D-WORDSLAYER

Speedy & Zai My good friend and her niece took me to the beach earlier this year, to cheer me up. Giving me the sun, sea and sand is a great gift which is alwa ys appreciated. Zai has a turtle she got from a pet shop about a year ago, and named him Speedy because he moves very fast for a turtle. She is only seven years old but very wise. I recall her obsession with showing Speedy the beach but keeping him in his pretty cage to keep him safe from this natural habitat. 'The ocean will sweep him away and he will get hurt", was her reasoning in not letting him out. He stayed in his 'gilded castle'but was quite excited by everything happening  around him. She wants to set him free, when she thinks he can make it on his own. She loves him and does not wish for the world to hurt him. Therein lies thoughts of survival of those loved and cared for. Life misses  - Sometimes we keep ourselves and those we love in our own gilded cage for safety. We can provide all w...

It is Old Year's day . The day before the new year begins and back then there was the anticlimactic feeling, that tomorrow would bring a new day. For many years my dreams for the new year would be that my life would be different somehow. It seems that child I was - wanted and embraced change because of the unknown.. Old year's day had so much activity and waiting. I looked forward to hearing the fireworks, screams of "Happy New Year" and sometimes watched the television with my eldest sister - waiting on midnight. At the stroke of midnight we would hug and share greeting with anyone who was awake. Then the New Year began with a sweet sleep! It was the 'bussing (bursting) of bamboo' which brought the new year in for a long time - it was and still is a 'Trini thing'! When I was fully aware of fireworks and their colors we would look out of our window, my sisters and I and make wishes on the lights as they streamed into the sky's oblivion...

Ending any year can be a reflective process. It is drawing near, the time to share a message to close off one year and start another. This makes me think about an eclipse. As the blocking, shadowing or covering of something which will be revealed again- is like a rebirth. Can this be the way we end one year and enter into the new unknown? Getting past the last twelve month period is something  longed for and dreaded at the same time. I knew where I was and the changes. People and events changed, but the future is shrouded in a veil of darkness or maybe it’s overflowing with light. It slowly comes from its shadowed past to reveal a difference if we let the light in. The eclipse It did hoover and gently move to the side To show its beauty, it timed the reveal The darkness on show was of a great appeal The riches it gathered, was never its glory Under the cover of time, the glow became dim The shadows engraved the earth with its weight But the woods could not h...

After Boxing Day things did not slow down. There was always a lot of discussions about what the adults would wear on Old Year's night to church or a party. While we were never directly a part of the Old Year's night / New Year's day gala, it was a time us kids were happy with the excitement and frenzy of shopping and getting ready! I loved the times my mom spent shopping for the right dress or fabric to make something beautiful for that one night. Mom loved Elizabeth Taylor and GiGi ( Zsa Zsa ) Gabor two very stylish actresses and her style was from their template! The parties to celebrate the end of the old year were glitzy and shiny, and she seemed to look forward to the event in anticipation annually. Maybe she was hoping Santa would send her a real prince to replace the last one ( resisting the urge to call him a toad)! My mother could sew like a fashion designer, and maybe part of my creative nature comes from seeing her make her 'Cinderella' dresses to...

My mother did not believe in hording. Throughout the year she would sew and make most of our new clothes on weekends - the others were from the 'jumble sales'(previously used clothes) she visited. Christmas though was a time to clear out the closets and the 'hand-me-down' saga began! As the second child new was a novelty experienced mainly during the Christmas season. we were encouraged help fold and pack the clothes after washing to take to the nearest orphanage.When my mom was sick we were sent there for a few months, which included a Christmas.I must have been around six at the time. I can remember all the little beds in the dormitory for girls separated by a mini cabinet.I thought it was fun to stay there with the nuns while my mom recovered from her illness. She was a teacher at a Catholic School and they took care of their own!We lived with rules, shared clothes and sometimes sadness. That Christmas my dad came from wherever he was and visited. To my little...

Its a 'Trini thing' with a Trini meaning - Lime! Growing up we learnt the value of togetherness through celebrations. A lime is simply the coming together of persons to share a few drinks and 'shoot some breeze' (talk)! At Christmas time its a bigger occasion, which tends to turn an 'informal hangout' aka 'lime' into party with family and friends, neighbors and children. There is music, talk, even card games and dancing. Everything is done in the home,in the backyard, or in front on the porch or stairways! As kids we were always given a piece of cake, sweetbread, ham & turkey slices and if lucky a 'pastelle'! The 'pastelle' is a cornmeal patty cooked in banana leaves. Its a tradition to stuff this corn-cake with a meat filling and wrap in the banana leaf and boiled. Its then frozen for use throughout the season. Its served warm with a special mustard sauce called 'chow chow'. We were given the tasks of washing the leaves ...

I remember the music, just like I remember my grandfather- my mom's dad, shaking his 'Chac Chac'(Maracas) and Quatro (guitar). We knew Christmas would be soon when he started singing. My grandfather was Cito Moreno, and he had a way he would shake the Chac Chac and it would sound like a melody of  dried peas in a pod. Initially I thought he was doing some kind of ancient war dance, which he alone knew. He would try to get us to shake them and we thought it was quite funny! The ones he had were made from a dried coconut shell and they were carefully secured after the Christmas season. Just like the Chac Chac, he would bring out the Quatro and start singing parang.."Rio Manzanares, dejame pasar, qui mi madre enferma, me mando llamar...." He loved the music and would speak in an amerindian patois he learned growing up. I remember him for his love of music, hunting and coffee! He also loved politics and Dr Eric Williams our first prime-minister was his hero. ...

The entire Christmas season as I remember it from childhood was filled with noise. There were squeals of laughter, and lots of shouting and some tears.Overall, the house -my home was warm with love and cheer. Even in times when there was little money for much, my mom somehow made the home warm especially at Christmas. She was and is an amazing woman - my mom - Maricita Moreno Eversley. "It is what is in the heart and not the material things which bring joy" , this is what I remember from her. It is what I practice today. It is the tradition of sharing and enjoying what you have, and not thinking about what you don't have. It is living with the warmth within you and not seeking what others may have on the outside. On Christmas day I felt that warmth in my home. The fires keep burning, as the laughter of my children (grown -up), friends and 'borrowed' grand-kids  fill the air! How wonderful this season of love! Happy Christmas Season! Dwordslayer!

Christmas day was always a time of peace and rest. Well, for children the day began with opening presents and having a ham sandwich with chow chow ( a mustard sauce) and a hot cup of cocoa  - this is how I remember it from years ago. The day was made fantastic by the 'Christmas snacks' cookies, chocolates, pastries, cakes and sweets which were not eaten regularly through the year. It was a special time and 'special celebration'. We would have the biggest lunch around 3 pm and then it was back to playing. I loved playing on Christmas day. We would each show off our presents, whatever they were, and everyone would proclaim in wonder - "that's a great gift". Christmas afternoon was a time when we would have a long shower and dress up in 'new clothes' or clothes 'new to us', and looking 'spanking new' we went outside to chat and talk with friends and neighbors. Night came to soon, as we gazed at the gaily colored lights hung...

Growing up I looked forward to Christmas Eve. This is when in Trinidad everything happened. The homes which were scrubbed clean and painted would be decorated and outfitted in the very best available. The neighbors all had their doors open and Christmas music blasted loudly as the baking began. Ooh I loved the smell of the black fruit cake being made and the homemade sweetbread. The sorrel & ginger beer were outside in bottles in the sun soaking in flavors known only to us. Many a Christmas tree were now being decorated with baubles and candy canes. The air changed scents and love was played in the backyard of my senses. Christmas is soon to come... nostalgia is on a high! Daily Chronicles from my past will be shared to the new year from that time ago! Happy Christmas Eve 2015 from Dwordslayer!

I enjoy water, the beach fascinates me, and there is the freedom and individuality of the waves, which inspires peace and energy together. While chatting with my  eldest son today and reminiscing on our travels, we recalled a good family friend and smiled. A couple hours later, via Facebook we learnt of his departure from this world. How are you doing for time...can you give me a moment of your time? Let me share a poem with you. Its something written in 2009, and reminds me, that life is precious, and people need time. More than anything else, lets remember to share time.  Good bye dear friend We grieve for the dead but have no time for the living. Keeping promising tomorrow is available today. Never really accepting our immortality. No time exists, to see today. I grieve for my friend who I had not seen. Never making a moment in this life in my time. Ha Now time plays a joke and a kind heart I will no longer see. Cause as faith goes, so d...