The Adventures of Ludiboy

Independence Day feast

     The true Summer heat blew in now. The wind was hot and the soil was strong. It was so hot that the mangoes ripened even quicker than usual. But for the country boys and girls, who didn't always eat everyday as the normal town children seem to, this was a blessing! The small mango bushes and jungles in the  gullies were often climbed and their precious fruits raided and feasted on by the children. The older women of the community, like Mrs. Gordon, saw this as an ideal time to make mango teas for their families' breakfast.

     Amidst the sweet smelling of 'Stringy' or 'East Indian' mangoes, there was something more exciting and nerve-racking that the residents of Red Boar just couldn't wait for. It was the the greatest celebration that the Red Boar residents waited for since the year had begun, besides Christmas. It was August, and every Jamaican knew what this meant: Independence. 

Jamaica would soon be 26 years old and every year, it was a great celebration.

The smell of mangoes in the air was how Red Boar residents knew it was that time of year since no one had a decent calendar in their home, except for Teacher Gordon of course. And every year the residents of Red Boar would come together as a community and have a great feast. Teacher Gordon, of course, was the host, since his yard was the most presentable and he had the right space for the day's event.

     There would be pretty lights in the late afternoon. The rustic women would begin their cooking from early in the morning, cooking meats like curried chicken, jerked chicken, stewed peas, and brown stew chicken. Each woman had a special big 'soup pot' set aside for this day. It is in these that the meals would be prepared. The women would put their pots over two blocks, where between them, firewood would be burning. Women like Ms. Venny and Ms. Gracious were known to be exceptional cooks, who always contested each other on this day. The men would also play their part: delivering the green bananas, cocoa, yams and dasheen to the yard for the women's cooking. All these foods were provided and served free, but Pobo's exceptional white rums and dragon stouts were most definitely for sale. Because of this, the men knew that they had to save up their money prior to the event so that they could enjoy the evening drinking and chatting away with their fellow men.

      Teacher Gordon usually invited band players from Breadfruit Hill to come and play their songs. These men were also served foods and only for them, the alcoholic beverages were free, since they were playing free of charge. There would be dancing and singing as these men played.

     Our protagonist, Ludiboy, could not miss such sense of entertainment. Plus the fact that there were plenty of rum to drink, and men who lived to gamble would make themselves present. Again, an opportunity to make some money. 

"Mmm. You can smell that?" an anxious Ludiboy asked himself, sniffing the air from his window. 

"Sweet, sweet mango tea, boiling in people's pot!" Ludiboy was a fan of the beverage, although he had never had some cooked in his own home. 

But now, he felt it would change as there was the presence of a working woman who seemed as if she knew all the Jamaican dishes ever made.

"For a good amount o' years, me could only get mango tea from people, inna one cup. But now, I gonna have plenty! And my mango tea will be better than anyone else's!" he boasted to himself.

      Ludiboy sat down on one of his chairs, and ate his breakfast of fried plantains, fried dumplings and tuna, with of course, mango tea! Simonea sat down beside him, and he took a sip of the tea. It was splendid! Warm and sweet on his taste buds, and sweeter than cotton-candy! He drank and drank and barely ate any of the food. He finished drinking before he had he even touched his food.