Tanty was a healthy sleeper. She never had a problem in falling asleep and she never tire in relating that she only realized that there was a Hurricane Janet 1955; on the morning after when she awoke and found herself lying on water-soaked mattress staring up at the sky through a roofless house. But tonight sleep had deserted her.
She finally got down from the bed and went over to the nightstand where she turned on the lamp. She pulled out a suitcase from under the bed and removed a bag, the type Americans call a pocket book.
This bag served as Tanty's safety deposit box where she stored all her valuables- jewelry, cash, and documents (her Savings Union Pass Book, Bank Book, Nutmeg and Cocoa Books, Land Deed and Birth Certificates, Passport and few other less important papers).She pulled out the Land deed and examined it. She couldn't understand anything except that she recognized her name, Priscilla Daniel, and it said 'five acres' in another place. She wondered why lawyers didn't write English so everybody could read and understand. But then she thought if they did make it easy to read, the lawyers couldn't tie up and fool people so easily.
Suppose she decided to move out from here and go down to live near to Phyllis, what would become of the house, the animals and the land? Could she get it sold or rented? She knew that she couldn't get anyone to keep the place for her while she was away. Long ago people used to beg to work other people's land or to keep their house and animals but not nowadays. "They poor, they hungry and they naked, but they not working for you. They rather they thief," Tanty grumbled.
Tanty checked her savings, fourteen thousand dollars all together she thought that if she sold the house and the five acres, she should have enough to build a decent house. She could get credit from Purcell for house materials, and from Courts for furniture. She did not like to owe anybody though. This new style that people developed where they credit everything, Tanty couldn't stand it. She didn't grow up so. People paid for what they wanted or for what they got. But if that is the style then she thought that she had no alternative but to get used to it. But one thing she will make clear, and that is, only one debt at a time. She intended to keep her pride.
Tanty then turns her attention to the kind of house she wanted. She would not build a wall house because she believed that that type of house caused arthritis and rheumatism. She knew that the kitchen and bathroom was to be under the same roof. She was not going down to Mon Tout and erect a shack. She intended to show them that she had taste and she knew good things. She was no ignorant bush-bug.
Tanty could see herself sitting in her living room watching television. She was fascinated by this piece of technology as Phyllis knew. Therefore, it was easy to persuade her mother to think seriously about moving out of the 'bush'. Tanty was lost in her daydream.
For the first time she was seeing how desolate and depressing her life was. She thought of the constant battle to survive, just to make ends meet. It was work from sunrise to sunset, from Sunday to Sunday. Her only holidays were at Easter, Christmas and early August. When she was young, she attended dances, weddings, harvests, funerals and other social events in the parish. She was beautiful then and all the young men went crazy over her. She was now a shell of her former self. Going to live in Mon Tout would mean a change to her dull existence.
Tanty thought of the things in the house and what she was to do about them when she decided to move. She knew that some of the furniture will have to be discarded. Even during the night she would be ashamed to be seen carrying such junk. She had seen some people return from Trinidad with some things fit only for the garbage dump and she had commented that she would never move with things in such a condition.
The fowl peeking at the door told Tanty that it was daylight. She became a little frantic and disoriented as she realized that the night was gone and she had not slept. Tanty never liked to "lose" sleep. It made her nervous and irritable and she developed headaches.
She blew out the lamp, tidied up the room then prepared herself to face another day. But this was for her, a special day because she had made up her mind, she was moving down to Mon Tout.
Roy Benjamin
August, 1992
She finally got down from the bed and went over to the nightstand where she turned on the lamp. She pulled out a suitcase from under the bed and removed a bag, the type Americans call a pocket book.
This bag served as Tanty's safety deposit box where she stored all her valuables- jewelry, cash, and documents (her Savings Union Pass Book, Bank Book, Nutmeg and Cocoa Books, Land Deed and Birth Certificates, Passport and few other less important papers).She pulled out the Land deed and examined it. She couldn't understand anything except that she recognized her name, Priscilla Daniel, and it said 'five acres' in another place. She wondered why lawyers didn't write English so everybody could read and understand. But then she thought if they did make it easy to read, the lawyers couldn't tie up and fool people so easily.
Suppose she decided to move out from here and go down to live near to Phyllis, what would become of the house, the animals and the land? Could she get it sold or rented? She knew that she couldn't get anyone to keep the place for her while she was away. Long ago people used to beg to work other people's land or to keep their house and animals but not nowadays. "They poor, they hungry and they naked, but they not working for you. They rather they thief," Tanty grumbled.
Tanty checked her savings, fourteen thousand dollars all together she thought that if she sold the house and the five acres, she should have enough to build a decent house. She could get credit from Purcell for house materials, and from Courts for furniture. She did not like to owe anybody though. This new style that people developed where they credit everything, Tanty couldn't stand it. She didn't grow up so. People paid for what they wanted or for what they got. But if that is the style then she thought that she had no alternative but to get used to it. But one thing she will make clear, and that is, only one debt at a time. She intended to keep her pride.
Tanty then turns her attention to the kind of house she wanted. She would not build a wall house because she believed that that type of house caused arthritis and rheumatism. She knew that the kitchen and bathroom was to be under the same roof. She was not going down to Mon Tout and erect a shack. She intended to show them that she had taste and she knew good things. She was no ignorant bush-bug.
Tanty could see herself sitting in her living room watching television. She was fascinated by this piece of technology as Phyllis knew. Therefore, it was easy to persuade her mother to think seriously about moving out of the 'bush'. Tanty was lost in her daydream.
For the first time she was seeing how desolate and depressing her life was. She thought of the constant battle to survive, just to make ends meet. It was work from sunrise to sunset, from Sunday to Sunday. Her only holidays were at Easter, Christmas and early August. When she was young, she attended dances, weddings, harvests, funerals and other social events in the parish. She was beautiful then and all the young men went crazy over her. She was now a shell of her former self. Going to live in Mon Tout would mean a change to her dull existence.
Tanty thought of the things in the house and what she was to do about them when she decided to move. She knew that some of the furniture will have to be discarded. Even during the night she would be ashamed to be seen carrying such junk. She had seen some people return from Trinidad with some things fit only for the garbage dump and she had commented that she would never move with things in such a condition.
The fowl peeking at the door told Tanty that it was daylight. She became a little frantic and disoriented as she realized that the night was gone and she had not slept. Tanty never liked to "lose" sleep. It made her nervous and irritable and she developed headaches.
She blew out the lamp, tidied up the room then prepared herself to face another day. But this was for her, a special day because she had made up her mind, she was moving down to Mon Tout.
Roy Benjamin
August, 1992
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