Happy Mothers Day, and more…
Hail up, my crew. How you do? First of all, let me wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all of my lady readers who fall into this category! Big up to you, nuff respect! I hope your man and your kids treat you good today, and have a great day! 
I came across something interesting this morning regarding Mothers day, actually. Did you know that Mother’s Day is 100 years old? Yes sir, this day we now celebrate has only been celebrated annually in the last 100 years. In 1908, a woman named Anna Jarvis organised the first official Mothers Day Service at a church where her mother had taught school for 20 years. Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world.
What is your take on Mother’s Day? Is it a good thing, do you think we should continue celebrating it?
Here is something else interesting about Mother’s Day… Anna Jarvis did not like the over-commercialism that overtook Mother’s Day at all. She is said to have written scathing letters to people she knew who had gone out and bought a Mother’s Day card, saying they were too lazy to write personal letters “to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world.”. She went to her grave feeling that she was sorry she had come up with the whole thing, can you believe it? Read all about that story if you like by following this link, zeen?
You know what else I came across in my reading today? Well, I came across this excerpt from Beverley Manley’s book, “The Manley Memoirs”. It was interesting reading. Now, everybody knew that Michael Manley was the ram goat to top all ram goats, and yet I never knew just how tuff the man was, rasta.
Imagine, Beverley knew that Michael was having affaires left, right and center, and she had had heated discussions with him on these issues. Ok… normal. She says that she eventually agreed to stay with him on the condition that he stop having affaires with women who were in their immediate circle! Not that he stop with the affaires! No! She knew that this would never happen, and she was willing to deal with that! Just don’t have them with women in their circle, in other words, don’t embarrass the rass out of her.
Michael must have really had an extraordinary way with the ladies, sah! Imagine! Beverley Manley was not some streggeh gyal, who never see, come see! She was a strong Jamaican woman! She had an education and a career, and she certainly didn’t disappear into the woodwork after she left him. And yet, she was prepared to stay with him, knowing that he was having affaires, just so long as he never threw them in her face. Some man ah bad man, bwoy! Real bad man! 
But I wonder if she realised that Michael never really loved her. At least, that is the conclusion I drew. After all, you are married to a woman, and a man who is supposed to be your friend, a man you work with (D.K. Duncan), unda you nose him sneak in and start eat out you food…. and you tell your wife that she can continue with the affaire until she gets over it? No, he never loved her… I don’t think he did, anyway. He must’ve just been interested in appearances, you know, for political reasons. Go read up on the excerpt and then tell me what you think nuh?
So, how is your weekend going so far? Mine is ok… not all exciting like last weekend when Natty and I danced the place down at the Machel Montano fete, but still nice. This weekend was all about the gym, though. Yes man, Saturday’s gym visit marks the first week I have made it to the gym all of five times for the week! I have been trying to do this for some time, but something always intervenes, most recently, ABC’s “Lost” and walking Simba (my puppy) and general tiredness.
This week though, five times! Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday (I went at 5:00 AM on Friday, first I have ever done that) and Saturday.
Picture taken at a
recent Lingerie & Pajamas party here, courtesy
of PartySurfers.ky.
Actually, it was the 5:00 AM gym visit on Friday that relegated this weekend to being merely a normal weekend, because I was planning to go to the L.I. Lounge on Friday and I am sure that would’ve been off the hook, because they sure do know how to party in the Cayman Islands, (check out that picture above! Don’t think it was at L. I., but that don’t mean it couldn’t happen there, you zimi? I will have to bend the ear of the owners…) but I was too rass tired to go! Cho 
Bwoy, its been a long time since I have been to a good Lingeree / Pajama party! Drunken Debauchery!!! You just gotta love it!! I don’t know how I let these things pass me by! I need to write a little tune “Seh me nah get up from 4:00AM and go ah Gym again! Oh No!” and sing it to the riddim of the song “Nah go a Jail again”. I wonder if I could make a likkle money from that? Click on the picture above to see the party pictures…
Anyway, the weekend hasn’t been bad so far, and hopefully today will be irie and mello, so I not really complaining. I gone go make some “Mothers Day” Coffee, you hear, before Natty get up and start get grumpy because I haven’t even thought to make her a little coffee to start her morning right. TTYL, my peeps.
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MM was, wow, he was an awesome Prime Minister if i say so myself, if he was still alive i’d find him and beg for tips
Gordon Swaby’s last blog post..I Never Thought I’d Be So Nostalgic At Such A Young Age?..
@ GS: Tips on what? Handling women or the more normal affairs of a Prime Minister. You see, to me, he was a failed Prime Minister. Perhaps he was spending too much time on those “affaires” than he should have been, or perhaps he dabbled too deeply in the socialist / communistic ethos and was therefore blocked at every turn by higher powers or maybe it was some other thing.
However you look at it though, he led Jamaica to what was its lowest economic position ever and he helped to drive out many who could be helping the country now with his “five flights a day” approach.
Of course, this is only my opinion and you are entitled to your own.
He was the biggest nightmare of my childhood…I am glad Gordon wasnt there it seems to have such a bitter experience..
You might have a point about him spending too much time with women and not enough onthe country. I only came to JA in 1982 so I can’t comment onthe 70s with any authority but to the article by Beverley. I agree that he probably didn’t love her. Two reasons - constanly and wilfullfy cheating on her and not caring if she cheated on him. What’s the point in a relationship like that eh?
Chief Lymer’s last blog post..The ‘Commoditisation’ of Women . . .by Women!
Bwoy, mi just sen you a post regarding Mothers Day, but it look like mi lose it,suh mi haffi sen yuh another one.Again,Happy Mothers Day to all Mothers that/who read this post. Especially, to those mothers who also had to take on the roles of fathering some of their boys or man-child (as the old saying goes,my mother who fathered me) because the fathers abdicated such parental rights and responsibilities.Mothers Day should be everyday, but like everything else, it too has also become extremely commercialised.Star, this could be a gross generalization,but one is of the perspective that most politicians in Jamaica are village rams (including some of the women, but I guess they would be classified as village ewes) .Such promiscuous behaviours are generally considered perks and fringe benefits on the part of our politicians who/that are devoid of moral compasses.Anyhow, until next time mi a guh nyam some maddas day bickle and nurse two guinness.RESPECT!!
MB dIdn’t you know that this is the way how the “upper class” do it here in JA?
I’ve had talks with women who share these same experiences. Its not new with Beverly. They prefer if the man cheat with someone of lower class than within their social construct. When i do my blog post on it, ill bring it to ur attention. You should hear the stories i have heard. Hair dressing parlour nice.
Tami’s last blog post..New Roomie
I heard Mrs Manley say she forgave her husband’s affairs cos he was a hard man to resist. I gues sboth parties got what they wanted from it..she the perks and he the freedom to do as he pleases.
Mother’s day is coool..well the concept is
It comes as no surprise, to me, that Michael Manley was an effective womanizer. For a man that successfully jooked an entire nation several times over, jooking a few women seems trivial.
Is funny how you is de secon’ person mi si write bout Anna Jarvis.
Me did always tink seh flowers and store-bought cards were a little lame… Mom’s Day always had to be celebrated with something else. Mom and Dad get all their feteing at church on their days, so for me, I like to do something less commercial for them. Something personal.
Traditionally, Mom gets to put her feet up all day and be an absolute bum - something she isn’t used to and I like to see her flail around thinking she should be doing something. And everything she thinks of, we do for her so all she can do is sit back and down and “cock up har foot”.
This Mom’s day, I wasn’t able to do as much and that makes me sad. But she managed to enjoy it nevertheless, without flowers and store-bought card.
I rather like this Anna Jarvis. Every holiday and celebration has become commercial. It’s decadent to say the least. I wouldn’t say stop celebrating it, but I would say do something personal - make a card, take her out somewhere, give her a home-beauty day, rub her back, read to her, wash her hair. …. doesn’t matter, so long as it’s something to make her realize how much you love and appreciate her.
My 0.02c.
Fyr’s last blog post..who would you like meet?
IMHO, Mother’s Day is a farce - entirely commercial, conservative and ideologically bankrupt. As for Anna Jarvis, she sampled and watered down the original.
The first Mother’s Day was held in 1873: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/269901_motherday12.html http://www.quaker.org/chestnuthill/motherdy.htm
Regarding BAM’s discussion of her relationship with MM. What you have here is a public document attesting to how they arrived at an open relationship. I can say with some authority that he did love her. Its not the way some of us might imagine love in the context of a marital relationship, but he did. That’s our problem, not his or hers. What Michael never did was to attach sex to love, and when he was pushed to, nothing good came of it. He didn’t marry BAM for appearances; he didn’t have to marry anybody. He could have stuck with the high color women he had before and after her, and all would have been fine. She was a mighty fine and intelligent woman, he wanted her, she wanted him, and the deal was done. Were there more such honest discussions and compromises in marriages and long-term relationship in Jamaica, rather than the sneaking around and the horrible bare-faced behavior many of these men go on with. Many women of Beverly’s ilk - like the ones that show up to Tami’s beauty shop apparently - feel they can barely show their face in public because everybody will know, so they conjure up ridiculous situations, while the other woman can’t wait to get an opportunity to fling the secret in their face as if it is something to make one ashamed about, and the men will lie till kingdom come. Others folks are still trying to have open relationships, regardless of the naysaying and the judgmental attitudes especially from other women, which make such relationships an uphill battle. Too much oman ready fi cuss dem one anedder bout man a gi bun, and too much man wa’a kill ooman fi dat. Foolishness. All of this could be avoided so easily. A little honesty and integrity would go a long way on the parts of both men and women. If you don’t want the deceit, gossip and whatever, either put the issue on the table and deal with it before you married, or don’t marry that person. Full stop. MM wasn’t great at the integrity bit, but he tried.
MB — RE: your statements about MM’s leadership and political values. Sometimes we need to think about what we are repeating as “Truth”. Many Ja. brown folks still harbor and actively cultivate incredible bitterness and betrayal about a man that they thought should have been on “their” side; so what started off as an off-hand remark quickly became socially sanctioned paranoia, and melted into the cornerstone of brown folks’ identity and political attitudes; now the phenomenon has initiated a dangerous re-writing of Jamaican history. What you have said might be the story that brown folks like to tell about Jamaica and themselves, but there are lots of other stories and realities that are being hidden and displaced by the “5 -flights” narrative. And need I say that socialism is not the worse thing that could have happened to us? Indeed, it would have been a great thing if brown folks had gotten on board, and saw their collective interests as bounded to the rest of the nation, rather than access to social goods as a form of entitlement.
Long Bench’s last blog post..In the news?
that party is some kind of debauchery for real!
Pepper’s last blog post..Pepper’s left the building