Christmas is here and so am I

Dec 19, 2010 Features / Columnists, My Column

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By Adam Harris

In less than a week it will be Christmas. I am therefore going to share some of the things I did in Christmases of yore. Not that they were very different from today. Of course, in those days there were many women around. There was my mother and five sisters, all of them younger than me but apparently much more useful than me at that time.
Those were the days, just like now, when people went crazy trying to buy what they never needed all year round. It was as if something had come over them, just like now. People travelled miles to be in the city if they lived in Demerara, just like now. And of course, people walked around examining the various homes to see if theirs matched up.
There was less store-bought liquor and more of the home-made wines. In fact, I am now inclined to believe that just about everything that could be made was home-made. Boys made ‘wood guns’ that fired buck beads; girls had dolls made from pillows. They would tie something around the middle of the pillow to provide some kind of head and grown men made chairs and tables and beds.
A few made rollers that boys proudly pushed along the roadways and others made pants. If my memory serves me right, even the adults sought to have clothes sewn around this time. Seamstresses and tailors were kept busy.
I don’t recall fairy lights being strung outdoors. Those were for inside the home, strung along the ceiling, and caused people to turn off the regular lights so that these fairy lights could provide their magic.
There was food in abundance. Chicken was something that ran around the yard during the year and made a hearty meal on Christmas Day. People smiled a lot and everyone looked forward to this grand day. It was indeed the season of goodwill. Bosses paid bonuses and employers withheld their anger because at this time of the year, people needed to get away with minor indiscretions.
This year, there are people who forget the goodwill. Just two days ago the Police Commissioner transferred one of his ranks with immediate effect from the city to Berbice. This man committed an indiscretion in someone’s eyes. He failed to arrest Mark Benschop and have him spend a night in jail for no good reason.
This police officer is heading to Berbice tomorrow, away from his home during this season when I am sure his wife and children expected him to be there to drive in the few nails and to move around furniture as is the case because people “break up their homes”.
I cannot dictate to the police and I am not going to prejudge the issue but I am certain that many in the upper echelons of the force are angry because there was no goodwill toward either Mark Benschop or Rishi Das.
I know Henry Greene. He was my junior in school and he was fun. I want to believe that someone forced him to play the Grinch and he has done so in the most excellent fashion.
But back to those who still want the feeling of goodwill to prevail. Mothers and their children went window shopping. They walked the streets of Georgetown, Anna Regina, Rose Hall Town, New Amsterdam and Corriverton. There were those who enjoyed Fyrish. It was fun. People left their homes open without fear.
These days there are people who look for the slightest opportunity to make people uncomfortable. They come with guns and other dangerous implements. They take everything and a few would even take lives. This is so different from the days of yore.
People are concerned about the light bills in January because Guyana Power and Light is not going to give away anything. Instead, the power company may find itself taking away lights. The Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company is giving away free calls to some for the rest of the year. I like that. I like to receive.
I feel good though. I had a young man wipe the exterior of my home because I want it to look bright. I tried to do it myself one year and nearly ended up in hospital. It was worse than when I pounded my finger while driving in a nail to hang up a blind. The ladder slipped and but for the grace of God and some agility to reach a window ledge, I would have made love to the hard ground below. So there I am, paying this young man; not that I want him to fall, but because I prefer him to me.
I am going to make lots of overseas telephone calls because the people I really care about live there, some in Canada and some in the United States. I am going to beg for a raise because January should reach me with money in my pocket. I am not going to get too many gifts other than alcohol which I can’t drink as I used to.
I am going to enjoy watching the police patrolling looking for the people who are going to hurl squibs and bombs around. That was a tradition of yesterday. On Christmas Eve when people crowded the streets looking for heaven knows what, wicked boys tossed squibs into or near the slow-moving cars.
And above all, I am going to give thanks for being able to see yet another Christmas. This is the time when I take stock of the year with a glass of something strong and think about my friends who happened to move on.
I am just going to sit back and reminisce.

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