Mon. July 11, 2016
W: Dehn bwai gaan and get dehn ting… Now, I di get bruk een now, yo no… I actually di get bruk een now…
Part 6
W: Wi see wahn sax brand new… guitar brand new… base… drum.. but I have to learn now… how fi keep dehn ya ting clean… and set them up. And when a look back at it now… Chalwa, it was a, what… it was a responsible job I was doing there…
A: Yeah, a mean…
W: Da me haf to tek care a dehn instrument dem, yo no…. When dehn done play, dehn just pack up and dehn go…. Da me haf to go get wahn cab… move them… and set dem up eena di house weh wi wahn practice… or weh pah wi wahn play…
A: Da wahn big responsibility dat, yes…
W: What!? And a neva lost not’n… And dehn neva haf to get down pahn mi and say, “Bwai, di cymbal need clean… and dat no need clean… When I set up dehn instrument, when dehn come, da just play… dat was MY job. And a shake wahn ting name maracas… yo put ‘bout five milk pan together… yo know di milk weh yo drink… we put johncro bead… and weld it… and paint it… and dat… and dat become wahn challenge now between Glenn Bood one weh do dat, Skipper Joint, and Roy weh play wid Rhaburn. Di three a wi do dat now, a no, so dat become wahn competition now… da who da di best… yo no? Well, Skipper Joint he have lot a…
A: Weh dehn call it? Wahn maca… maraca…?
W: Maracas… dah wahn shaka really, yo no… due to the sound weh i give… but dehn say maracas… musi becaa i long or… I no know… because wahn real shaka we know da two ting weh yo shake… but i ga wahn heavy sound, yo no… i have wahn heavy chip sound… caa da only certain piece I play eena… I no play eena… like Uloyd di sing dehn soul… I no play eena dat, yo no… so…
A: Messengers…
W: Yeah, so now… dat happen now… and di Messengers only last till ’66… i only last till ’66… and then di band break up… so we only last bout wahn year… no even two years good… sake a finance… yo know, one a di bredder weh da mi di leader… di next ting, di money miss’n… and man start to bad act…. Uloyd hihn di tek di mike stand and di spin it round… while people di deh, yo no… and dis… stuff cohn da we… Chuck hihn gaan da Rhaburn… da, em, States… and after dat… dat was it fi di Messengers, 1967, bredda. That is where my first… era a di music ting crash…
After dat, I staat to go wid Pete… go play congas up da Roaring Creek, every Friday night…. me, hihn, Lem, and wahn bredda name Charro Ramirez…
A: But then, ’65 – ’66, football wise… weh mi di go on wid football dehn time deh?
W: A still mi di play dehn time deh… Willie Wiley still… A still deh da Wiley, mein… Wiley last fi wahn lee while…
And then ‘round ’67… ’66… ’67…
A: Because yo mi di follow ‘pendence (Independence)… yo mi di follow di Mugga dehn time deh…
W: Yes… wid Dunlop… a mi di go da Edwards Park (now Rogers Stadium) go watch game, yo no?…
A: Mugga gaan da BEC wahn year, a yer…
W: Yes… one year… dat da right after di hurricane Hattie… i gaan da BEC fi one year… and then, i decide i wahn bring out mi own team… dat’s how ‘Pendence come about… di cigarette people dehn, Maestre’s… George Price mi involve too…
A: So, yo no miss yo game dehn time deh, when di Mugga di play…
W: No… mi go go see him, and di Roo… even though they weren’t playing together, yo no… di Roo was Dunlop Junior… they used to practice together… but di first senior team di Roo play for da Eden, yo no… Eden Theatre just came on the scene… di people name Aguilar… da dehn mi own dat… Eden Theatre come and try fi knock out Palace and Majestic… because dehn bigger and prettier… and (more) modern… more seats… so di Roo was di Eden… Roo was mining (goal) fi wahn team named Eden… then…
A: Hhmm. Well, after di hurricane… BEC mi… dehn had wahn half a season… and BEC mi still win (1961-62)… but right after dat, ‘62’ -’63… Brodies knock off BEC…
W: …come pahn di scene…
A: And da Roo mind fi dehn, right?…
W: With Roo, yes… di Roo, Pops Hamilton, Malcolm (“Buddha” Hemmans), “Pice” Tate weh deh… weh live da Belize now… Pice da mi di youngest player deh… yo gat Ben Drake… dehn ya da man weh left Dunlop and gaan deh, if dehn neva gaan da BEC… Ben Drake, em… John Young… John Young gaan da Brodies too, yo no?…
A: Yea, dehn had “Pas” Ellis and “Fry” (Winston Michael) dehn come up afterwards…
W: Yes, Pas Ellis, yes… “Jim Fry”… Johnny Staine… lone Technical man right deh, yo no… wahn lee circle a Technical man…
A: Da how many seasons Brodies mi win?… da only one, or two?…
W: I no remember Brodies win more than one…
A: Da right after dat, a tink dehn say Malcolm and Gillian (Smith) gaan cross da BEC… BEC grab Malcolm and Gillian…
W: Gillian…
A: Dehn mi deh wid Brodies too… Gillian and Malcom… dat da weh Bert Cattouse tell mi…
W: Yes… yes… dehn bwai da from da area… eena wahn (junior) team name Fairview…
A: Yea, da dehn come up as Brodies… come out as Brodies afterwards…
W: Bert Cattouse right now, weh drive taxi out deh… weh play da lee old (timers) game wid wi… then i bredda, Otto, di billiards man… a no see him round, if i deh round still yet …
A: Yaa, i still de da di billiards place deh da Kings Park…
W: Alright… a no see him round… and dehn man deh used to heng wid Mugga, yo no… a no understand how dehn man no come cohn support (football) still, yo no… because dehn man used to heng out pahn Saturday night wid di Mugga…
A: Yo see da mid ‘60’s era right deh weh yo mi deh?… wahn lot a grey area, weh wi di try figure out who and what… between Landivar and BEC and Brodies… when you talk ‘bout ’64-’65, yo no know da who mi di win… a know Brodies win ’62-’63… but then yo know BEC mi deh right back pahn top a tings…
W: BEC mi win wahn year too…
A: Yeah… dehn win before Hattie… and dehn win after Hattie… but then, when Brodies step pahn dehn… wahn year… I tink only one year dehn step pahn dehn… I tink dehn cohn right back, because dehn grab Malcolm and Gillian, fi sure… yo no?… and I no know weh time Pine, becaa Pine mi deh wid BEC…
W: Hihn gaan weh… Hihn da one a di fus man bruk weh… Pine gaan weh… Chico Ellis gaan weh… all a dehn man gaan weh early, becaa… dehn get visa, right?… yo no…
A: Dehn mus i gaan weh di year after dat, or sonting…
W: i only could be ‘round ’63, ’64, somewhere round deh…
A: Anyhow… ’65… Messengers di kick up… yo still di kick round wid Willie Wiley… yo neva play senior ball yet?…
W: No… Now!… Now, like a say… dehn bredda fasten di name pahn mi now… di Mugga…
A: How dat? How dat come about?
W: I don’t know. Da dem… dehn bwai from Wiley just… dat… I no… I still no… yo no?… still… dat just happen, yo no?…
A: A know di Mugga mi so big and famous… a deh da game, and dehn bwai say, “Bwai, si an deh… da di lee Mugga dat”… di lee Mugga… so “di lee Mugga”… yo look like di man… and yo move like di man wahn way too…
W: And then, di ting is too… mi heng da Yabra… mi meditate too, like so… yo know dehn way… da like mi big bredda… then my parents and… and… people get tie up wid dat, yo no… hihn da Honduranean… my parents da Honduranean… but people wahn put it weh part I born da Honduras too… and that’s why I da di man lee bredda… yo know dehn kind a ting?
A: Da wahn interesting ting how we so link up da dis lee region… because yo mi di tell me just now ‘bout ‘Stobal (Cristobal Mayen) da Honduranean…
W: Yes, Stobal da definitely Honduranean… Sure, I could bet dat, yo no… Yo know dehn da fahn Valley… dah deh dehn cohn from…
A: Dehn just come cross ya, and then move up later on (to northern districts)…
W: Dehn move up north, because then Sharp gaan north, yo no?… (from citrus to sugar jobs)
A: Okay… but yo said yo did have wahn game weh di Mugga bring you out…
W: No… yes… dis da em…
A: Di man bring you out da wahn game…
W: Weh happen… wi done play wahn evening… becaa dehn man used to cohn scout… during the week game, yo no… dehn man deh cohn scout… or dehn come up deh cohn… you know, just…(…) cohn watch weh di go on… see wahn young bwai weh dehn, yo no… so yo remember hihn and “La Looch”?… remember La Looch?
A: Yaa, Qualify…
W: Hihn and La Looch cohn to mi and em…
A: Charles Nicholas (aka Qualify or La Looch)…
W: Dehn ker mi cross da di water side… Da fus time a wahn bun wid di man now, Chalwa… Fus time a wahn…
A: After wahn game?… Wahn Wiley game?…
W: Yes!… Da afta wahn game… di man watch mi play… and, mi done di ker i name…
A: Cho! (laughs)
W: Yeah! A tell you da Wiley crowd do dis… dehn just say… well, bwai… da HIM! Yo know dehn way… And then dehn neva stop… and when a gaan da Yabra, i bus out more… wid dehn bredda down deh…
Becaa dehn bredda down deh had wahn ting weh dehn like jinx ahn now… dehn bwai da Yabra, di brothers dem?… When Mugga cohn down deh, dehn tell ahn,… “We ga wi own Mugga!” (laughs)
A: Yaa. (laughs) Young bwai wahn knock you off…
(both laugh)
W: Yeah!… But di man was… di man love mi from di time we get… bwai, da bwai… da bredren deh… da bredren deh, Chalwa…
A: So di man, hihn and Qualify di ker you…
W: Alright… dehn ker mi da di sea side…
A: Fi go roll up wahn lee sop’n.. (laughs)
W: Yes!! So now… we di deh now… and hihn… bwai, da bredda deh… hihn mi haad fi explain… a tell you, bredda… Louis, mein…(Louis “di Mugga” Garbutt)
A: i no talk wahn lot…
W: Nobody like (similar to) him… No!! So… we do wi ting now… we wahn tek mi lee puff and ting now… Me di heng out wid big league now, yo no Chalwa…
A: Qualify and di Mugga… da wahn legend yo deh wid now…
W: Alright?! Big “Dor” and big baller!
A: (laughs) Yea, yea… becaa Quali control Pink Jungle…
W: Yea!
A: I used to stop deh wid “di one foot man”… (Charger ’77-’78 coach, Tony Alford)
W: So… he invite me fi come… try out wahn evening now… Dis time now, i di change di name… i no di change di name… i di get involve with Abbi Raggi now… so di team wahn name Independence Pamela’s… becaa di lady mi name Pamela… di store mi name Pamela’s Store… so, Tan daughter mi live wid wahn bredda name Abbi Raggi, wahn Arab… a tink i mi married her… and then, dehn name di team Independence Pamela’s.
So, da now I wahn get draft now from Willy Wiley to the big league now…
A: Di big leagues…
W: I ‘bout seventeen now… (18 or 19 actually, if born 1948)
A: Dat da ‘round…
W: Bout ’67-’68.