the Blue Mountain queen
Escovitch fish
Drums filled with billowing smoke
The home of Jerk cuisine
The legacies again and again
Yes! Jamaica name gaan ah brawd
I hear the tantalizing reggae beat
The electric slide song the anthem of the dance
Bway! Jamaica lickle but it tallawah
The deafening bray of a donkey
The snickering neigh of a horse
Jamaica tek gossip causen seh if it nuh goh suh it near goh suh
I see the go-go dance of the lightning
I hear the applause from the thunder
I feel the wind whistle against my ear
The rain hitting me again and again
Jamaica will tek any beaten
I smell a careless fume of forbidden grass
I feel the hot and cold spring waking my lazy bones
The healing from the land
Jamaica wi put back life enah yuh
I hear serve me one round of Appleton
Red stripe… whites… dragon… aerated water
One cup of fish tea manish water
Cow cod soup
Mh! Jamaica food ah bevrige wi mek yuh dip ah fall back
I taste one serve-mi-lang
I hear one sky juice
I taste one toto
I hear no problem man
I taste one suck-suck
I hear irie
I taste one busta
I hear mine yu jawbone
I see side walk transformed into bend-down plaza
I hear cool runnings
I see hottie hottie
I hear cuh de
Man! Jamaica unique noh paradise plum
I taste the ackee fruit decorated with saltfish
I smell the lignum vitae flower
I touch a mahoe tree
I see a doctor bird
I see a flag of black, green and gold
I hear out of many one people
I hear Eternal Father Bless our Land
Tenk Gad fi mi Jamaica
Tah-tah! Do not destroy. Speak the truth. Live and love.