Rainy Annotto Bay

Well, this is nice. A cloudless blue sky. A calm, inviting sea. What serenity. What blissful tranquility.

Whoosh!

A huge red truck suddenly shot by at alarming speed right in front of me. The tailwind generated by the fast-moving 18-wheeler threatened to knock me off my feet as a cloud of dust infiltrated my eyes and nose.

Cough, cough.

Well, that was a surprise.

I was standing at the side of a road in Annotto Bay, St Mary. My too-close-for-comfort encounter with the truck caused me to take a few steps back. There was a large building behind me. It looked like it either used to be, or will soon be a shopping complex. It was either unfinished or had been scrapped. It wasn't clear.

Not far from where I was, two men and four women were having a loud discussion on the pros and cons of oversize underwear. Not exactly life-changing dialogue, but they clearly were into it.

I heard a shuffling sound to my left and spotted a man with a large nose sitting on an overturned drum. He was wearing a green sweater and khaki pants. He waved hello when he saw me. I walked over to him and told him my name.

"Yes, man. I am Wally," he said. "Mi just here cooling out before mi go home. Dem pickney meck too much noise and if mi go in from now, by night mi head start tear off. Dem pickney too dangerous," he said.

Wally appeared emphatic on this point. There was real emotion in his eyes. It looked like fear.

I asked him how old his children were. "Bout 10 and di next one reach eight last week. Is pure crosses," he said, shaking his head. I expressed my sympathies. He asked me what I was doing in Annotto Bay. I told him I was just there to see what life was like there.

I was in mid-speech when I heard a low, rumbling sound. I thought it was another truck heading our way, but soon recognised the threatening bass of thunder. Strange, I thought. The sky was so blue. But then, as if done only to demonstrate my weather-judging inadequacies, the sky suddenly started turning grey. It took no more than a few seconds for the weather to completely change. Then, boom! One final crash of thunder and the clouds exploded. It sent me, Wally and the group across the road running for shelter. In the rush to stay dry, I ended up in an open section of the mysterious empty building. It had a sour smell and there were cobwebs everywhere. Not an ideal place to host a party. Wally was next to me and appeared as uncomfortable with the surroundings as I was. It was raining heavily outside. We stood looking at the rain through a glass window.

Life in Annotto Bay

I used the opportunity to ask him about life in Annotto Bay.

"It alright yuh know," he said. "Dem build new road so it nuh chuck up chuck up like one time. It have more place can walk now."

I could see the men and women who were chatting across the road earlier, now huddled together under a shed that looked like a bus stop.

"Ah dat fi reach dem," said Wally. "Every day dem siddung deh ah chat chat."

There was another thunder clap.

"Annotto Bay have nuff likkle shop and wholesale where people work. Is not whole heap of farmers, although some people grow banana. Is more working people."

In the middle of the downpour a man sauntered by. He seemed in no rush even though he was soaked. "Dis idiot nuh see seh rain ah fall?" said Wally, watching him pass by.

In a few minutes, the rain started to subside and the group under the shed managed to disperse. Some went into a nearby yard while the others ran down the road and out of sight.

I stayed where I was for a few more minutes. Wally told me that he lived in Annotto Bay since 2002 and that he was a tailor who dabbles in carpentry when the mood strikes him. He said Annotto Bay was a great place to live and work. The sea breeze in particular, he said, helped create an atmosphere ideal for working.

The rain came to a complete stop and I realised it was time to make my move. I told Wally of my plan to leave before the rain started again. He nodded. I stepped outside, expecting to see him do the same. When he didn't, I poked my head back inside the building and asked him what he was waiting for.

"No sah, it too early. If mi go home now dem pickney and me again. Mi caan badda wid dem. Dem pickney dangerous," he said.

I shrugged and walked away leaving Wally by himself in the musty building.

Where should Robert go next? Let him know at robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com