It was a very interesting experience growing up in the small urban neighborhood, of Rose Place also known as Bottom Town, on the small Caribbean Island: of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Rose Place is situated, on the extreme western area, on the plateau, which makes up, Capital city of Kingstown; in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I cannot say for sure, why Rose Place was nicked name Bottom Town, but from a visual, it appears to be at a lower altitude, when compared to the other area of the Plateau.
I am not sure, if Rose Place or Bottom Town, is the lowest point above Sea level; upon that Plateau that makes up Kingstown proper. However, it sure appear that way.
In my community, there were two very interesting ladies. These are ladies from my childhood, and they made Rose Place their homes. The first of the ladies, I am going to introduce you to is: a woman by the name of Theresa kydd. T as Theresa is affectionately called by all; is a strikingly beautiful woman, she is honest, kind and helpful. She loves to laugh and she love to give jokes; T loved to heckle others in good humor.
The other lady I must introduce you to is: Ruth Tellemach; may God bless the soul of the dearly departed. Ruth was a beautiful, thinly built, tall woman. Like T, she was an honest woman but unlike T. Ruth; was quiet and like to go about her business, without too much attention.
At times you knew Ruth arrived in the neighborhood, you often heard her voice uttering, these broken French words: "tut mon bagi" which is believed to mean every one of you. When Ruth uttered these words, it is normally to her children, if or when she saw them, playing in the streets, as we all did or if they were heading somewhere, they should not be.
When these words were uttered her hand with index finger stretched out is always pointing in the direction of her home. Her kids knew exactly what it meant and they did not wait for any further instructions.
Both women, were fish venders who operated in a male dominated profession. This is not to say, there were no other women, who plied the profession of fish vending. Coming to mind is my Cousin Stavy. However, Theresa and Ruth were best friends; and air had a hard time, getting between their friendships. But this is not what made them interesting,
As helpful as both women were, they had tongues and lips, on them that knew no boundary, their tongues and lips lack restraint. They also had a boldness that made, even the devil blush. On numerous occasions their tongues and lips made the devil ashamed.
This is not to say that Both T and Ruth were experience and professional suckers; no far from it. However, bother women were the best, most dangerous and notorious cursers the world have ever seen or heard of. Their eyes were sharp and always on the lookout, their ears were keen and in tuned, with the latest gossip and their memories was so good, their memories were able to put an elephant’s memory to shame.
They had a profane vocabulary, which surpassed all other, and they were better than Webster, Oxford and Collins combined; when it comes to, the spontaneous creation of adjectives, to describe their adversaries.
It seems these two ladies, knew everything bad, about everyone and they had the registry on infidelity, miscarriages, abortions, who bull and who bull who (bull: males engaged in homosexual act.) who was a jammet, who zameas (lesbian), acts dishonesty, criminality, etc. every transgression, everyone want the world to forget about them; T and Ruth knew and kept all these information, right at the tip of their tongues; just in case.
They were also accurate paternity experts, along with Sita Culzac. Men refuse to get into a war of words, with these sisters in friendship, less the find out along with the general public, the child they love so much and mine (take care of) for all those years was not their biological child and who the child's biological father was.
Women whose life, have afforded them the honor of an empty closet, were afraid of these two women, less they were privilege to some private and secret thoughts, of lust, infidelity or some other forbidden acts they may have entertained in their head but never acted upon.
Anyone who understood the dynamics of our community and knew these two ladies knew enough to understand; whenever these two are angry with each other and become engaged in a war of words. The safest thing to do is to look on at the public affair, listen to the exchanges and be entertained.
Sometime ago, T and Ruth had a nasty and down right vicious war of words. The bashed each other, with hurtful words, in a manner enemies would.
However, a few weeks earlier Ruth had a small but demeaning exchanged with a tenant in her building. We will change the names of the people involved to protect the innocent. This lady we will call her Jenny and Jenny’s boyfriend we will call Jack.
However, in her little confrontation with Jenny Ruth peppered (give her a good tongue lashing) her well. As a result Jenny learnt a valuable lesson: never pick a fight with T or Ruth; for although the fight was not physical many would have rather be slapped. A slap may hurt for a while and bruise your ego. the pain of the slap will soon go away and you will recover from the bruise ego within a few days. But such a verbal bashing may cause you a life time of emotional issues.
The hurt Jenny felt was extreme and her hurt burned and festered. There was only one thing that could quench Jennies embarrassment was revenge. However, it seems Jenny will never get her revenge. For in her little exchange with Ruth, Jenny landed some good barbs, which would have put the average person to shame. But Jenny’s mistake was, she though Ruth was like the average when it comes to cussing. Because shame is a concept that is alien to T and Ruth.
A week or so later, the best friends had a war of words. What started it was anyone guess. However, this bad blood spilt into the streets. This in turn brought the entire community out. For although such a thing have happened several times before, it is not often the community, get the opportunity to see, the two best word warriors going head to head.
Ruth and T put on their fighting gloves and they verbally beat each other up: with obscenities, dehumanizing truths, and the most ridiculous name calling. The confrontation was nasty enough to make the devil hide his face in shame. Some people were there for the entertainment, while others were secretly gathering ammunition just in case they were called upon to defend their credibility against any or both of these women.
The only thing was; there were not much people, who were willing to say in public, the things these women were willing to say without blushing. Most people will not have the type of natural delivery that these two women has, when delivering these demeaning hurtful barbs. As a matter of fact in some people’s mind their friendship could never survive the confrontation.
One such person was Jenny; who was victimized by Ruth in a private one and one. After the confrontation had finished, Ruth have retreated to her upstairs apartment and Theresa to her home. Some time later that evening, T was standing in front of the gate, to her home.
After Jenny bore witness, to the verbal confrontation between Ruth and Theresa, she finally understood, why her little barbs against Ruth, did not even put a chink in her emotional armor. for those two bore all the blows they hit each other with. I was like water falling off a duck's back.
Jenny observed T standing at her gate; still bitter from her confrontation with Ruth a week or so earlier, got some relief, that someone was able to stand toe to toe with Ruth and do what she was unable to do.
Jenny walked over to T and said to her:
Jenny: T, I like how you put Ruth in her place, she too gad darm fresh.
T, speaking loud enough to to get Ruth's attention said.
T: "Jenny when you see me and Ruth have we thing, don't get involved, stay out of it; it's not your F-ing business!
This statement made by T, got Ruth's attention and without skipping a beat, Ruth voice can be heard echoing from her second story apartment as she reply to T's remarks to Jenny in Vincentian dialect.
Ruth: T, ah who (T who is getting into our business)?
T: It is the darm dirtiness, Jack went to Chateaubelair to pick up off the streets and "bring ah town" (and brought to Kingstown) say he have woman. (and he feel he has a good woman).
Ruth: You mean that darm dirty ***** woman: Jenny, who abandon her children to come ah town to tek man.
Jenny fond her self between a Rock and A hard place. All she was looking for, was some solace, to help her heal, form the emotional wounds Ruth inflicted upon her a week or so ago. Now her emotional injuries are much worst than they every will get.
No matter what happened to Jenny emotionally from that point forward, she can look back and be assured. It can never get emotionally worst for her.
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