Miss Lou, Respeck!
Everywhich part you look, people ah writie ’bout Miss Lou. I nevah did ah go write anything ’bout it ’cause everybady done dweet ahready, but Seven check me fi write one post ’bout har, so me decide fi dweet. Seet yah:
Miss Lou was a nice lady. She did inna all kindah ting and she did do dem good too, so she get popular inna Jamaica, and even tru-out de res’ ah de Caribbean, me believe. Mek me tell you ’bout some ah de things weh she did do:
She did have one TV program one time, dem used to call it Ring Ding. It was one little kiddie program where the kids would sing, do some dancing, or dem wouldah gi wi some poetry or sup’m so. Me used fi watch Ring Ding way back when, but me nuh remember too much ’bout it now still, except say Miss Lou used to bawl out things like “Clap dem!” after each yute did done dem song or dem dance or watevah dem did do.
Miss Lou did ack inna plays and tings like that, and she did involve plenty-plenty inna de National Pantomime. Me did go ah de Pantomime a coupla times, me think. Me pa did tek me. No, sarry… mi poo!
She did write nuff poem and she did write dem inna Patwa, like wah me write dis post inna. Doh she did get a fight from all the recognised media people dem fi awhile, har poems did popular with plenty ah de people dem and ovah time she did achieve some level of acclaim ovah de poem dem. Aftah awhile, de poem dem did go full circle an dem get accept by everybody and dem did get distribute wide and far.
She get so big dat dem say she ah represent fi we culture, you know?
Bwoy, me nuh know what else to tell you. Tell yu wah, oonoo fi go check out weh people like Gela an’ Geoffrey an’ even de Gleaner haffi say pan de topic seen.
Bye, Miss Lou. Tek yu time, and walk good, yu hear?
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“ef is cross yu a cross.. beg yu cross mek mi pass..dem ya crossin’ iz crosses yu know. Lady? galang nah muh..weh yu a stan up fah? ole man, mek up yu mine…walk between dem two white line..” AY YA YAIIII!!
Ironically, the same day she passed on, I replied to an e-mail someone had sent me. My reply was…”All I can say in response to that is….Heh Haaaay!”….as Miss Lou would say. At the time I had sent the reply, I had no idea she had left this mortal world.
Miss Lou is like every jamaican’s favorite auntie or granny! I LOVED her! When i was in high school, I won a speech competition for reciting one of her poems - we used to have that book of hers: Jamaica labrish, and i used to love to read the poems!
I heard a story once from a well-known Jamaican attorney about a little girl who went on Ring Ding and got called up to recite her poetry contribution. They said it went like this:
“Ay Madda gunta a wha dat yu do?
Down by de riva-side a wash yu punu..”
I don’t know the rest because they said Miss Lou quick-time interjected with “Clap Ar!” Hahahaha…
I never knew if that was a true story or not, but the attorney swears it is!
Anyways, as Jamaicans, one of the best of the best of our own has passed - as MB said, Walk Good Miss Lou!
I think I saw that one.
Yea - I been truly out of it, cause I never knew she passed until just now.
RIP Ms. Lou. Ring Ding had many a good and bad memory for me too.
Hey Natty, mi neva even memba seh dat, usually at de end of har poem dem she usually sey Ay yah yah!
Miss Lou do nuff, nuff good for Jamaican Patois. And make me to understand that me can write in me language too.
Walk good, Miss Lou.
Nuff ratings Miss Lou. Rest in peace.