Opinion: Chris Famous On “Country Roads”
[Opinion column written by Chris Famous] This past weekend, the country roads indeed took me to the place I belonged. Not quite West Virginia, but Western Bermuda. The interior roads of Western Bermuda to be specific.
Yet another week of canvassing in C33 led me to walk some roads I have never been before. As a proud “Back-of-towner,” I must confess that I don’t spend much time up West. So, some country roads are a new adventure for me.
Country Road One
The first road led us to some of the most scenic views one could encounter in Bermuda. Along those roads, we met quite a few residents who spoke of their concerns.
One lady sat us down in her kitchen for a bit, giving us a history lesson of times gone by when she was denied the ability to vote. She emphasized how important it was for Bermudians to exercise their democratic rights that she and others fought for. She implored Bermudians not to fall for the usual tricks by giving up their vote or spoiling their ballot.
Upon leaving her home, she proudly stated “I am old school. I will be at the polls as soon as they open!”
Country Road Two
The second road we found ourselves on was a road we had canvassed a few weeks ago. One resident jokingly stated “Oh, you are back again, huh? Guess you’re here to help me fix my pipe this week.”
Another resident spoke of the need for Bermudians to look out for each other and the need for an agenda to be set that allows us to empower ourselves via grassroots organizations.
He cited as an example that most of the homes in his area were built by Somerset residents who banded together for decades every weekend to help one another every weekend. He proudly stated that no one owed the banks anything, as everything was built with their “Love they neighbor” system.
Yet another resident spoke about the history and legacy of the Gilbert Family of Sandy’s. He explained how they had historically come to own land stretching from Hog Bay level all the way to Market Place because they stood together as a family.
Country Road Three
Venturing up the road a bit, we stopped at the legendary Pop Pop’s Workshop.
Boy, oh, boy! What did we walk into there! This particular location was historically used to hold meetings regarding trade unionism and political activity.
Surrounded by Somerset legends with surnames such as Pearman, Philpott, Scott and Smith, we were given a Baptism of Communal Cocktails of Western history, politics and a dash of Somerset religion.
These gentlemen clearly told us, in no uncertain terms, some of the reasons why they would be voting PLP. Decades ago, for them to vote, they had to pool their money to purchase land. So not voting was unthinkable.
To do their story justice, I will do a completely separate column in the near future.
Cheers to the ‘Knights of the Roundtable.’
Country Road Four
On Sunday, the road led to Somers Isle Lodge for a community pot luck dinner. Hundreds of Somerset folks, both the young and the not-so-young, piled in to have their pick of:
- - Barbecue chicken
- - Jerk chicken
- - Spanish rice
- - Peas and rice
- - Salad
- - Cake
- - Pie
- - Fruit Cocktail.
All served amidst avid conversation and community fellowship. It was basically a giant Sunday family picnic. So much hugs, so many stories, and so much love.
Country Road Five
Over the last month or so, we have met hundreds of Somerset residents who have welcomed us into their homes, offered us refreshments and told us their stories.
They have shared their pride in how their community sticks together at all times and what they expect, not just of Jamahl and the PLP, but also what they expect out of they themselves and the country as a whole.
Between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM today, the people of Constituency 33 will walk, ride and drive the “country roads” to the polling station. They will demonstrate how Bermudians must stick together and work together to chart new paths.
To the many we have met, we thank you for showing us what Somerset is truly about. I now fully understand how you won Cup Match. #Somerset Strong
- Chris Famous can be contacted via email at Carib_pro@yahoo.com or Twitter at @ryderz777
Read More About
Category: All
Clearly if all these people are voting for PLP (and especially this particular PLP candidate)then it proves that they have very low expectations of our politicians.
Quite a shame really.
Low expectations and poor cognitive reasoning skills
Really? Well, can we say around low expectations? Or is it just the PLP?
- Craig Cannonier (Resigned for questionable deals)
- Shawn Crockwell (Former Convict)
- Michael Dunkley (Potty Mouth – caught on the mic)
and easily manipulated by political predators who play the emotional, bogie man card.
I enjoyed your walk Chris. Thanks for sharing. I am always amazed at how much of this island I don’t know. I prefer the roads to some of the people, I tell you!
PLP propaganda.
Oh wow. I thought the first piece was good. The warm and fuzzy feeling I got from reading this was better than basking in the warm sun after a few days of winter storms.
All of that and not one single person had anything to say about how your party bankrupted this island ? No one had anything to say about how the international companies they worked for started sending people out of here as soon as the anti foreigner rhetoric started ? Or when the payroll tax was hiked without warning because ‘they have it , they should give it to us ‘ and now they’re jobless too ?
Yeah Chris , pull my other one .