Why? Why? Why? It never stopped even when my adopted mother said “hush, ga along and sit down chile.” Yep that was me. Why? Why? Why? Again with the whys even when told one morning after mass, “oil and water don’t mix”. This came after my girlfriend and I got caught red handed eating tamarind (a sweet and sour native fruit) during mass, by the priest. We were so busy we had not seen him come down from the altar until he was standing right over us.
Mass was held in this beautiful old building, Holy Redeemer Church in New Bight Cat Island. It was built by Father Jerome a Catholic priest, well known for building a number of historical Roman Catholic churches on several of the Bahama Islands. Read about his life in Peter Anson’s book The Hermit of Cat Island. A fascinating read. He is buried at one of the most historical sites on Cat Island. Mount Alvernia, the highest peak in the Bahamas.
Well, as, usual I got, “hush, ga along and sit down chile.” That got my little brain a thinking. I will find out for myself. When it rained next I stole some kerosene oil a precious commodity since it was the only means by which we could fuel our lamps at night and some matches. My partner in crime Sarah poured the kerosene in the nearest puddle and proceeded to light it with a match. There was a flash and bye, bye eyebrows, eyelashes and all the hair on my right arm. Needless, to say my arms were singed.
The fear of explaining what had happened was greater than the pain of being burnt. The long and the short of it all was Sarah and I both got a good whipping for stealing the oil, matches and starting a fire. Yep! Another quote I became quite acquainted with was “spare the rod spoil the child.” I was also sent to the back yard to fetch some Aloe Vera to sooth my burns. Years later I found out what was meant by “oil and water don’t mix”, after Sarah led me into a number scrapes. I can’t really say she led me, I was a willing partner in her escapades. Like the time we decided we were going to walk by sea to another island. Hummm!
Let Smiling Pat Eco Tours take you to Mount Alvernia the highest peak in the Bahamas. Visit Father Jerome’s tomb, stop by Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Introduce you to the Aloe Vera plant, where legend has it, that because of the very nature of its healing properties it was the only plant God allowed Adam and Eve to remove from the Garden of Eden. See Leslie Higgs book, Bush Medicine in the Bahamas. The healing agents in the aloe is such that it is used in hundreds of products, body lotions, tanning lotions, age defying creams etc. Don’t forget to ask Smiling Pat what is meant by the Bahamian proverb “oil and water don’t mix.”
Aloe Vera Plant.
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