Characters.

My dear Friends, y'know what I miss not being in my lovely native land?

Characters!

I am walking to the market, and a scraggly man tripsing past me, pause, look 'pon me and shout out, "Hello Fren. How you do? You doin' okay?"

Now, to be honest, I ain't know this man from Adam or Eve. I suspect he would spot me going regularly to the market. He would probably be sitting over the road, in front the old building where them druggies-chaps hang out.

How to answer he? 

Proper ladies would walk past he with they nose turn away, like they didn't hear or see he. Or they would give a very polite nod.

I give he a pretend-shy, genuine-friendly smile and say, "Yeah man."

And I keep walking. That is enough. The man go 'long he way. 

Every time since then, whenever I walking to the market, he would greet me, "Hi friend."

And I smile and say, "Hi," and keep walking.

Characters all over the city streets of my homeland. You got to develop the instinct to know which ones to reply to, and how to respond. Not snobbish. And most certainly not palsy-walsy.

The ones I reply to easily, and gyaff...chat...with, is the pen-man who convince me to buy a pen from he every time I pass he. The pine-man who pine does be sour like lime sometimes, and I take it home and cook faux-Chinese food with it. Mango-lady. 

But you see them bus conductors who shout for passengers to take they bus? Walk past like you don't see or hear them. Because, if you ain't careful, they gon haul you into they bus, and the next thing you know, you heading off for the inner parts of countryside even though you only been going to the lawyer office across the road.

And them chaps with cutlass under they arms...cross the road if you see one coming. No, I don't miss them and bus conductors.

I must say though, they add to the sounds and sights and drama of small sea-side town life.

What is your city like, Friends? (I mean, out of covid-times). What sounds and sights and people you enjoy?

I should go for a walk in this tranquil suburb. I really should. But I might read a book instead, or write email.

Have a loverly weekend. Plenty, plenty love, neena. xxx