Carrying guns, nah feelings.. in de minibus...

 

We carry guns, nah feelings.. is written above the window inside the minibus standing in the rain waiting on the police to check the driver's papers. 

One of those days when the buses are passing full and I am running late so I have to take whatever I get kind of like how living in Guyana is with how the voters recycle those who make sure we will never get a good public transportation system.

And so a bus pulls up and I just jump in to get in from the rain because I do not want to open the umbrella and I am running late. Conductor with mask on chin, driver without mask and most passengers wearing mask.

Music loud.

Sit at the back near a window in the hope that the Covid would blow away.  At the other end of the seat a young man, no mask.. not even on his chin. And I try to meditate to avoid the music and the lyrics but every now and then the conductor change the song when he realise is a dutty song.

Between us a bird in the cage which belongs to the young man. I remember the artist from St Vincent saying that how she was fascinated with the men who ride and walk with the birdcages and is nice to see the tradition continuing.. bird is quiet though between me and the young man without the mask.

I know sometimes birds whistle when they hear some kinds of music but the bird not whistling. 

Bus flows in the rain , passengers go out, passengers come in. With mask, without mask.

Bus stops at police checkpoint. Driver comes out, it don't look like he bothering with mask. Police wearing mask. 

We wait.. music playing, conductor shuffling the music. People sighing

One unmasked man ask if anybody got a mask.. and a young woman give him one. I remember another bus when a soldier coming off at Ayanganna ask the driver for a mask and the driver did not have but an older woman gave him one..

Random act of kindness in the bus..  

But police taking long or driver taking long to explain things and we can't see what going. Music playing, rain drizzling. I read the signs in the bus.. above me is one about money and so on.. 

I don't know if the police would come and ask about the guns they carrying in the bus.

Driver comes back.. I am not late though I feel like it has been late and we continue.. he not wearing mask, conductor not wearing mask.

Bird remains silent next to me for the rest of the journey.