Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Animal tale.

The Grimm brothers used to go from village to village, collecting stories. Them tales was full o' warnings, beware of wolves, beware of witches and don't be a babe in the woods, if you go into the wild, know the signs of wickedness, know how to survive.

Now that we gone global, I wonder if them Grimm brothers woulda collect from country to country. Here is one for them.

Had a time when decent people used to drive mini-buses in Guyana. But something change, don’t know exactly what and how, but this is me theory.

It happen one full moon night, which is when madness and crazed beasts does come out. That night, while we the people been fast asleep, some wild peccaries charge into we police-stations. They push down them po’ law-abiding policemen, pawing and tearing them to pieces. Snort-snort, they go, grabbing pen, paper and stamps, and make up their own driving licences. As the full moon fade with the light of day, them peccaries turn into human-looking creatures.

After they learn the lay of the land well, they call all their family out from the jungle. “Look here you stinking beasts, life is good on them roads here. Come. Come drive buses. The kill is everywhere.”

And now, almost every day, a mini-bus driver, tearing down we roads, does kill a child, a cyclist, a pedestrian. Sometimes a whole busload o’ passengers does get hurt.

Coppo, me brother friend, tell me that some mini-bus drivers eyes does be red-red-red. Them eyes is red because, when them drivers take a break for lunch, they does take a break to smoke up dope. Don't know how true this is, it is only what Coppo, me brother friend, tell me. He say that citizens does call one particular route, The Red-Eye Route.

In the meantime, in another land far away, swine flu flare up. To be on the safe side, people in other lands begin to shore up against this flu, making vaccines to fortify citizens. In Guyana too, the Minister of Health announce that he ministry got enough vaccines.

But I been thinking...if flu does spread from animal to people and kill people...we better look out for mini-bus drivers flu starting in Guyana.

15 comments:

Will said...

huh... so is a regional problem then... i thought it was just us...

we have more in common than a single market and economy it seems...

john.g. said...

I wondered where the swine flu had gone!

Guyana-Gyal said...

John.g., don't tell BBC or CNN, it's the panic I can't take.

Will, I shoulda write, "law-abiding policemen who don't take no bribes..."
But eh-eh, is what you telling me, you have this kinda behaviour in St. Vincent? Nah. I ain't believe that.

Anonymous said...

GG
There is nothing like a law abiding policeman, that is an oxymoron. In this land of plenty there are plenty of corrupt ones. And the taxi drivers here have ambition of being nascar drivers.
Exotic Gyal

Jdid said...

is onlynow y'all get lawless minibus drivers? consider yaself lucky.

Stephen Bess said...

I've heard so horror stories of those drivers in South Africa. It can be dangerous whether you are in them or near them. Nice story though as always.

Please, Please, Please tell me that you received the book. If not, I guess that it is a lost. I may have to send it more secure. Peace, GG!

zooms said...

Hee hee, thought provoking as ever GG. Our buses are much the same, more rum eye than red though, but I like to take the bus, well, there are some i choose not to ride, especially those 'fares' busmen who pray on schoolgirls, but most busmen here are also taxi men. When a cruise ship visits they drive real slow, tourists paying by the hour, 'we people' pay them by the trip,so they have to drive fast for us to make the dollar, hence the difference..I like my $2.50E.C. white knuckle ride though, get to listen to music and hear the talk and see the world go by, although it a bit of a blur....

Stolid charisma 30+ said...

Nice theory Guyana-Gyal.

Oh my, I ain't read you inna while. I need to catch up.

kfm said...

law abiding cops? there is such a thing? One of those nincompoops cut me off the other day ...i stuck my head out the window and yelled fool and the other folks out there hooted their horns in agreement....

PI said...

Even in peaceful Somerset we have a 'Red Route' which is very accident prone. The culprits I think are young bloods who drive the bendy narrow roads at a fearsome rate and old dodderers who shouldn't be driving. Present company excepted natch;)

Caribbean Colors said...

I thought we would get away from the crack heads by moving from Belize to Chetumal Mexico, but its become a problem even here with a policeman on every corner.

Redjalapeno said...

When I visited Georgetown, I got the impression that it was rum or beer and not ganja that was making them eyes red and driving fast.

Marijuana makes you go slow.
Rum makes you go fast, or at least make you think you can.

Because I was/am a tourist, they drive us around slow and nice, except for one guy who smell heavy of rum, he was all over the place.

You need a jaguar to eat those peccary police yeah?

PI said...

I sent you an email. I wonder if you got it?

Rafael Rofes said...

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Michelle said...

Mini bus drivers in Africa too. Scary scary things! I always remember one that got me giggling though. He'd sold the sides of his vehicle to advertising and a big company had painted it shiny dark red and then put these big adverts for bug spray on the sides.

Problem is they'd put the logo on the back, so you drove behind him and the back read:

FAST... DEADLY... DOOM

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