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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 32 - Wednesday, November 27, 2002
George James ChristianPaying Homage to My Grandfather and the Countryside
by: Dr Emanuel Finn

Moon light nights in the countryside were my favorite. It was a time of great fun and bonding with the other kids. We would play games late into the night when the moon was at its brightest. Sometimes we would listen attentively and intensely when a village elder or one of our grandparents would relate stories of jumbies, 'Lajabless, Loogahwoos and soukouyans' to us.

Some of those stories were very frightening. Even though we lived short distances, we had to be escorted home for fear that one of these headless or six-headed jumbies would be waiting at our doorsteps.

The possibility of being captured by a jumbie was real as there was no electricity in the village. In retrospect, who needed electricity on these nights anyway? There was the clean air and night sky with the harvest moon light draping the hills and freshly planted fields and treetops, where life cycled in and out, day by day and year after year. Indeed, these were fun filled times.

For my grandparents, country life was not a mission, hiking or camping trip like the ones I enjoy in the Hudson Valley and Adirondack mountains of New York State and in the Allegheny mountains in Western Maryland.

To them, country life was most certainly not a lifestyle choice or a social class statement. It just was pure and simple country life where respect, hard work, honesty, integrity and a belief in God mattered more than anything else.

It was where they were born, where they grew up, lived, worked, married, made and raised children, grand and great grand children. It was where they called home until death came and took them to another world.

The melodies, meanings, and underlying themes of the music of the country side deals with humanity, humility, love, pride and compassion. These songs gave and give life to our souls and 'soul' to our lives.

The melodies and lyrics sustained and gave us hope and convey in compelling ways our greatest strengths and acknowledge our weaknesses and shortcomings in honorable and dignified ways. The music sends the powerful message that whatever our current or past social class standings, education, political and religious affiliations, each of us have an inalienable right to be Dominican.

Some of my close friends jokingly tell me that today the countryside is more of a concept to me than a reality in as much as I left La Plaine at such an early age ( eleven years) so long ago. I am equally comfortable living and working on or near Capitol Hill among the fashionable homes as well as in the hills of La Plaine among the small-framed wooden houses of ordinary folks.

I agree with the late Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere,'Life in the big city is duty. No matter how long I stay away from Dominica, my 'real' home will always be somewhere not too far from the banks of the Sari-Sari and the foot hills of Morne Governear.

It is always a pleasure to revisit the countryside and spend some nostalgic moments engaging in pastimes. This is my definition of balance and equilibrium.

For me, the countryside was a chance to taste life before it got complicated, competitive(cutthroat),sophisticated, crowded and franchised. It was a place where hope and confidence in the future flourished and children were encouraged to dream of bigger and better things.

A place rich in community spirit, support, love, caring, compassion and character. A place where leadership responsibilities were taken seriously and took many different forms and definitions. I am certain that whatever good qualities I can rightfully claim were shaped in no small measure, by that simpler place and time.

Therefore, the tools of history should be used to relate and put in context the story of Dominica's journey and that of its people, to our children and future generations. Our children should be encouraged to spend more time in the countryside in order to further understand who they are, where they came from and what is required of them. Hopefully, they will embrace, be proud and develop a deep, true and lasting romance with the real country life or what is left of it.


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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 32
West Indies Cricket Tour of India
Paying Homage to the Countryside
Shanghai's 2010 Expo Bid
Dominica's History Revisited
George James Christian: Pioneer in Africa
LIAT May be Facing Bankruptcy



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