From hopelessness to possibility

I find it funny that it was depression, hopelessness and despair that drove me to writing and it is ironic that having begun writing I have found my true love and  passion. I now ask the question when will I stop writing because as a writer there need not be any thought of retiring.
I thank Create Space for giving me the opportunity to self publish because when I heard all that publishing a book would entail it was too daunting.
This past Sunday a couple that bought a set of my books was all smiles as they told me their friend had borrowed one because she found it so inspiring. Another friend as I spoke to her this week said as soon as I have the other books ready she wanted copies.
I am still to work out promoting and advertising my books but it inspires me when someone that bought a copy quote from one of the books to tell exactly what they find inspiring.
Recently I have persons sharing ideas and possibilities for my books and I have been exploring offshoot ideas. It is fascinating that they are presently more than I can adequately handle but I have been recruiting help.
I end today quoting the words of a gentleman with regards to one of my books "It is not so much what you think of what you write but what the man who gets it in his hands does with it."

The neighbors

The book for Love of him is a volume of short stories set in a Caribbean setting. In the book are depicted characters that one may encounter on any given day. The neighbors is one of the short stories


Wizzy, Bonnie and Stan are neighbors but are so unlike each other.

Wizzy believes that what he owns belongs to him and should not be shared. Anyone who desires what he has should be willing to pay. He does not allow his crops to come to maturity before he reaps and eats the crops. Wizzy think it okay to help himself to other persons crops s long as he does not get caught.

Bonie is the person that what ever he plants it flourishes and he takes extra special care of his crops. He hates paying his bills but harasses anyone that owes him money. whoever wants his crops has to pay. He eats his neighbors crops when no one sees but his stays on the trees to be sold. Wizzy is aware that he does this.

Stan is a joy to be around and gives away so much others wonder how he has anything left for himself. Some persons even took advantage of his generosity.

These three are the neighbors and their stories are shared.

Wizzy had thoroughly enjoyed the loot he had stolen from Bonnie. He knew he may never get another chance to outsmart Busta the dog again. The temptation was too strong however and there was Bonnie snoring away. If he had known that the dog loose he would never had chanced it. He sneaked across the fence and headed for the sugar canes that were nearest to Bonnie’s house.

He heard no sound and he did not see the dog. He only felt a sharp pain on the back of his leg and as soon as he spun around the dog sprang for his throat. In terror he swung a wild fist that stunned the dog for a moment. Wizzy ran not looking where he was headed. The dog did not give chase having done his job but Wizzzy did not know this. He ran to hide in some tickets.

Wasps were in the thicket and Wizzy had deliberately not destroyed them hoping someone would go there and get stung by the wasps. He laughed in his heart every time he passed by and saw the wasp nests. The wasps obligingly stung him repeatedly.

Bonnie slept through it all and had no idea what had happened.

The dog bite and wasp stings forced Wizzy to travel to the hospital far away to seek treatment. To everyone that felt sorry for him and asked what had happened he told a different story. Soon everyone knew that they would not hear the truth.

The joys of boyhood

Justin enjoys being around Mass Huey because wherever Mass Huey is present then there is also some form of excitement. This is one of the reasons for his loving Mass Huey's company and Mass Huey ensures that he is never short on toys.
Justin mother is concerned that Justin prefers Mass Huey's company to that of his own father but Justin Father knows that Justin is safe in Mass Huey's company.

(extract from The Joys of boyhood  a short story in the book For love of Him)

Forgetting his game of marbles he crept up to the open window and sat on his favorite stone to listen, a stone which he had placed there for this very purpose. He loved listening to the stories told in the rum shop. Sometimes he imagined being part of the excitement of the story being told and sometimes he was one of the main characters of the story.

Today there was an argument about Mass Huey and his mule Gerty which was the stronger.

Immediately Justin decided that if he had to place a bet on which of the two was stronger he would place his bet on Mass Huey. He recalled the time he saw Mass Huey carry three sacks of cement easily up John Crow Hill. That was no easy feat because each sack of cement weighed nearly a hundred pounds. It meant balancing one on his head and carrying a sack of cement under each arm. Even more incredible John Crow Hill was a long, narrow, rocky, steep and treacherous hill and most persons took the much longer route just to avoid it.

When later Justin reported that that he had seen Mass Huey do this, actually he was there and could not keep up with Mass Huey which is why he said he saw, he was bought a half dozen pints of soft drinks and promised that he would soon be admitted into the rum drinking club seeing he was a bigger liar than any of those in the club. He still felt humiliated because he had to stop and rest a part of the way up the hill  While Mass Huey had made the whole journey without stopping to rest.

Gerty his mule had developed a reputation for being stubborn, un-cooperative and ornery. Secondly, she would deliver a well placed kick whenever her victim was not paying attention or was distracted.

Rufus

Rufus' greatest ambition was to own a piece of land and build a house because only the he deserved the right to be called a man. In order to accomplish this he had to relocate. He set out for he knew not where, stopped in a district and began working towards his goal of owning a piece of land.
Soon he became aware of one of his neighbors Little Lamb and they became friends. The church did not like the relationship and tried to break it up. Little Lamb cousin Grandmother pearl took Little Lamb  in hand and taught her how to catch herself a man.

(Rufus extracted from the book For love of him)

Rufus had no way of knowing just then that it was a new Little Lamb that had returned. During the time she had been away grandmother Pearl had been tutoring her. After Little Lamb had related to her the details of the members meeting at the church and the answers she had given grandmother Pearl had a good laugh but at the same time she could not believe how ignorant Little Lamb was pertaining to men and women affairs. She began to drill Little Lamb and to pass on to her a lot of information and the quizzed little Lamb to see how much she remembered.

    She also got as much information from Little Lamb as she could about Rufus.  That was why she had deliberately gone and spoken to Rufus while she was visiting Elder Lamb. Having decided that Rufus was ambitious and hard working she told herself the next thing to do is get Rufus and Little before the pastor at the altar.

  Grandmother Pearl did not believe in a man and woman living to gather before they were married or their having children before they were married. Reflecting on Ruth she was sorry for Harry her son-in-law. Grandmother Pearl prided herself on being smart so she was quite unprepared when Ruth had duped both she and Harry still Harry was a good husband and took care of all the children. If he suspected that one was not his child he did not show it.

  During the short time grandmother Pearl had been at church with Elder Lamb she took note of how Pastor Gilbert eyed the ladies and made up her mind that she was not going to let him get Little Lamb. She did not want another of Pastor Gilbert’s offspring in the family. Neither did she want Pastor Gilbert to pass off any child of his on Rufus.

Junior and the duppies

Junior claimed that his special gift was to drink rum and get drunk. swear and curse. Sissy is a tongues speaking Holy Ghost filled and baptized Christian. The two does not like each other. One night Junior was on his way home drunk as usual when he encountered a fantastic lady in the dark. Later when he described the lady for his friends she turn out to be a lady that had been dead for some time. This was the beginning of two duppies following Junior and terrorizing the men of the community.
Finally junior decide to do something about the duppies following him home in the nights. He consulted Sissy for advice but when she heard of his plans she would not allow him to carry out the plans alone so she insisted that he take her along. Together Junior and Sissy planned for the duppies.

(Extract from Junior and the duppies taken from the book For Love of Him)

   Junior had no idea for how long he had been sleeping but he came awake suddenly when he felt something wet on his face. There investigating him was Sissy big black boar pig. Gathering his befuddled thoughts he sat up wondering the time of day.

 “You can tell who a man is by the company he keeps,” Sissy said from not far away. Junior looked and saw Sissy with a piece of rope in her hand. He knew immediately that the pig had come loose and Sissy had come looking for it.

Looking disgustedly at the pig Sissy addressed it “Imagine I take such good care of you and you get loose and look at the company I find you keeping, I am ashamed of you.”

  Thinking about it later Junior swore the pig looked on him with contempt before it walked away with it head hung low. Laughing ruefully he wondered if a pig’s head could go any lower.

    Looking at Junior Sissy demanded in a stern preacher’s voice “Oh drunkard how long shall you deny the hard working the comfort of their sleeping in their own beds in peace and quietness?”

      In the state he was Junior had some choice word he wanted to tell her but it was Sunday he remembered and he remembered his dead mother. He remembered a promise he made to his mother before she died and he remembered a promise not to swear and curse in the presence of a female though he swore and cursed loud enough for them to hear.

      Sissy thought it was because of shame and remorse that caused Junior to hang his head but in reality he was still having a splitting head ache and at that moment did not want to see or hear anyone.

     “If you know what I know you would not provoke me just now” Junior said still bending his head.