At de very least, ah unexpected email exchange wid one ah de many fellas ah was in school wid an who Trinis better be proud of, prove what ah mean when ah say everyting connected tuh everyting else. But tuh confirm dat one hundred percent involve some journeyin orn my part.

De emails eh just come out ah de blue, de first one come out ah de bluest of blues given how me eh see or tork wid dis fella since we graduate from de best school in T&T an went we separate ways. He eh just stay in Triniland, he immerse heself in it an is de go-to person in aspects of de culture.

Ah still lil shell-shocked he reach out tuh me considerin how far he done reach. He say dis book review cause it. Anyway, we do de usual, promisin tuh have ah lil lime de next time he come dis way or, I swing dong he way.

De email exchange wasn’t only satisfyin, it start mih orn ah journey of confirmation he probably mightn’t realize he start, albeit innocently. It begin when ah click one ah de links tuh what he describe as one of he early compilations he tort ah might find entertainin.

Is one ting tuh have ah good idea what somebody does do an know how talented dey is, especially eef yuh paths cross earlier, but is ah next ting when dey invite yuh tuh take a peek ah what dey does do. Well I peek. De best why tuh describe what happen after is eef it had anybody next tuh mih peekin too, dey would ah end up cussin mih while askin eef mih fardah is ah blasted glass maker or what.

Fuh starters, I wonder eef he know de connection between de school fuh de deaf in Cascade an de school me an he attended. One ah de snippets was about dat Cascade school so maybe he know. Still, it nice tuh tink he doh know an so would be shocked at mih flash back.

Ah remember how part of what we school try tuh do wid we heathens, (me eh callin he one buh de school had me an mih pardnah), was tuh install ah sense ah good citizenship in us. Dat make me one ah de boys who, once ah week, use tuh bundle into de priest car an go up Cascade tuh dat school an lime wid boys we wid never udderwise meet.

Tork about shock tuh somebody system. Ah had ah tough time enterin dat world at first, especially when it did come tuh sports. Dem fellas was way too rough fuh my taste. Tuh dem, cricket was ah contact sport. But, over time, both sides start tuh look forward tuh de visits. Ah could sense dey was sad when we leave. We was too. Why else we would tuh take so long tuh pack an head out eef we wasn’t sad? Plus, next time when de priest car reach de school, everybody would be waitin fuh we.

Ah next video show Phase II beatin pan. Ah doh remember fuh sure buh ah tink was dem. One set ah people enjoyin sweet an pulsatin music. At one point, dis woman who look like de tourist dame de late Kitchener sing bout, stop tryin tuh contain sheself.

Ah mention dat clip fuh two reasons. One, because ah toilin over ah manuscript wid ah pan yard scene in it an dis fit de bill. De udder reason sad. Not only was foreigners enjoyin de music, some was beatin pan. When ah watch de excited female Japanese pannists ah tort about Asami Nagakiya an hoped none ah dem in de clip was she.

De most satisfyin ah de clips was also de most educational. It tired mih out an send mih orn ah philosophical side trip questionin de same tings ah does question when ah watch T&T news: How dey could transition so easy from stories ah mindless violence tuh scenes of Trinis livin an enjoyin life like only Trinis know how?

What or who is Trinbago dese days, was de tormentin question.

Even ah recent Mornin Edition wid Fazeer Mohammed get ah play in answerin dat.

Eef ah could speak tuh all what ah just say, dat larse clip might reveal de answer. However, tuh call it ah clip is rong. It more ah documentary. Dat reclassification make what ah see even more profound.

Damn.

Mih plan was tuh leave mih old schoolmate name out ah dis. He clips only was tuh show my journey to confirmation of how everyting join up join up, like Vibert String Bank.

Dat said, anybody tink I above blamin he fuh startin dis wid dat clip about de school in Cascade. Really?

As ah watch dem people orn de hike in dat clip, I had ah flashback tuh we school Saut D’eau hike ages ago. Wouldn’t it be someting else eef he was orn it like he was orn dis one in de documentary?

I was so into dem hikers in dis documentary ah could feel mih legs crampin. Ah tinkin, each step forward add ah step tuh de return leg. Plus, every insect dat bite de woman in de sleeveless top, bite me first den steups. Eef I was dey fuh real, unless de Air Guard was flyin we out, I would ah say leave mih here an go. Just doh take an next route orn de way back an fuhget mih.

At de end ah de hike was de Caurita Amerindian Petroglyph. Dat rock is piece ah Trini history wid carvings dat might be de oldest sign of life in de country. Why people did want tuh live so far behind God back dey had tuh hike tuh reach? More worse dan dat is why udder people, (dey mightn’t be Trinis), recently hike so far tuh deface history.

So how Fazeer Mohammed an he show reach in dis?

One mornin dis week, could ah even be larse week, in explainin perception an perspective, he suggest as long as yuh not usin eidder tuh misinform, yuh viewpoint valid. He prove it usin flowers.

While he was usin all dat tuh set de stage fuh he interview wid stakeholders holdin different views orn de sea-bridge fiasco, I was takin what he say tuh help clear mih understandin orn all what make T&T, T&T. Ah sense irony dey someplace.

Time go tell doh eef mih perception goin forward go still be irreconcilable as it swing between what seem tuh be extremes tuh somebody far away.

De reality is Trinidad an Tobago is everyting everybody see an hear as well as what dey cyar see or hear. Just like de history of who was dey before is part ah Triniland, so too will be de tings left behind when who dey now all dead an gorn.

Everyting connected.

Dem clips, videos, documentaries, emails, whatever, do more dan connect old schoolmates.

Dat settled let mih restate what ah say bout dat larse clip so it obvious who dis fella is: It was more ah documentary.

Tanks fuh sharin Kim.