15 days: 9 Hours: 22 Minutes: 42 seconds.

Dat is what mih count-dong clock say when ah ask it how far till Carnival 2014.

Triniland go be fuhgettin all its troubles—of which it have plenty—an hittin de streets when de alarm start ringin. Since ah stop being in it, ah does save mihself grief by not takin it orn. Is years me ah mention tuh co-workers dat is Carnival Monday an ah should be chippin dong de road, winin on somebody woman. Fuss dey eh know what Carnival Monday is an ah tired showin dem how tuh chip. De winin part? Me eh touchin dat one. In fact, I eh want tuh explain nuttin tuh nobody; ah just want dem tuh cry wid mih.

Dis year, ah have ah lil time before ah go into full denial so it safe tuh tork about carnival.

Since ah was small, ah was hearin people say carnival in Triniland does help reduce stress. Who eh know de story even eef it romanticized fuh so? Man an woman jumpin up wid dey borse. Man tiefin small wine orn ah next man woman. Woman jumpin up in less clothes dan dey does sleep een. Everybody equal, even eef is de Animal Farm kind ah equal. Regardless, people lettin go ah dey worries fuh two days. Ash Wednesday was when tings returned tuh normal buh wid people havin tuh cool dong fuss now, tings eh gettin back tuh normal before de Monday after carnival. What does parse fuh normal wasn’t what was normal back in my day, buh releasin stress is de point.

As wid so much in life, one ting does happen den ah next one an like twenty tings later, we sophisticated. We gorn an fuhget or we cynical or even tink we does see better dan before when we had dat picture.

Just de udder day, me an mih pardnah was solvin all de problem in Triniland. We does do dat as often as T&T does change Ministers ah National Security.

I suggest de govahment should show it serious bout fightin crime by bannin carnival. Dat is right, no damn carnival fuh 2014!

No man an woman jumpin up wid dey borse.

No man tiefin small wine on next man woman.

No woman jumpin up in less clothes dan she does sleep een.

Logic say none ah dat make any blasted sense, not while de country’s soul bleedin.

Ah was proud ah mihself.

Later, ah was torkin wid ah Triniland Trini. Ah wanted tuh say de same tings buh ah was frighten since is ah while since I partake of Trini air an water. Ah didn’t want tuh get boof up wid mih alien ideas. Ah get surprise doh. De Triniland Trini had de same idea—ban de shit. Ah was so happy.

All dat was before tings change.

I was goin an turn off mih computer when ah notice de panmen an de female counterparts. Dey was beatin dey pan wid dey whole body. De Trini in mih take over when ah hear de music—infectious as usual, especially at dis time. Mih mudder would ah done box mih ears eef ah was a lil boy an she was insistin ah keep still.

Ah watch de people samplin de music. Ah pan side was behind we in Triniland so ah know how dat used tuh be. Ah listen tuh Boogsie say de govahment should rename Phase II pan-yard tuh de University Ah Pan. He say everybody who does want tuh learn how tuh beat pan good, does go dong by Phase II so make de name official.

All dat is why ah doh watch de pre-Carnival build up nah. Ah does geh hooked an cyar do nuttin about it when carnival reach except try tuh explain Carnival Monday tuh dotish people. Steups.

Dis time ah sit dong an look fuh de big picture, mainly wid what happenin in Triniland now.

Me, mih pardnah an de Trini-side Trini? All ah we is relics ah carnivals gorn by. Except fuh leerin at dem woman jumpin up in less dan dey does sleep een, none ah we ecstatic at how carnival evolve. Buh dat is de story ah change. In forty years de people who young now an ecstatic at how carnival is go be ole an go be shakin dey head at how it change. Watch an see.

De trio ah we join de people who done eh like carnival an see it as hedonistic. Most importantly, we join dem who insist people winin an carryin orn durin dese times is de wrong message.

Yes, it have plenty risk in someting dis big when man killin man left right an center, even standin over ah body on de grong an laughin while pumpin more bullets into it. I did believe people shouldn’t be havin fun in times like dese. Ah had logic on mih side an no Trini air in mih lungs or water in mih belly.

It go have endless people pointin dey finger at mih an sayin I put goat mout on tings eef shit happen durin carnival. Ah mean dem gunmen could decide dey sick ah carnival.

Dat Phase II clip had mih lookin parse dat: Parse de music, parse de music lovers listenin, parse de pan beaters supplyin de music. Parse Boogsie sayin dat is where people does go tuh learn how tuh make dat music. Ah see what Carnival does do fuh people. Ah see someting ah cyar define, buh ah know in mih soul it right.

Fuh plenty people life very tough. Dat is why dey does take vacations. Fuh Trinis, life dangerous. Eef carnival help dem stay sane, help dem fuhget dey problems, even eef dey winin dong de place doin it, who is me an mih fossil-like friends tuh say dat wrong? What is dat big word ah use tuh describe it—hedonistic?

Would I be in de middle ah de fete eef ah could? Steups yes. Give dis Trini ah free plane ticket, de half ah million dollars it does cost fuh ah man costume. Nah, make dat two ticket an two million so who goin wid mih could buy de bra an panties corstume an we dey oui. Even eef is only me ah still go be dey. De udder ticket go be fuh ah next trip as long as ah still gettin de udder million an ah half.

Since dat eh happenin, ah goin back tuh burglarproofin mih mind so torts ah carnival cyar slip een. Ah eh want tuh see Trinis enjoyin deyself, I eh want tuh listen tuh no pan fuh it tuh infect mih, I eh want tuh hear no Soca. Ah especially eh want tuh see Denise “Saucy Wow” Belfon askin mih tuh try she nah.

Gorsh, ah have tuh peep one larse time:

15 days: 4 Hours: 58 Minutes: 10 seconds.