~Mr. Michael Jackson's Innocence Bracelets~

One Hand Wash the Other.....

HI JAMAICA!!

Stats shows you are constantly on this world reknown page!

WE HAVE A NEW SITE RELATED TO JAMAICAN CULTURE...

http://thegooseisloose.webs.com/

Hello? To my relatives who are waking up every firstlight in MY HOUSE to watch the planes land and take of from Mo'Bay International..do you REALLY think I will never REALLY be home soon?  Better start sweeping the floors.. and to Mr. & Mrs. Irye, the BOSS will be Soon Come. Move outa da way, mon!

You Know Who!

Jah Guide.

When the Sky Threatens Lightening and Jah Thunder starts to rip up de Firmanent of the Heavens..we will arrive..back home to the Mystic Blue Mountains..Where  the World Cannot Infiltrate.

http://www.mustardseed.com/

Hoping to help..in anyway we can.

6.19.09

As the days wind closer to the Summer Equinox..I shudder to think of what the Islanders are facing..a very low dollar..a shaky "indebt economy..and the inevitable summer hurricane season's enproachment.

When that sea turns wild..and the wind decides to rip off the zinc roofs..and destroy the filmsy ghetto 's..it is then that we all must dig a little deeper and help out.

Let us pray this year's season will be uneventful in the long run. May Jamaica, the Blessed Isle, stay safe and stong  for the rest of 2009.

Amen.

~MJIB~Co. Productions

Me pass by "the trench" on my court day --one day after the General Election in 1993..with gunshot zinging over my head...Jah Know.

The Founder

DEM WHO FEEL IT ...KNOW IT

http://wiki.worldflicks.org/sir_donald_sangster_international_airport.html#coords=(18.5036,%20-77.9133)&z=14

Home is always only a few clicks away!

http://www.savejamaica.com/

"Time is hot, mon", chanted Auntie, our affectionate name for my mom in law as she sat on her bed in the morning heat. It was 7 am and already pushing 35 degrees C.

The gran' pickneys were milling around the house, playing with this and that broken toy pieces, some needing a diaper change, some getting fussy already with the summer heat.

"Me na' know where Israel is a now. Him must've gone back to country. Me na' know what  I will do  now for  a 'lickle money for Sunday dinner."

So she will spend her day, patiently and calmly trusting that one of her sons will return with some cash for her to take to the market. Surrounded by so many dozen and more gran' she always say, "Worrying 'na help either..so why me worry  for?"

It is  learning from this patient attitude that I have been inspired to withstand so much pressure to run ~MJIB~Co.© for so many years.

I hope you feel some of it as you visit here.

Israel ,  May You Rest in Peace.

Auntie, I have been worried much as your cell phone is disconnected.

I'll see you soon, alright?

Love

Your Dawta,

Linda

~MJIB~Co. Productions

LISTEN TO HOME!  GO JAMAICA POWER 106! 

 http://www.go-jamaica.com/

18,000 hits. 16:44 hours 10.10.08 Neverland Time.

22,000 hits on 1.05.09. Keep it up, everyone! Stats still show this to be #1 page on whole site!! Who knows? Maybe one day it will be its own site!!

4.12.09    25,000 Hits!!

BUDGET 2009 BLUES.... & PASSPORTS ARE DOUBLING!!!!

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090423/lead/lead1.html

Lord Help Us.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

4.23.09

We at ~MJIB~Co. Productions are saddened that our Home Nation of Jamaica has been a victim of a dual terrorism--the Can-Jet hijacking and one of loss of one of Jamaican's youth to crime.

Something absolutely must be done to correct things before more unfortunate incidents like this occur, both on the Island and abroad.

Miss. L. McLaughlin

http://www.go-jamaica.com/iphoto2/index.php?album=press-conference-sangster-international-airport

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_33846.aspx

 4.28.09   THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS! I cannot stand to see the wonderful and blessed citizens of Jamaica having to suffer with this dollar shrinkage!

To a tourist this currency exchange exchange looks heavenly,

but to a National of Jamaica this is a recipe for disaster.

In my dreams I see my dear family and solid as gold friends crying out in sufferation for what  the economic slavery is putting them through on the Island..my consciousness is telling me, gently, like the waves embracing the shores of my home beach....it may soon be time to visit home..to heal the sick, tend the sad and forlorn, hungry and desolate...to walk those shores and travel deep into the jungles..

~ABP~

Founder & President of ~MJIB~Co. Productions

Thanks Fans of ~CARAVAN of TOYS~ We have hit 16,500 page hits on here on 7.26.08 at 09:20 am Neverland Time. 

Still trying to figure us out? Home is a gunshot ghetto.. I n I.na' loss pass.

THE WORLD LOVES THIS PAGE..stats show it!

www.jamaicatravelandculture.com

Our site features a travel guide to the main destinations in Jamaica as well as several which are “off the beaten path”. We also have info about Jamaican music, book and film reviews, biographies of notable Jamaicans and videos for Jamaican recipes.

Posted on request : 4.07.09

"Gunshot na  gonna'fire ovr your head, Lord! Dis here general election 1993 cause so much corruption in dis town of Kingston, mon. What a day fer you to have to go to court, ta ras! The stores still bar shut from the lootin'  and fightin' last night --yet the court must run?"

 Our cabbie was in shock. Perhaps he had  never seen a foreigner experience what I was about to bravely step through...

I had to attend court for true. the very day after the National Election in March 1993! It was an experience unlike any I had ever thought I would have faced in my life.

Growing up in quiet , middle-class subdivision in Canada..with minus 50 winters and hot dry blistering summers..who would have thought ?

It was how I got through some important matters ...but when I came out of that bleak place, bullets zinging over my companion and I's heads. WE RAN to the nearest taxi!

The uneasy feeling never wore off until we were well out of the Parish of St. Andrew and on our way back to St.Mary. The images of desperate poverty, of makeshift tin shacks and rambling torn t-shirt children chasing  mangy bleating goats...  have never left my mind.

Kingston, Jamaica--you can get one of the best university educations in the world there..but as for the rest.. I'll pass.

L. McLaughlin

Founder of ~MJIB~Co. Productions ©

Isaiah 11:11-12 Recover Remnant, Gather Four Corners

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His Hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall be left, from Ashur, and from Mitzrayim, from Patros, and from Kush, and from Elam, and from Shin'ar, and from Hamat, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up a banner for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Yisra'el, and gather together the dispersed of Yehuda from the four corners of the earth."

Even from Trenchtown--children can have a birthright to a promising future.

Welcome to ~CARAVAN of TOYS~. Stats show that after Home page. Amazing Story and Guestbook  of ~MJIB~Co. this is the #3 Hot Spot on the Whole Site!

Well, all I know is you're looking at my favorite  "escape from Mo'Bay"--Blue Harbor, St. Mary.....

   Sandals, Montego Bay, Ja.: My neighbor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   5.06.08

I have put up this internationally popular page for visitors to experience my other home country, of which I am very proud of: Jamaica. However, I do NOT support the use of marijuana in way, use or form and I myself am a lifelong n/d and n/s. Not every Islander  is in favor of the  illegal  substance as is a widely mis-held conception.  Jamaica herself enjoys a fine reputation as a God-fearing nation / national; whether home or abroad and the sooner this  "casual attitude" about Jamaica  stops, the better  it will be for all of us.

Thank-you.

L. McLaughlin

The Founder of ~MJIB~Co. PRODUCTIONS

Summer has arrived with all of its splash and glamour  but for Jamaica it only means being that much closer to the typical hurricane season of August  to October.

Please pray for a safe  season for Jamaica.

Thank-you.

The scenery  photo's here are gorgeous--don't click on the adjoined youtube video's at the end as they may NOT be family-safe.

Things were just not going right.

After being nursed back to health  at the zinc shack on a hilltop  behind the Donald Sangster International Airport, there was now the huge problem of being haunted to contend with.

Every morning at 3am., we would tremble to hear approaching footsteps that would walk 3/4's of the way around the house and then stop. Uneasily, we would drift back to sleep only to discover no trace of the steps outside when we awoke again.

My father-in-law said it was a "duppy".

We had to travel deep into the countryside jungles to find the remedy.  I still remember all the queer foilage and fruits we had to put about the place to ward off the spirit.

It stopped.

Whatever it was.. I still don't like 3 am!

~ABP~

Every morning I would awake to laughter, no matter the poverty, no matter the weather..just happiness, all around me. Myraids of  brown-eyed children would surround my every step..and every single elder I passed on the paths through the ghetto's of "Devon in Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica absolutely HAD TO  be greeted with either a "Good Morning, Mother" or a "Good Evening, Father".

Having literally dropped out of the blue sky, all the way from Vancouver, Canada--where it is "normal" to NOT make eye-contact to strangers--this was indeed an "eye-opener".

I remember one elderly gentleman, who always sat outside on his porch in his rocker, whom I figured didn't REALLY need that salute every single time I passed from the shop below or wherever..so often times, I would pass his presence, just like a typical Vancouverite: head- down and in my own thoughts. At those times, he would quietly  take it all in and not reply either. That is, until the next time I passed..then it would be.."You na' say Good Morning today...." And he would say it in SUCH a tone of voice, that I would be overridden with guilt and vow to say it the "next morning for sure".

Well, sadly, the "next morning" rose sunny and hot, the roosters calling through the ghetto, and I learned that the kindly elder had passed on in his sleep that  very night..it was too late to now retrace my steps and say ,"Good Morning" to him. I have never forgotten him and  I think one of the most difficult aspects of re-adjusting to life in Canada has been to  NOT greet every elder that passes me by. But if I see a Jamaican Elder  anywhere about, you better believe me when I tell you that yes, I quickly salute them!

Jamaica is a serious place..don't go  there without a level head or it will teach you it... mighty fast.

~ABP~

You better LOVE Reggae if you're travelling to Jamaica..because in every parish, in every town, there are twelve foot high speakers that blast it out all night long..how do you sleep? You get used to it.

R.I.P. (Not for Sale)

Back Home: Zion and Naine Miles. Selah.

^{TM 2008 MJINNOCENCE BRACELETS All Rights Reserved.}

The Memory Service is held at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden on 15 April. 2008 from 7-10 pm...

PS. In line of the flowers the family requesta that donations be made to the Nine Mile Charitable Foundation 5800 Suncrest Drive, Miami Florida 33156...
The Foundaton was started by Mother B.
She will be buried at Nine Miles I guess with her son...

Ras Tafari

COURTESY: Br. Thord in Sweden / ~MJIB~Co. PRODUCTIONS

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080214/news/news1.html

I  know you near to our hearts now.

http://www.classical-reggae-interviews.org/cb-5.htm

http://www.classical-reggae-interviews.org/cb-4.htm

http://www.classical-reggae-interviews.org/cb-1.htm

http://www.classical-reggae-interviews.org/cb-2.htm

Friday, January 28, 2005

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP): The mother of Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley arrived here Thursday to attend final preparations for next month's commemoration of her late son's birthday anniversary in Ethiopia.

Cedella Marley Booker, 80, arrived from Miami, Florida and was greeted on arrival by Marley's widow, Rita Marley, who has been here since January 6.

Some 200,000 visitors are expected to attend the special "Africa Unite" event, named after one of the reggae star's hit songs and due to kick off February 1, to mark what would have been his 60th birthday.

Bob Marley, who died of cancer in 1981 at the age 36, visited Ethiopia in 1979.

The late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie is regarded as the spiritual leader of the Rastafarian movement which Bob Marley espoused and Ethiopia as the cradle of that movement.

Throughout February, concerts, exhibitions and conferences will be held in Addis Ababa and nearby Shashemene as part of the commemoration. The highlight of the commemoration will be a giant free concert in Addis Ababa's Meskel Square on February 6, to be attended by leading African music stars, including Senegal's Youssou N'Dour and Benin's Angelique Kidjo.

Two weeks ago, Bob Marley and Rita Marley Foundations denied press reports that the widow of the reggae legend planned to have his body exhumed from his Jamaican burial ground and entombed in Ethiopia.

According to the reports, Marley's widow, Rita, had said during a visit to Ethiopia that she planned to have her husband's remains taken from Jamaica, where he was born, and reburied in his "spiritual home" of Ethiopia.

SOURCE: Caribbean Net News / ~MJIB~Co. PRODUCTIONS

But a representative of the Rita Marley Foundation later told Jamaican reporters there was no plan to remove Marley's body from his burial place in the rural district of Nine Miles in St Ann on the northeast coast of Jamaica.

Born in 1945 in St Ann, Marley rose from the gritty shantytowns of Kingston to global stardom with hits such as "No Woman, No Cry," "Get Up, Stand Up," "Africa Unite," "One Love" and "I Shot the Sheriff."

In December, speakers at the 60th birthday press launch recommended that Marley be named a national hero of Jamaica and there be a holiday to commemorate his musical achievements.

  This page is LIVEicated to my Island Home--JAMAICA. This page is ~Supremely Sacred Space~. RESPECT!

...and --just in case you were wondering- the background image is the very path up to Jah Nesta Bob Marley's Chapel where I travelled on July 22nd. 1992. I took the photograph myself. A journey that became so well-known that it was broadcast on Reggae Radio for years!

Respect to Mother B., Mrs. Cedalla Marley Booker, the very first person to EVER email me! BOB MARLEY's MOM!

Mrs. Marley Booker at Africa Unite  Event in Addis Ababa  2005.

http://www.bobmarleyfoundation.org/New_index.html

http://www.bobmarley.com/

Congratulations to Ziggly & Orly Marley  upon the recent birth of  RNM's newest grandson!

AND!

will.i.am (from The Black Eyed Peas) remixes Bob Marley's "Africa Unite

will.i.am you sure get around!

9.19.07.

As you’re reading this, Black Eyed Pea and producer to the stars Will.i.am is locked away in a New York City recording studio working with Michael Jackson on the Gloved One’s highly anticipated comeback album.

In this recent interview Will.i.am talks about working with Michael in the studio and the difference between working with a legend and newcoming artists.

Will tells the findtotty.com website, “We’re taking it day by day, we’ve finished some songs. I like what I’m doing, I’m really happy with it, but it’s not my project to talk about. I could be talking about song titles what they sound like and be excited about it, but those songs I made may not make his record and then I look like an idiot.”

Fair enough. So what was it like stepping into the studio with a true legend? “That was the hardest thing on the planet Earth that I ever had to endure,” he said. “I even said, ‘You know what, Mike? I know how to work with Justin. I know how to work with Fergie. I know how to work with John Legend. I know how to work with thee people, but it probably took four or five days [for me to figure it out with you].’ He’s like, ‘Why? What do you mean,’” Will recalls, doing a disturbingly spot-on imitation of Jackson’s falsetto whisper.

“’Well everything you do I like.’” “Because we had that conversation, I could navigate the session and not just be like, ‘Ooooh, damn, it’s Michael, oh my God,’” Will remembers. “You can’t let that affect you in the studio when you’re working with newcoming artists,” he adds of working with established greats. “Newcoming artists can have a great idea but because you just worked with Michael Jackson you’re going to think their idea is not superior. You can’t do that. You have to be able to tame a lion and then forget all about it when you’re chillin’ with cats.”

~ABP~

.

9.08.07New York City Tribute, mon.

A Flight from Kingston to Mo'Bay....crossing an Island that Our Founder knows like the back of her hand.

Faith CAN Move Mountains.

More flights below..scroll down.

A Word of Caution:

You are about to land on the Island of Jamaica.

Don't let all that multiplied currency go to your head--it goes FAST! "Money Moves"

Unless you are immediately being picked up  by family or a tour bus to whisk you off to your safe and cozy all-inclusive resort, NEVER carry a purse - a sturdy backpack with a wrap-around clasp in front of you is best. Keep your CASH and credit cards around your waist in a thin undetectable waist belt., UNDER your clothes.

This is the Land of Look Behind---keep your eyes moving.

Ok this is making me REALLY homesick now.:(

The Blue Mountains of Jamaica, West Indies.

 Where Miracles Have Happened.

http://www.go-jamaica.com/power/

Take off your shoes..forget what ever else you were thinking..and stay awhile. This is a page Rich in Culture and HIStory. IT is I-tinually growing.

I-tect InI Home Land from the Vicious Storm at this hour we pray..in Rasta Name, Almighty Father God Jah Sellasie I the 1st, I-verliving Jah.I-tect Our Precious Homeland, Family & Friends ..for with out JAMAICA, we are nowhere.

Amen.

Me remember how your very spirt arise up the second InI embrace the cool marble tomb where your mighty feet rest. How you pull me down and, and then, seeing the utter amazement in my tour comrade's eyes--right there in your chapel, Nesta. then how I realized you didn't wish me to leave at all..for inside your tomb..I felt a piece of paradise--a touch and breath of Zion I Hill.   

Without JA.we won't be here.... SOON COME!

LOVE TO ALL OF MY EXTENDED FAMILY IN JA & MANY, MANY FRIENDS, BREDRIN & SISTRIN.  I MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

THANKS FOR ALL THE PRAYERS AROUND THE ISLAND.

One Love,

~ABP~

Hail up Libby n Chef and Family... Call or Email  "Chef" for the Best Transfers and Tours in All of Jamaica!

http://www.cheftours.5u.com/

read 'dis whole page, mon....the whole 'ting.

when no one OVERSTANDS me up here...I always have my "own yard" to run home too.

 Home is also overlooking coral reefs and on a rustic beach..

 Blessed.:)

My Elder Rasta "Dodi" pulled me aside and looked at me squarely in the eyes, so I would never forget..

"Promise me, that ...you will come home."

I promised.

Soon Come.

Bed just means SLEEP.

In Jamaica, you cannot sleep on the floor. Cause if you do, the 40 legs gonna crawl on you!

So ppl have to share the bed. Yes, I said SHARE.

Heads alternate with feet and if there is space leftover behind someone's feet--well, Grampa pulls up 2 chairs for  his body and his head rests  in that space.

In these situations, the couples find their own space at  someone else's house, less crowded.

About the same going on in my own house down there--ha-everyone prefer it over the Gramma house and it has the best view--overlooking the coral reefs and you can watch the flights come in and take off every day.

I'll be HOME soon. Jah Know.
Ha--can't wait to see the surprised faces!

I'm counting off the days....

God Bless

~ABP~

Wake up, mon, the sister  wants tea.

Lazy ras---get up--fetch water. Ta ras clot bloodfiyah. Me am up. Suzzzzzz u!

It is 2am. We live in an abandoned dance hall on a rustic beach in Jamaica, half of the roof torn off by Hurricane Gilbert in '88. We live here with a rough, soft-hearted, good as gold solid bunch of Rasta fishermen. We have been living here for a long time now, many moons.

I feel ill and need warm mint tea. My roomate is hard to wakeup--my neighbor, on the other side of the wall, rasses him up a little to go get the water. And they do. All for me. My children keep sleeping soundly.

The radio is turned on. Ras, na waste de batteries, mon.

I just wanna hear de weather report--dat wind is blowing rougher out there. Dodi come back from night sea fishing, yet? Hey, Shatta--ya see Dodiites?

Ta ras. Where him a now.

Make extra tea--him a come in soon. The waves too rough.

So--the night goes--we sit around the kersosene stove and drink warm tea, sweetened with cane sugar. We hear the early roosters and then we see the light from Dodi's flashlight coming over the water. Big white smiles flash around the camp. Means , Dodi got his catch and we'll have dunzai " money" for the night's dinner. This is our life that we share--everyone looks out for each other.

I am returning one day -soon- for a visit. Soon Come.

~ABP~

Founder & President of ~MJIB~Co. PRODUCTIONS

(To Be  Continued)

Fishermen from the Pagee Beach in Port Maria returned to shore from as early as Saturday afternoon after persistent warnings from the Meteorology Office.

Greetings Linda ,

2.07.07

Thank you for contacting The Marley Resort & Spa and for your patience during this project.  We are very excited to open our web site (www.marleyresort.com) and invite you peruse at your leisure. As we finalize details on the property we will be taking reservations for arrival June 1, 2007 onwards.  Be sure to check our rates and specials page as we will be updating that page with special on an ongoing basis.

In the coming weeks we will be adding pictures of our rooms and the property along with information on our packages including the One Love Honeymoon Package, Could you be loved? Romance Package, and Is this Love? Legendary Wedding and Renewal Package.

Our Natural Mystic Spa fuses treatments and traditional secrets from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, as well as Rita’s herbal bath rituals. An aroma steam room is featured for the ultimate in renewal. A host of services include herbal body scrubs and wraps, nail care, and hot and cold plunges. Treatments include Nine Mile Journey, Natural Mystic Facial, and One Cup of Coffee Scrub. 

Simmer Down, our gourmet restaurant offers Caribbean cuisine with some of Bob’s favorites on the menu along with other classic family recipes. We pride ourselves on the use of organic produce and fresh seafood throughout the menu.  Stir it Up, will offer natural juices and specialty house blends along with all you favorite beverages. Marley Boutique rounds the offering with a variety of family designed items to treat yourself while indulging at the Marley Resort & Spa.

We look forward to hosting your visit with us. If you have additional questions please contact us via this email as our phone system will not be activated at this time (guestrelations@marleyresort.com ).

One Love,

Marley Resort & Spa

 10.27.06

 We thank you for your continued interest in the Marley Resort & Spa as we approach the website’s final development stages. The site will soon feature an in-depth look at the resort complete with an online reservation system. In the meantime, we would like to share with you a sneak preview of the Marley Resort & Spa with the anticipation of accommodating you soon.

Originally a governor’s mansion, Mrs. Rita Marley purchased the property after falling in love with it at first sight.  The house was the summer getaway for the Marley Family from being on the road and life in Jamaica. After careful consideration, they decided to renovate and return this home to its former glory. Mrs. Rita Marley envisioned the resort as a way to personify the essence of her late husband, Bob Marley, his family and his legacy, and to offer incomparable comfort and vibe, even to the most discerning traveler.

Conveniently located in Nassau, Bahamas, the Marley Resort & Spa is situated on Cable Beach, locally known as the “Bahamian Riviera,” offering you, our future guests, a luxurious access to paradise. With its rich culture and heritage accentuated throughout the resort, the Marley Resort & Spa boasts 16 luxurious themed suites with select bedding options and upscale amenities. It also includes a five-star concierge desk with an array of services and a list of excursions and packages to choose from including wedding packages, golf, water sports and other exciting island adventures. Stop and visit the funky, uniquely designed Marley Boutique showcasing authentic Marley merchandise, quality Jamaican art and crafts and high-end fashion designed by daughter, Cedella. With emphasis on intimacy and individuality, the resort also houses an exclusive outdoor/indoor boutique spa presenting a menu of herbal therapies, ancient remedies and beauty rituals fused together from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Whether you are snorkeling the warm Caribbean waters or lounging by a private, free form pool, you will find yourselves immersed in pure island bliss. After soaking up the sun, whet your appetite at our premier gourmet Caribbean fusion restaurant serving themed, exotic dishes including some of Bob Marley’s favorites. Just relax and enjoy the mood as a Marley might just swing by to dine with you. At the end of your evening, shimmy under the stars as the island vibe is enhanced through nightly Caribbean music.

We are happy to say, “The Legend Lives” at the Marley Resort & Spa.  Please stay tuned as we will offer more information as soon as we open our doors. 

If so..I Thank-you, Almighty God.

Like ~MJ~, unfortunately, I have had several near-brushes with Fate..this is the story of  one of them.

~ABP~

In June 1984,I was travelling home to Canada from JAMAICA, an expectant mother and wife, when, shortly after lift-off from Kingston,  the plane started rocking when there was no turbulance at all.

  The press said there were 146 people on board--they were mistaken--it was 147--including my unborn son!

"Lords have mercy, swweet mother of Jesus, help us, LAWD"!, the prayers rang out with each sharp swerve and dip in the sky. Were we going to last the 4 hour flight to Toronto?

Can u even imagine it? The Air Jamaica flight rocked and dipped and swerved the whole flight. I  had never heard so many Prayers At Once In My Life!

  Millions of prayers later and, miraculously, the bird did land--but HARD!! with her  right wingtip smashed right into the tarmack!! Some jerk had the nerve to start smoking!! That was it!! the already  HOT plane--was filling with smoke as it was!! We were rushed out the door!! Buses carried us safely away---as the emergency firetrucks began hosing the damaged plane.

I had no doubt---Prayers Has Saved US!

I doubt any of you ever had  the nerve to be already seat- belted into a large passenger jet and just seconds before it is going to back down the tarmack to leave its port of call--you immediately unsnap the belt, stand up, grab your carry-on's and  demand the stewerdess to let you-DISEMBARK!

I did just that.

I was not prepared to leave Jamaica and I refused. I had a strong feeling I was not to return to Canada yet.

My luggage continued its  journey back up--I DISEMBARKED!--much to the complete shock of everyone else on board--and made my way back up to my husband and I's hilltop home.  The lady at the airport was so sure he would "rass me up for that"--but my young Jamaican husband did no such thing--he completely understood--it was too soon.

To Be Continued...

~ABP~

"Yahso, what u got in dis load-uppa bag, sistrin?", panted the cab driver as he strained to lift the oversized  hockey equipment bag into the back trunk of his derelick cab.  "Toys and food for the Idren uppa Norwood." was my reply. He slammed the trunk shut, turned and smiled his broken tooth smile and exclaimed, " Ya speak Patois!"

I got into the cab, its doors barely hanging  together with unravelling cords , its upholstery taped up in so many places, the interior looked like a patchwork quilt. The late evening was bidding farewell to the last embraces of a golden rosy sun--the sky fanning out out in magestic hues of midnight purple and azure---time was getting on. "You going to be able to spot out where to go--time is late." He was eyeing me up through the rear-view mirror. A petite, bronzed Canadian girl--with sun-bleached blond hair - who for all he knew, could very well get lost up in the infamous gunshot ghetto of Norwood, Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica.

"Na worry-- I  know the way"

He needed no further instructions and away we went, past the  Saturday night sounds of dancing in the streets, the slap of dominoes, infectious laughter, Reggae thumping incesstantly from every corner bar and shop. The night creatures chirring out their loud rhythms, the chickens and dogs all calling out for every dark spiirt that bounces down the roads, gulleys and twisted pathways . Many sharp turns and hair- raising   maneuvers later,  he called out, "Listen here, sistrin. This is my last stop. I believe the home you seek is just over dar." He was pointing to  the flickering kerosene lantern  to my left and sure enough, I heard a familar voice...

"Vern!! Is that not a Linda come down?"

 At that, I smiled and got out. My bags were eagerily brought up to the Family home to await the firstlight. By the minute, more and more shining little eyes were rising out of their cots and jam a corna beds to smile at  me--knowing that 100 Christmas's were now rolled into one -  with my arrival. Many little brown hands were grabbing mine and leading me to the house.  Food and drink were being  hastily prepared.  The dozen or more grandchildren were all sent back to bed where they were excitedly whispering about the huge surprises awaiting in the bags in the morning. "Hush now!! You na get a toy if u na go back to sleep!" was my sister-in-law's plea to them. Full night had arrived. The ghetto slept. though  LOUD  Reggae continued to play throughout the night. The churchgoer's would be up before the crack of dawn to prepare for the strictly observed Day of the Lord.

The real fun lay ahead...

( TO BE CONTINUED) :-D

JAH RASTAFARI!! IVER- LIVING! IVER- TRUE!!! HAIL RASTA LIVITY!  The dreads called out, the air rang with the rooster's morning calls, the air was crisp with kerosene stoves being ignited...laughter rang out all around me--and I could FEEL the little eyes- watching me!!

"Look a here..Aunty Linda !! She a waking up!! See? She open one eye!" I could feel their anxious breaths all around the  bed. How long had they been sitting there watching me sleep , I wondered.

"Shoo! Let her rest", called out Juliett. "Ya na see she come along way, mon!" Juliett let me have my time to myself-- a luxury in Jamaica for the ghetto sufferahs. When I was ready, the grandchildren  completely surrounded me. Some wanting to comb my hair, some wanting to serve me juice or tea, some just eyeing the bags with huge dark eyes--spellbound in anticipation.

The sun was getting hot and it was only 7 am. Breakfast finished and the children all just KNEW.. !!

I asked that the bags be brought out to the front yard. Children seemed to appear from every nook and cranny in Jamaica and everyone just stood there--eyes wider than the Nile River!!  The bags were unzipped and out poured the myraids of wonder!! Teddy bears, jars of peanut butter, canned  food, dolls galore, toy cars and trucks, coloring books and useful secondhand clothing, shoes and souvenirs of Canada--AND OF COURSE!! a few real Canadian apples--deftly hidden inside socks!! The apples were rooted out quickly from the millions of liitle hands all grabbing something. The apples would be treasured--for weeks - inside a  fridge--if anyone had  a fridge,  that is.

For the next few days, it was toy paradise in the ghetto. Many would be broken quickly but the fun had really been in the SURPRISE!

Today, those same children are parents themselves-- yet, they still watch Grandma's Gate-- from time to time-- wondering if Aunty Linda will show up. They never forgot--they never will.

It is with this same spirit that I pass out thousands of MJINNOCENCE BRACELETS all over the world. Just as Prophet Jesus (phub) broke the fishes and the bread to feed the multitudes--so it is with the MJINNOCENCE  BRACELETS.

~ABP~

and last but certainly not the least...KINGSTON!

aww- yes-- the ultimate location for  my court proceedings--one day after the election--with gunshot zinging over my head..what else is new?

when it comes to JAMAICA--where I put down Roots--there is no  denying its dangerous  side..

NEVER GO TO ANY PART OF KINGSTON ALONE!--Especially..TRENCHTOWN!

I AM A SURVIVOR OF KINGSTON AND MAY PEN, TOO!

If you think you  got it rough: what? u need a bigger TV? ur leather sofa not the latest design?

Ha!!

I drove by TRENCHTOWN!

heard of zinc?? how about a whole hillside just shining with zinc tarp walls and roofs and laundry on the line and goats bleating and children crying?

you get the picture yet??

why do I put all 'dis here REALITY and TRUTH here?

the answer is in the question.

Bless I

~ABP~

Missionairies in Jamaica is like selling snow to the Inuit.