Michael's Childhood

Arguably his truest lyrics, according to his own words. Although not my favourite song of Michael (I have many favourites), I felt it appropriate to share it:

Michael Jackson's Childhood Lyrics:

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for the world that I come from

'Cause I've been looking around

In the lost and found of my heart...

No one understands me

They view it as such strange eccentricities...'

Cause I keep kidding around

Like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay

'Cause I love such elementary things...

It's been my fate to compensate,

for the Childhood

I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like pirates in adventurous dreams,

Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,

Look within your heart then ask,

Have you seen my Childhood?

People say I'm strange that way

'Cause I love such elementary things,

It's been my fate to compensate,

for the Childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like fantastical stories to share

The dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.

The painful youth I've had

Have you seen my Childhood...

May your soul rest in peace after death because it was misunderstood during life

Nesta

Finally on Facebook

Yes, I finally accepted one of the hundreds of invites I keep getting from friends to join Facebook. I guess I will find out what the craze is about now although I think i'm already hooked.

I've been going on that site every other minute to get updates, to reply to contacts... guess i'm a fan of Facebook now.

Check out my page

Venting: What's with the word "kid"

Yesterday I was on the radio with the Peace Corps Volunteer of the National Youth Council of Dominica promoting our Summer Camp, 2009. It was a great experience until some callers decided to make petty, trivial comments that had nothing to do with the spirit of what was being discussed. At that moment, I understood clearly what people have been saying for a long time. Dominicans just like to talk for the sake of talking and make every non-issue the issue at hand.

First there was this calling asking about the presence of Dominicans as Peace Corps volunteers in the United States and even asking me to do some research for him. Off course, I knew exactly what he was getting at because Dominica has no peace corps service offering anybody. There is also a belief that Peace Corps volunteers are secret CIA spies who come to distabilize the country and learn its local customs in order to provide information to the United States.

Then there was this caller who made an issue with the theme of the Summer Camp: Art and Expression; Changes Lives. She wanted it changed to Arts and Expressions Changing Lives, which off course I have no big issue with because it was intended with good intent. We actually had a good conversation with the caller during the program and I did take note of her point.

But it was the third person that really just upset my spirit for the rest of the day. I was making a point and I mentioned that parents should take a greater role in raising their kids and that society should be a support system and not the main player. A few seconds after the phone rang and the caller just fired off at me:

"Mr. Delroy Registe, you should not refer to children as kids, kids are little goats, thank you very much" and she hung up. Her tone wasn't a welcoming one nor one that was gracious.

First of all, I dont mind correction, I actually take it in the spirit in which it was given, that is why I couldn't understand why I was being attacked for using the word kid. It is really issue to call the talk shows, give your point and hang up but I would have loved to have been able to respond to the lady. What made it even worse was that even while she was trying to correct my mistake, she was guilty of making one herself because my name is Delroy Williams, not Delroy Registe (Mr. Registe is a politician, Mr. Williams is a Dominican).

There are so many things that are wrong with our Dominican society, so much to talk about, so many things to try to improve but the minute someone tries to assist in whatever way they can, we find ways of reducing the person's contribution or even sidetracking from the point.

I was so upset that I cut the interview short, off course, I didn't make that obvious to the listening public. That troubled my mind for the rest of the day, I even went to search up the meaning of kid on the internet at dictionary.com and this is what I found:

Kid/kɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kid] Show IPA noun, verb, kid⋅ded, kid⋅ding, adjective

– noun
1. Informal. a child or young person.
(used as a familiar form of address.)
2. a young goat.
3. leather made from the skin of a kid or goat, used in making shoes and gloves.
5. a glove made from this leather.

So now I have to wonder if there is something wrong with the word kid. Or maybe there is something wrong with using words that have multiple means. If so, then we would have a hard time using the English language. My conclusion is that the problem is with us, as human beings, who tend to put issues where are none and who always brush aside the true story for the sake of sensationalizations and making news.

Let me stop now before I say something I shouldn't. Next thing I know, someone copies my blog and provides it to Matthias Peltier and I end up on the Hot Seat on Q.95 Radio, lol.

Nesta

quote of the week: faults

Found this quote on Wisdomtips.com and felt that I should share it. It speaks about how people react to certain things depending on who is doing it and not exactly what is being done. I think it rings true, I know of situations that i have witnessed and some that I have also been in where I would have done otherwise if it were a friend that had committed the grievance against me. So here is the quote.

A fault in a loved one is no matter. The same fault in an enemy is an outrage.

And please try to treat people on an equal footing and look more at the situation than the person in the situation.

For more wisdom tips click here

Nesta

Arts and Expressions; Changing Lives

The National Youth Council is putting together a two-week summer camp for children between the ages of 2 and 13. The camp is expected to develop their creative juices and assist in the holistic development and social interaction of the kids.

NYCD Peace Corps Volunteer Michele Garavaglia, will be camp director and will ensure that the children are exposed to a wide range of activities and programs including arts and craft, music, dancing, drama and some educational programs (spelling bee, reading, presentations, etc).

The camp is only EC$10 per child, which is a non-refundable registration fee. It will definitely be a ten dollars well spent and one that will reap benefits in the millions especially as it targets underpivileged and unattached youth.

I still remember making tie dye shirts at my first summer day camp and up until today i still want to tie dye, who knows, i may even open a tie dye business. The possibilities of activities and interaction between participants, tutors and director are endless.

The NYCD is still in need of assistance to ensure that they can give the kids a quality experience. If you are able to assist please contact them at:

15 Bath Road

Roseau,

Commonwealth of Dominica

Tel: 1 (767) 448 6944 or (767) 225 6367

Email: nyc_dom@hotmail.com

Nesta

Raw Poetry; De Dominican Gift

I was speaking to my neighbour yesterday and talking to him about poetry, he is also a poet, and he said something to me that resonated and influenced my latest poem (wrote it last night). He said a poet must reflect his society and should also be able to speak for the people and about the people. In plain english, a poet should be part and parcel of his community.

So i got to thinking about my country and the hot issues of the day and this poem just glided out of the tip of my pen, off course i had to go back a few times and edit and realign the verses and so forth but i hope the final product does justice and speaks from the Dominican perspective. I also used a lot of Dominican lingo, not really the french styled creole, just our broken english.

So here it is:

De Dominican Gift
By Delroy “Nesta” Williams

Society in a rift,
Blue say is borboll
While red convince is a gift.
So much debate about de bin purchase
And who truly benefit,
Look I hear is campaign money dat trafficking,
An’ me neighbour say cocaine money dey laundering.
But as garbage bin knock down
Look fertilizer issue jump in de boxing ring,
But de poor farmer man, he eh talking
Cuz he love de handout ting.
Yes, de man love de "salt"
An’ he eh care who at fault,
Rubbish bin or fertilizer doh matter to him,
Or if de Big Man wrongly profiting
As long as is de Labour Party dat winning.

Now, Blue looking confident
But inside dey panicking,
An all de rest, dey afraid and shaking
Cuz dey know de PM cunning an’ convincing,
Too much psychology an’ philosophy.
De likle man eh understanding,
Dat wrong is wrong.
Yes, all borboll is borboll,
Whether red, blue or green
In de end is Dominica dat losing.

I cyah wait eh
For de next borboll to expose.
Yes, Boy everyday I listening.
Every morning I tune to Q,
To dat radio station, I man glue
From de moment I rise
Is Matt in de morning
An Saturday, between Me and You.
Till Election Day come and pass,
Then we go see who really win de race
And who come dead lass.

I doh care who win or lose,
Cuz it clear dey all de same
Doing de same damn ting
An one accusing de oda of cheating
But de sad thing is eh,
Dem poor people always along for de ride
Only seeing blue, green an’ red.
Boy, dey really colour mad or colour blind.
I waiting for de election meley
As society continue de rift,
Yes, dat is truly de Dominican gift…

A whale of a time

I thought I knew alot about whales but I found out a lot more when I assisted the Executive Director of DYEO, Mr. Terry Raymond with a presentation at the St. John's Primary School in Portsmouth. I didn't only find out new things about whales but I can now truly appreciate the joy of being in primary school now that I see it through adult eyes.

I yearn for those childhood days more and more. That's also because we never had anything like that when I went to school. The only lectures or visits we had to look forward to was from health officials looking to give vaccinations and the annual school walk-a-thon to raise funds for school improvement.

Now the children have so much to look forward to, besides the presentation about whales, they are will also be taking a whale watching trip as part of the floating classroom experience. I only had the opportunity to visit one school but a total of five schools will benefit from the International Fund for Animal Welfare project. The project is also being supported locally by CaribWhale, the Dominica Youth Environment Organization (DYEO) and the Youth Development Division. Plans are to expand the program, after the initial pilot phase, to encompass more schools and more environmental topics like waste management, climate change, biodiversity etc.

The most memorable experience had to be the blindfolded kids making the sounds of whales and trying to find each other among a crowd to explain the difficulty whales have in identifying other whales with all the marine traffic these days. The kids also enjoyed the whale measurement excercise that saw them using string to measure the average length of some whales. Most of the kids though enjoyed the question and answer period where they recieved pens, pencils, tshirts, etc for attempting to and answering questions.

I had a whale of a time, for sure.

Nesta

Photo of the week: doggy tricks

Took this photo just a few minutes ago while walking through the Botanic Gardens. I'm not sure how the dog got the roll around it's neck and thinking about it now I should have helped it to get it out.

Then again, I was the victim of a dog bite as a little boy and I surely do not want to relive that experience. Anyways, I hope people can see the amusement from the photo.

Nesta

quote of the week: happiness

Simple, to the point and timely as I am searching for a personal happiness. Don't get me wrong, I am not the sad, depressed character, far from that, but still there are moments where I search for more than I can find. So when I found this quote, I just felt the need to share it with the internet world, although I am sure they know more about it than me.

Happiness is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it.

by Dr. Wayne Dyer

Dr. Dyer is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He's the author of over 30 books, has created many audio programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows.

For more information: Dr. Dyers Website

Poetry in de Estate house

The Bath Estate Community Centre played host to some experienced players as well as the new crop of Dominica's poets on Friday June 12th, 2009.

Poetry shows, although still a niche activity, always recieves a receptive and appreciative crowd and from the first poem all indications pointed to a powerful, inspiring show. The Bath Estate Development Committee, through its energetic and powerful Vice Chairwoman, Mrs. Shawna Johnson ensured that all who made the journey on the night were treated to a wonderful display of word power.

With experienced acts and up and coming performers, the blend of of poetry and song, again left the audience wishing for more. Although simple in its set up, the show had a wonderful feel to it even with first time host Delroy Williams (me) dabbing in and out adding a slightly charged comedic aura to the proceedings. This was a welcome site at the Community centre which has seen its activities scaled down over the past few months because of renovation and improvement needs.

At every poetry show that I have attended or participated in, there has always been a surprise and that friday night surely didn't disappointed, instead it surpased expectations giving two suprise acts for a measly EC$2 contribution at the door. Medina Bellot, in her creole poetry, had the crowd locked into her performance, with not only her words but her facial expressions. There is something about the creole language that gets the crowd to really feel the performer and hang on to the every word. Clifton Lewis or Cocoa T, as he is popularly known even displayed his new book (Hidden Words of Love) and gave a powerful rendition of his love poems to the pleasure of the female audience.

Other noteworthy performers included: Reynold Gustave, Harry Sealy, Monelle Alexis and Tamara Lowe who gave an encore performance of her love poem. Songbirds Tasha Peltier, Royette Laurent and Tina Alfred also added a powerful element of love to the show through their singing. Poetry is truly alive in Dominica and its re-emergence as a powerful artform is definitely around the corner. This is especially so if groups like the Bath Estate Development Committee and the National Youth Council continue to give artists the opportunity to showcase their writing talents.

Nesta

quote of the week: Prime Minister Skerrit

The quote of the week come from the Honourable Prime Minister of Dominica Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit. I just like the whole use of words and characterization in the speech.

It comes at a time when the PM and his government have been under tremendous fire for the procurement of garbage bins among other issues. This quote signals that the PM is not going silently into the night but intends to retaliate, he and his supporters...

“No longer shall we, like turtles, draw our body parts and take a beating. Nolonger will we sit silent and allow our members and or our comrades to be preyedupon by our detractors. Henceforth, the battle shall be on. We shall take thefight to those who wish to take us on. We shall hold them accountable or everyact of irresponsibility. We shall draw strength from the Old Testament, inwarning of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We shall not lie down andplay dead. Henceforth, on the political front in Dominica, it shall be tit for tat and butter for fat,” he said."

Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit

Prime Minister of Dominica

Disclaimer: The use of the Prime Minister's quote on my blog is not a sign of any politicial alliance, neither is it a sign that I am for/against the Prime Minister or the Dominica Labour Party, I just love the quote and let's just leave it at that.

Nesta

H1N1 hits home

H1N1 or Swine flu, as it is commonly called, has been going across the globe like a passenger with a frequent flyer coupon and now it is in Dominica and even worse it is next door. Well actually i'm not sure where it is really at my neighbours but it is in my community, Bath Estate.

Since yesterday morning i've been bombarded with calls about it and everyone worrying. I even heard some one say that they should kill the man who brought it here, but you know how people tend to overreact when things like that occur.

The community is on high alert now and i'm hoping that things should go back to normal soon, I hope that this doesn't put a dent into the weekend poetry show, I was really looking forward to it.

For more info on this and related stories visit Dominica News Online

my fave 5 of da week

Another week gone, another opportunity to point out my five favourite things. I am sure there was more than five but I have to put a limit on where i want to stop and five seems logical. I did a lot of things this past week, especially on the weekend but here are my 5:

1. 2 Walks over the holiday weekend; the Walk for Youth from Possie to Capuchin and the Treasure Trek from Roseau to Macoucherie, if you put the two together then i actually walked the Dominican west coast, give or take a mile or two;


2. Sucking on cocoa, lol. That may have a different meaning to Dominicans depending on the context of the conversation but I found some cocoa pods while on the Walk for Youth and had a wonderful time sucking on the beans. Off course, if you don't know, cocoa beans are dried and processed to make chocolate, cocoa powder and a host of other products. In Dominica, we process them locally to make cocoa sticks. Every Dominican can point to a time in their life where they probably drank cocoa tea every morning or evening. According to our grandparents, cocoa tea gives blood so you better drink up, lol.


3. I had the privilege to actually see the hawkmoth after it emerged from its cocoon (papae). If you read my blog on the rasta caterpillar then you will overstand it all;


4. On thursday, I found myself in one of my favourite areas; Rose Hill. That's in Bellevue Chopin; a community in foot of Morne Anglais and famous for organice production. I was visiting a compost site that just began operation and was privileged to share a meal with the family. Not just any meal, I ate my food in a calabash, Rasta Style or Kalinago Style depending on who you ask, One Love though, all the same for I n I.


5. Recieved an short pay check on friday. I wasn't paid my full salary in April and I recieved the rest on Friday, only to see it disappear before my very eyes before I could enjoy it. It's amazing how money spends itself even before you have a chance to spend it, lol.

Now that's my fave five of the week, what's yours?

Treasure Trekking

In case you haven't been following my blog hiking is my favourite activity, well at least besides football. Since I don't play football as much as I did in my teenage years and early twenties then I try to do as much hiking as I can.

On Monday, Whit Monday; a public holiday in Dominica, I joined some of my mother's friends and co-workers of the Dominica Co-operative Societies Ltd. to participate in Kairi FM's second annual Treasure Trek from Roseau to Macoucherie Beach.

We also participated in the activity last year, although it was a shorter course and last year's team was five strong instead of four persons this year. The cost of the trek was also increased this year and it seemed to be more of a money making venture, although that is another issue.

Just like last year, I enjoyed the trek but this time around I was determined to challenge myself and my team, did I mention that I was nominated team captain this year. The walk start bang on time this year, wish is a welcoming and new occurence in Dominica, nothing ever starts on time. There is this notion of real time and Dominican time and Dominican time is usually 30 - 45 minutes later than the stated time.

Five minutes into the trek we were already at a disadvantage, not because of our own doing but because of one of the other teams. One young lady felt that the best thing to do was "steal" our clue and leave us hunting around Independence Street like the vagrants that normally frequent the area. At that point we were ahead of the pack but we quickly fell to 7th position, an all too familiar position. We did manage to improve on our standings throughout the trek.

We made the longer distance in an even quicker time than last year and I have my other male counterpart to thank because he insisted that we keep a steady pace even when we noticed that our other female teammates couldn't keep up. As usual the tasks were really fun; from the jigsaw and crossword puzzles, the soup dip (mustard and milk with five small balls that you retrieve using your mouth) to carrying the heavy bag of wet sea sand across the beach (just about 100 minutes).

So about four hours after we started it was all over, very much worth it, although we got drenched in rain and didn't recieve any of the energy drinks we were promised. The rain made it possible to complete our tasks without feeling too tired, especially since the Dominican sun has the habit of draining the last bit of power from your soul.

Until next year, have fun trekking. Oh by the way, we placed 6th in the race.

Nesta

Canna Park here?

The National Youth Council, in an effort to build on the success of the 2008 Walk for Education, organized a Walk for Youth from Picard, Portsmouth to Canna Park, Capuchin on Saturday May 30, 2009.

As President, off course I had to participate in the walk along with some of the members of the Executive Committee. I was really disappointed in the turnout on the day especially since I was "reliably" informed that over 40 people had registered. I guess registration doesn't include payment or participation, i should have known better.

That didn't dampen my spirit or any of the other participant's spirit on the day though, as we made our way to Possie from about 5:00 a.m. from Roseau. I was up from about 3:30 a.m. rounding up the NYC members and waiting on some people in Roseau (most of them didnt even show up).

By the time we got to Portsmouth it was almost 6:00 a.m. and we quickly distributed t-shirts, drinks and had a collective prayer and we were off to Capuchin. Capuchin is the most northerly of villages in Dominica and gives a perfect view of 3 out of the 4 islands in the Guadeloupe Archipelago (Marie Galante, the Saints and Guadeloupe) with only La Desirade too far for the eye sight.

The walk was really spirited with participants having tin cans in hand soliciting donations from members of the general public to assist with a youth project in the North Youth District. It would have been nice to have more young people especially those from the Northern communities participate in the walk but i guess you can't always have your wish.

The North is usually laden with fruits but on that day, we were left to struggle to find mangoes, cacoa, kenip and soursop. Most of the fruits on the trees were immature as it wasn't the "season" for picking or eating. I remember as a little boy eating those very fruits even when they were immature but then again as a man they would probably have a bad effect on the stomach, lol. No diarrhea for me.

We made the walk to Capuchin in about 3 hours and collected almost $300 dollars in donations. I was expected Canna Park to be like most other parks in Dominica, a football or cricket field surrounded by Flamboyant (Shak Shak tree). At Canna though, I was greeted by two donkeys; one alive and carrying plantain and the other, well dead. It was just the remnants of the donkey's skull.

The thing that I will most take back from this experience was the skull and off course the view from Canna Park. The walk was worth it although i prefer to hike in the rainforests and overall I would probably do it again, except this time I would want a little bit of rain. I don't know but I just prefer walks or hikes when the good Lord blesses me with a rainshower. There's nothing to compare to a good old Dominica rainfall.

Nesta

Supernatural or Figment of Imagination?

About a week and a half ago, I did a post about soucouyant stories but I never knew that I would have my own supernatural experience a few days after, well you be the judge:

Last week, while removing my vest I noticed red scratches on my abs (hope the photo is clear enough) and I couldn't figure out where they came from. I must admit that I have a very physical job that sometimes means that I hike through forested areas and I could have gotten the scratches during one of my visits but as someone explained to me, if that were true then my shirt would have been ripped or at least I would have felt a little pain from it, but nothing at all.

I remember having an uneasy night before I discovered the unexplained marks and when I showed it to my aunts, the first that they shouted out was "soucouyant doing that." Immediately i got this warning, Delroy don't do this and delroy don't do that, lol... I can still hear one of them saying don't let anybody pour you drinks, don't eat from anybody, walk into the house with your back facing the door and so forth.

Well i've been thinking hard about the scratches and since I can't explain it, I will just give the blame to the soucouyant, lol. Hope they don't hold it against me. But now i'm sleeping with one eye open...

Nesta

My Fave 5: better late than never

Yes, it's a bit late to give a Fave 5 for last week but hey better late than never. No more rambling though about being late with the list, here it is:

1. Bar-hopping or as I heard it being referred to recently bar-crawling. This is a wonderful experience because in Dominica it takes you to many different villages and you are sure to find a rum shop filled with "wonderful characters" Just pick your battles carefully because you never know when the village drunk gonna take up an issue with you, lol. Had one of my favourite beers in hand (Carib), that was one "nice" night eh;


2. visited Trafalgar falls and Screw's Sulphur Spa in the same day; hot and cold pleasure (see previous post);


3. The fish in my aquarium gave birth to three little ones. If you are a constant reader of my blog, you would know that my fish are precious to me, my only pets too. See previous fish blog here;


4. Street football (soccer) with family; took me back to my childhood days. There is a previous post about that experience too.


5. got paid of Thursday, pay day is always a wonderful experience because it is a reason to visit the bars and have a drink with friends that usually turns out to a night of barhopping.