Strait Jackets For Sale

Cool runnings Clarendon Park

Whoosh! Another minibus went speeding by. It was the third to do so in about five minutes. I looked at 'Nutsy', the cashew vendor.

"Yeah man, yuh haffi watch fi dem. Dem drive too crucial," he said, his eyes wide.

Nutsy and I were standing near a railway crossing in Clarendon Park, Clarendon. That's where he spends most of his days, peddling small bags of roasted cashews. He's a friendly fellow with droopy eyes. Nutsy lives in Porus, not too far away.

"About five year now mi selling out here yuh know," he said.

"Di runnings nuh too bad still, yuh can eat a food if you have yuh regular customer dem."

Whoosh! Another vehicle, this one a small car sped by. A woman with curlers in her hair stuck her head out the window of the passenger side.

"Nutsy, wah deh gwaan?" she yelled. Nutsy gave a yelp and waved. By then the car had disappeared around a bushy corner.

"Ah who dat?" he asked me. I had no idea and was surprised by the question. I had after all, just met the man.

"She fava Lorine, but Lorine deh ah town," he said, mostly to himself. He shrugged.

I asked Nutsy how he managed to stay so calm even as vehicles sped by so close to him.

"Mi nah lie, one time mi never did like it. But as time pass yuh get used to it," he said.

Looking down the road I spotted a white Coaster bus heading our way. I took two steps back. Beep! Beep! The bus got closer then came to a stop in front of us. A woman wearing large, gold earrings, and rings on most of her fingers poked her head through one of the back windows.

"Nuts man!" she shouted.

Nutsy's eyes widened and he dashed over to her. As this happened, about five other men selling phone cards, juices and bottled water suddenly appeared and made an equally quick run to the window of the bus. I hadn't seen them before and was surprised by their sudden arrival.

"Nuts man mi call, mi nuh want no juice!" the woman shouted.

"Den baby, yuh ah go choke pon di so-so dry nuts," said a short, balding man holding a bucket full of box and bag juices.

The woman hissed and went on to examine Nutsy's inventory.

"How much fi dis one?" she asked, pointing to one of the smaller bags.

"Cho man baby, mi nah kill yuh. Just gimme two bills and gwaan," was Nutsy's reply.

The woman handed him the bills and the bus sputtered off. The other vendors disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

Am I the only one who considers escaping from a straight jacket to ...

More important than the ability to escape from a straight jacket is the ability to escape from your sins that have enslaved you! ("Who ever commits sin is a slave to sin" ~Jesus)

But Sin pays its slaves by dragging them, kicking and screaming, into hell with them.

So, as I already pointed out, learning how to escape slavery from Sin is far more important than learning how to escape from a straight jacket.

Jesus not only said that who ever commits sin is a slave to sin, but he went on to say "But whom the Son sets free shall be free, indeed" in the very same breath.

I would say that you are trying to Empress upon your children what might be necessary to keep around the house in case of emergency…you know Dad is not truly with them at all times by the look of His cartoon face…But a real clown at times "i" am sure HA, Hang in there Dad….

California outlook ...

Journal of the Senate of the State of California

The Journal of the Senate during the ... session of the Legislature of the State of California

Studies in business policy

The Northwestern reporter