Excerpt from Gray Shades, The Rubix cube of the sexes (Trying to understand Jamaican men) (Gena)

A Rubix cube is much easier to solve than trying to understand why Jamaican men do some of the low down, dirty acts that cause females, emotional genocide; Gena considered. Why? How could they? Are they possessed? Fi wah reason? Did their mothers abuse them emotionally? Those are just some of the questions women would like…

Summer 2016 Musings #15 – Dinning on breakfast in the Sunroom

This week was exhausting. No one told me that wielding a paint brush and hauling paint tins, would be such a work out. After painting windows, walls and floors for three days, my body ached. So, it was with pleasure that I supped in the evening cool of said room. As the evening stars peeked…

Summer 2016 Musings #14 – Green Green Grass

Last summer was brutal on my sparse garden. I planted a few palms a few years back and they suffered. The four lowly plants to the north wall, had been burned black. Yes, you heard right Burnt Black! This year, I vowed that it would be different. So far, my weekly yard soaks have encouraged…

Summer 2016 Musings #13 – Pitter Patter on the Roof

As I put on a fresh coat of paint on my summer home renovation project, I feel the hot noon day transition with the cool winds. My arms burn from pushing and pulling the paint brush along ten feet of wall space. I turn and look at a cluster of clouds. There is a storm…

Summer 2016 Musings #12 – Chilling in my Sunroom

Its the morning after Labour Day and I am tired. Still, I manage to wake with the new dawn and thank God for another beautiful morning. I woke quickly. Pulling myself from a dream that showed more misbehavior than happy adventures. There is no adjustment needed for me when I wake up in the mornings.…

Summer 2016 Musings #11 – Construction Changes

As the heat intensifies, the changes on my mom's house progresses. I thought it too much, to expect us to bear this persistent summer's heat under the present conditions. According to official weather records, earth has seen 12 straight months of record temperatures in 137 years, of record keeping. The planet is only getting hotter. So,…

Summer 2016 Musings #7 – Ice Chips

Its midnight, the heat sits on my skin like a lazy teenager. I had long switched off the screens and rested my head on a lukewarm pillow. Miserable. Sleep evades me like a nerdy teenager, looking for a date to the prom. Ice chips! They circle in my mind's eye, promising to cool, at least my…

Summer 2016 Musings #6 – The Holy Grail of bag juice, Cals!

I have discovered the Holy Grail of bag juice! Cals bag juice! It is definitely way above the rest, in quality. Over the last couple days, I realized that the more water content in the bag juice, the tougher it is. The harder it is to bite into the ice and the less rewarding it…

Summer 2016 Musings #5 – Bag Juice pon Base

Usually, I prefer fruit juices, however, this heat is causing me to sweat and dehydrate at a rapid pace. I twist and turn at night, feeling like I am sloping through the Florida swamps. It's time to go cheap and efficient! It's bag juice season! Yesterday, I reluctantly dragged on a T-shirt and shorts and…

Summer 2016 Musings #4 – Roshan and Biscayne Bay on Double Duty

I lie in bed, feeling like a beached dolphin. The heat is caressing my skin in the most intimate ways; it's intolerable. Just this weekend, I had to pull em out, fix em up and plug em in. What you ask? My fans! Without them, I would be like a wilted flower. Thank God for…