Thoughts of a minibus traveller

  Image taken from Ego-Eco-Seva Revisted  by Martin Brown on Fairsnape Gay sex "We are human too" one woman said in answering why members of the LGBTIQ+  community should be concerned about the climate crisis and the environment. The Guyana Rainbow Foundation - Guybow- hosted a workshop which was facilitated by Sherlina Nageer. The theme of the workshop  was "Environmentalism and the LGBTIQ+ community"   The assertion that 'we are human too' is that all human beings including LGBTIQ+ humans are affected by climate change and the resulting climate crisis.  The assertion that 'we are human too' is important in country and region which does not value LGBTIQ+ citizens as equally human  as those who are not LGBTIQ+ (except of course for those people who have 'connections' to the power brokers). The workshop also discussed , in the line of 'we are human too' , the responsibilities to protecting the environment and recovering if possible fro

  Differential Equations  "I was one of those who was taught by her.. but never learned.. I failed Maths twice but she never made me feel stupid".. the woman, also an educator, recalled about Damayanti Kissoon née Persaud who died in December 2022.   Damayanti Kissoon was mother to my brother and me.  Her notes are written in the neat handwriting of so many of her generation who first wrote with fountain pens. No scratches as they 'took their time' to write. The beautiful handwriting, steady, is also on the recipes for fruit cake and oatmeal cookies and the other things she used to bake. Differential equations, Markov chains, motion in a vertical circle, complex numbers, matrix calculations taught over five decades to students first at Bishops' High School, then Berbice High School, St Roses , Queens College and then at home when the Government could not provide a sustainable livelihood to teachers.   The education started at primary school in Kitty, then Tutori

  Man talk Conductor shouts "Kitty" and I jump in front seat, say 'morning' to young driver. Black driver and coolie conductor and I take note because there are places apart from the PPP and the PNC where black men and coolie men work together in harmony and love. Commotion at the back as conductor trying to full bus and ask a woman to move to another seat. Woman refuses as she and the commotion escalates with the conductor shouting about this 'big woman want mek problems.' My neck hurting so I don't turn back and I just listen.  Driver muttering next to me as he driving and Christmas season road busy. The woman 'busing.. people in the bus muttering, laughing at some of the woman's insults, and comments about 'like she need spice'  Woman reaches her stop. The bus fare and other words exchanged between her and the conductor.  Woman has come out of the bus, but the driver and the conductor keep cussing the woman. Young black man to the young

    Nice men A man in his thirties kills himself and his wife.    My social media friends has a whole set of shock and condolences, disbelief.. for the man who was a nice helpful sociable man who was kind to many other people.    There are hints of 'she mussee do somethign fuh mek he trip out'..    Other nice polite men, helpful men, powerful men are abusers , but people still vote for them, put them as the leaders. The nice army man. The nice Minister of Health who people voted back in power. The nice President now Vice-President. The other Ministers and politicians and church leaders and business leaders and entertainers and activists for democracy and so on.   Some of the nice men join with President Ali's Men on Mission.   The University of Guyana hosted a forum on 2 December, 2022 to talk about men ending gender based violence.  The questions which they hoped the panel would answer included:   What role do you feel men should play in ending gender based violence? How d

  5am Sunday morning and nice rain and bed is warm.  Tossing and turning thinking of the challenges now and the patient who is protesting at having the early morning sponge bath, I get up and try to add energies to not make it so bad.. come back to bed and thinking of the 'cheap' tomatoes and the baigan and making the maghmour .  and not thinking of just lying down and reading or watching Hallmark Christmas movies and eating nuts and so.. because I have to get up .. It has been awhile as tomatoes have not been at the price where they can be grated and put into a sauce but rather at the price to be eaten raw and slowly .. Body feeling tense as difficult decisions had to be made and justified and trying to move instead to how to chunk up the baigan and put salt on it for a while. Write down sequence of ingredients because I could forget as I try to forget the other things which are present and immediate Too much garlic .. Slice up onions.. , chop tomatoes to grate them .. nice f

    Dinner time and thinking what to eat and also thinking of the patient who does not want to eat or drink properly but whose "No' is loud still so that the intentions are clear.  Thinking of the decision and confrontations and challenges and agony over food, offerings made to a goddess which are returned. "What you doing for self care" and I think yeah,, eat, sleep , exercise and so on but I feel guilty thinking of food when the patient does not want any. So looking in the kitchen, channa, garlic, tomato, lil olive oil, salt, eschallot.. put in the food processor and the thing mash up nice and then I think.. it need a lil crisping.. so make into two cakes and put on the tawa on which I had decided to toast the bread because tawa toast different from toaster toast. The tomato didn't really crush up too much thankfully. nice and chunky. Thing start to burn and I take off and scrape the burnings. Nice smell of the garlic too which burn lil bit.  Put lil peanut but