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The Green Grinch
The Parrot loves movies with a Christmas theme. My favourite is “Home Alone,” parts one and two only. Yes, like thousands of you, I have seen them over and over, and over and over. You get the picture. They are usually shown locally on television from as early as August and run into January of the following year! Multiply an average of twenty showings per channel by a minimum of fifteen channels — a whopping three hundred per year; three thousand for the last ten years! Whoa! That’s a lot of “lonely” time. Some people I know know the entire script. Imagine watching these movies with them.
Christmas movies really invoke the spirit of goodwill; the season of joy; the season of sharing; the season of making others happy. Everyone’s happy at this time — business owners, pavement vendors, taxi drivers, the children, Mom, having convinced Dad on the need for new curtains; Dad, having convinced Mom on the need for a plasma TV; Grandpa and Grandma, having convinced Mom and Dad on the need for Cable TV. Happiness abounds during this season. However, as life would have it, or Karma as some would say, there are opposites of everything; day and night, rich and poor, fortunate and unfortunate, etc. The list is long. Christmas is no exception, the Grinch surfaces.
In Guyana, we have our own Grinch; a green one. He resides at the Hall of the City. I believe that this local Grinch, herein referred to as “The Green Grinch”, has seen the Jim Carrey movie of the same name far in excess of the number of times I would have seen “Home Alone 1 & 2”. I say this because “The Green Grinch” not only knows the script by heart, but the actions of the Grinch in the movie as well. Grinches, while associated with ruining Christmas, ruin any event that provides the feeling of happiness.
Take the now usual scenario at the Hall of the City; workers work all year round but cannot collect their December salaries and related Christmas bonuses. Sounds familiar? Yes. Recently, “The Green Grinch,” better known as the “Overripe Mayor”, announced that City workers may not be paid salaries and bonuses for December. Ow, Mr. Green Grinch, have some mercy, nah! They worked hard, despite how much we may knock them for your incompetence. They got children, parents and grandparents. They want to make their families happy. Ow, Mr.GG, not because the title short one G you will spite them. Remember when you were PM how people used to beg you for “lil” flour and peas and shoes and sports gear and so? Ow, I begging you for these workers. Pay them nah. Please! Pretty please!
This routine year-end fiasco has all the ingredients of a movie. It’s like a local version of the Hollywood blockbuster. Like in every movie, there is a villain (the local Green Grinch in this case), the hero (Uncle Bharrat in this case, who always rescues the City workers), and the heroine (in this case, none for the leading “actors”. That’s another story).
So, like those who are oppressed by the villain in the real movies, workers in the Hall of the City eagerly look forward to the hero saving them from the wrath of a ruined Christmas. Uncle Bharrat will come “riding” again to the rescue. Shouldn’t this be further reasons for the “The Green Grinch” to retire and for Uncle Bharrat to officially take over the Hall of the City? Or is the “The Green Grinch” afraid of being home alone? Squawk! Squawk!
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