Back to School Wash Out

For some of you, the title alone brings back violent memories of a parent coming at you 3D with the world's largest table spoon, with a command of OPEN!!!!!!! Listen, our memories would not exist had we spent our summers thinking about the dreaded "wash out" that would come at the end of summer we wouldn't eaten  anything...well, I wouldn't have eaten half the things I did. "Wash Out," a regimen of cleansing medicines that included but not limited to, bitters, say-nah, castor oil, worm medicine, and cod liver oils for some. Please share if yours had some other types of meds. that i did not include..Some of you may get a little sick from all the nostalgia but hang in there. 

The day school let out or was over and all the hegas was out of the way, that's when summer feast for me was in full swing. Okay maybe summer type feast was always in season for me, that's when summer feasting for some began. Ok, let's get it out of the way now, I would never use the word greedy and definitely not HAG, to describe my childhood interest in food. I would say, I liked to experience the food family.  Summer afforded me the opportunity to experience it more than any other time of year with Christmas being the one and only exception. I would definitely, cross over into the over indulgence category, ONLY during Christmas. 


Summer? wow!one only had to think of what was in season and wishes would come true. For instance, if Kenip was in season, then BABES was the go to girl.   I remember, before I could even think of making it to BABES I had several stops to make, like raiding Khancoo or Cooksie plum trees. Khancoo plum was a different kind of plum, if his plum had a little purple line on it? well then, the whole plum was ripe. It wasn't ripe to you? hmmmm...I wondered why my teeth would turn a nice shade of brown, yours too? who cares, it was ripe. And who can forget picking some green SOUR gooseberries off of Mr. Dent's tree? huh?


Some of you probably used to hit up the farine pit if it was open for some bamboola, or farine. I don't think I used to go to the farine pit often, only when I had to go to Mr. Tyoleh to make a message and the farine pit just happened... to be on my way, since I was coming from the church street direction. Yep, it was right in my path.  I just remembered, I sometimes would end up in bottom Wesley to visit family right around lunch time, with  the hungriest child in the village look on my face, it was summer people, oh I did that all year long come to think of it. anyways...


If the way home was toward the four-road, then ways parted at this point. It was here where most friends said their summer good byes and went their separate ways..well until it crossed a short time later. People our village was and is small, we probably saw each other a few hours later, this is about summer ok, role with me. To those heading towards Eden Road a solid marsh was exchanged. I guess that meant bye, and those heading up church road a proud, hal you skin was the exchange!...ok! OKAY!! so I exaggerated a tiny bit. All I know is that those heading up the road towards central square kindly said with a smile, see you later. ok! okay, geez...so may be we said Marsh, or Hal your skin, back.....I really don't remember......the second parting of ways came at the ontop road intersection....Whoa!!I am suddenly reminded of the dreaded stoning I would get by a Mr. Unnamed..at that very intersection almost yearly....wow!.


 OKay, listen, I don't know if many of you remember the days when MOPO was the place to be.  It was the only open field area in the village with two major mango trees, two, maybe three guava fields, the health center and Ma Ahl- icepops and frozen joys, joyce. It was a short jog away from Murphy's -tambrine balls, Ms. Emma breadfruit, Mr. Cyrus cherries and Ma Daytoush- pomceterre. Oh, Sundays, were they days to get some pomceterre. I don't know if Ma Daytoush had open Sundays or what? but her sons or some others would climb the tree and shake, shake shake the sugar apple? star apple? heck pomceterre and the masses would hit the ground fighting abolow, finding snakes and whatever else was in the way of them getting their beloved and juicy pomcetere.


Ma Datousch home was a fruit lovers paradise, they had Mami, guava in the back and plum behind the kitchen. A short walk to the left,  one could also feast on Miss Daisy's Madway mango and if you were so moved,  you could've taken the short cut toward ten shilling hill to get some of the Tin mango on Ten Shillinghill, or Santana's guava or sour sop; and since you are right on Battice road, one could just hang out in Mr. Onnis (Ernest) garden and enjoy a variety of mangoes...you mean it wasn't free?  Well, if that wasn't your thing then a short visit to Mr. Horatious for some passion fruit or some grafted, long or another kind of mango was it.

photo by Revelyn St. John

Yes? Yes! Yes, I was talking about MOPO! Remember when the second police building in the back was like a place of affluence one dared to tread? oh yeah it was fenced so you really couldn't go in freely. To the very back of the second building was a grassy open area, it was here many would gather to stone the liqa mango tree that was always loaded during the summer months. I remember grown men would climb that tree and a short time later all you would hear is LAYZAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!


It was at this same open place at the second building where I would sneak off to taste or attempt to taste one of Miss Morine cashews. Still don't know what hers taste like cause, I was never ever successful, that lady's radar was better than any monitoring system I've read about in the U.S. She was good. I would shamefacedly walk up the little short cut from her house back to the police station area where a couple of things would be going on, like some of the best mega roundas matches.


As i've said before, I am not a bragadocious person but I used to be a GOOD roundas playa. I was neva on any team why? you ask...well it because some areas in the village already had their top players and I guess I was never in that category because I was too young, yeah, that's why. moving along.....


MOPO, was the place with the biggest guava fields in-front of and behind the health center. Psssh, stories of needles, scare me? who me? no way! Behind the health center had big breed guavas and needle or not, I HAD to be the one to pick it. There was one challenger who was better in conquering the guava fields than I. She had like a ripe guava sensor built into her sense of smell. When I wanted more than the regular amount, she was my ace.


It was in MOPO, before they put all the mocab in the TIN mango root that the stoning champions would come out to test their strength and aim. The tree was tall and not very wide like the liqa tree. I remember grown men throwing stones with such strength and precision that one would hear the wwrrrrrrrrhhh sound from the power  of their throw. Impressed, I am now as I recall the memory, but stupid and greedy I was then, because I never gave thought to letting the stone drop before I sprinted under the tree to make sure I grabbed my fair share of mangoes even if it meant me possibly getting a burse boss head in the process. Oh yeah, that did happen once but I will NOT go into details at this time. 

photo by Taban Telemaque

photo by Isaiah Joseph

I haven't even talked about the pawdo trips, stoning bomarie, Ms. Gladys Ice Cream, Ms. Mazie pudding, Docounah, Ms. Tourist Gooseberry, fine cake, hard cake, pineapple, sweet sop, sour sop, watermelon, eating breadnut, veeoh, oh boy, this reminds me of a time when we thought the river had taken one of our friends, will post another time, grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, sucking cacao, all make up the memories of summer foods that leads to the washing out  regime as we prepared to go back to school.

photo by Murphy Matthew

As you and I listen to the moaning and groaning of our kids not looking forward to returning to school, I  realize a few things.. 1) their limited Caribbean childhood experience and.. 2) I don't understand the complaints as the transition from summer to back to school seems so easy, yet they still complain.  Oh well, don't think I'd much like having to run to the bathroom to help them anyways.