Love and newspaper folded into a box on Main street : Groundings 4
Lina texted me to say that she forgot her box of quotations at home. I was able to print some quotations to start the discussions about love and the Linden martyrs.
I had a problem with finding boxes though.
My lesbian sensibilities took over and I thought, right.. I will make a box.
I remember Natalie in a meeting folding boxes from flyers she had picked up around the place. She uses the boxes in her workshops.
And I went online and found some Newspaper origami pots and tried a few until I got a box/pot just right.
It was Friday 18th, the fourth groundings .. and we were back on Main Street.
So I went out - proud of my newspaper box with quotations inside for people to pull.
Lina had some people she was gaffing with. I started asking people to come up and pull quotations and read and people passed looking away and two tourists looked at me with the polite.. we don't have time now. Some persons remembered the Linden story, others did not.
One man passed and asked which party we belonged and if we were doing a survey. He liked what we were doing. He pulled a quotation about forgiveness and so and he said all this is good things and that man should not beat woman.
An elderly man turned back and started talking about the skullduggery, wickedness of politicians, of fear, of going to Walter Rodney meetings but standing far to avoid trouble and of generally avoiding trouble. He talked a lot.. what we call a good gaff man here , it was Friday afternoon and like us, he had time to gaff.
A young man and a young woman passed and turned back. They looked puzzled at the newspaper box and then the young man pulled out the quote from the Red Thread analysis of the compensation for the Linden
The young man was surprised. He is the same age as Ron Somerset. He remembered the Linden story but did not know that the compensation was so low. The young woman did not know either. And so we started talking.. the older man, the two young people and me about fear, change, loving Guyana and leaving Guyana.
The young woman studied architecture, the young man Geography. He felt that voting was important . We talked of other actions and the absence of actions. He likes Blue Caps for bringing awareness of Local Government Elections. Another young man thought it was a maths quiz we were doing on the street. He felt that you cannot put a price on anybody's life.
He said he felt that many young people do not get involved in political issues because the older folks told them about how Rodney died and about the things which happen when you speak out. The older man said that he likes to stay out of trouble and the Linden martyrs should have done the same. The young man then showed something he had started writing, based on his interest in art and which he showed the girl for the first time too. It was about imagining Guyana as a masterpiece of art. He told me he has no intention of leaving Guyana. I thought of him on Saturday as I met another young artist who had felt he would never leave Guyana, until he left so he could find work which could support him as he developed his painting.
We talked on the avenue of many things for almost two hours. I shared the Audre Lorde quotations about silence which the young man did not know about.
The young woman held the newspaper box in her hand and I asked if she wanted it she could keep it. They had a project with plants and they were going to buy plastic pots but now they realised that they could use Newspaper and make the pots for the seedlings.
I have visions of just folding up newspaper on the unused chess tables on the Main Street avenue and giving away free pots or seedlings.
A 16 year old man from Moruca said he was in town for work and going back. He had not heard of the Linden martyrs, or the protest, or of any of the youth training activities offered by the Government.
He said things were changing, he had come out of school and there was construction in Moruca and bush wuk. He did not read much he said but he took the book . He said it was a good thing we were doing to gaff with people on the avenue.
His blessings I remembered as I walked to the bus park with the sandals which I had bought from Discount Store the day before falling apart. I ended up walking barefoot and then going in the bus barefoot . Discount refunded me the money on Saturday but it took some work and name dropping.
I had a problem with finding boxes though.
My lesbian sensibilities took over and I thought, right.. I will make a box.
I remember Natalie in a meeting folding boxes from flyers she had picked up around the place. She uses the boxes in her workshops.
And I went online and found some Newspaper origami pots and tried a few until I got a box/pot just right.
It was Friday 18th, the fourth groundings .. and we were back on Main Street.
So I went out - proud of my newspaper box with quotations inside for people to pull.
 |
| Box folded from newspaper with quotations inside |
One man passed and asked which party we belonged and if we were doing a survey. He liked what we were doing. He pulled a quotation about forgiveness and so and he said all this is good things and that man should not beat woman.
An elderly man turned back and started talking about the skullduggery, wickedness of politicians, of fear, of going to Walter Rodney meetings but standing far to avoid trouble and of generally avoiding trouble. He talked a lot.. what we call a good gaff man here , it was Friday afternoon and like us, he had time to gaff.
A young man and a young woman passed and turned back. They looked puzzled at the newspaper box and then the young man pulled out the quote from the Red Thread analysis of the compensation for the Linden
18-year-old Ron Somerset could have been expected to live another 48.5 years, which means that the award of $2,000,000 amounts to $41,237 per year or $113 per day. With that, his mother could afford two loose tennis rolls from a corner shop with $33 change or one pound of flour with $13 change.”
How much would you have given his mother?
The young man was surprised. He is the same age as Ron Somerset. He remembered the Linden story but did not know that the compensation was so low. The young woman did not know either. And so we started talking.. the older man, the two young people and me about fear, change, loving Guyana and leaving Guyana.
The young woman studied architecture, the young man Geography. He felt that voting was important . We talked of other actions and the absence of actions. He likes Blue Caps for bringing awareness of Local Government Elections. Another young man thought it was a maths quiz we were doing on the street. He felt that you cannot put a price on anybody's life.
He said he felt that many young people do not get involved in political issues because the older folks told them about how Rodney died and about the things which happen when you speak out. The older man said that he likes to stay out of trouble and the Linden martyrs should have done the same. The young man then showed something he had started writing, based on his interest in art and which he showed the girl for the first time too. It was about imagining Guyana as a masterpiece of art. He told me he has no intention of leaving Guyana. I thought of him on Saturday as I met another young artist who had felt he would never leave Guyana, until he left so he could find work which could support him as he developed his painting.
We talked on the avenue of many things for almost two hours. I shared the Audre Lorde quotations about silence which the young man did not know about.
The young woman held the newspaper box in her hand and I asked if she wanted it she could keep it. They had a project with plants and they were going to buy plastic pots but now they realised that they could use Newspaper and make the pots for the seedlings.
I have visions of just folding up newspaper on the unused chess tables on the Main Street avenue and giving away free pots or seedlings.
A 16 year old man from Moruca said he was in town for work and going back. He had not heard of the Linden martyrs, or the protest, or of any of the youth training activities offered by the Government.
He said things were changing, he had come out of school and there was construction in Moruca and bush wuk. He did not read much he said but he took the book . He said it was a good thing we were doing to gaff with people on the avenue.
His blessings I remembered as I walked to the bus park with the sandals which I had bought from Discount Store the day before falling apart. I ended up walking barefoot and then going in the bus barefoot . Discount refunded me the money on Saturday but it took some work and name dropping.
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