A Business Place generates more activity than a Business Page on Facebook

As the internet crawls into the far corners of Guyana, it is time to get on board and embrace the power of social media. Letting people know about your business was, traditionally, done with newspaper and radio advertising. While these media platforms are not extinct, yet. They are increasingly expensive and often times extremely difficult to track. Why not try joining the rest of the world and use social media as a interactive tool to drive your business goals.

There are several social media platforms that go as quickly as they come. On any given day the balloon can burst and a new craze will take center stage. However, with all the hype and dazzle of newer shinier toys, Facebook seems to finally be digging in. As in any marketing plan, there are several medias to convey the message. Many more sophisticated and complex social media marketing strategies will integrate Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Urbanspoon, Travelocity, Tripadvisor, Pinterest, Foodspotting, Stumbleupon, Instagram, to name the most popular. However, the simpler more concentrated Facebook platform offers similar engagement and results.

The basic idea of any marketing plan is to tell your customer what you are offering, then engage and keep them coming back for more. This ultimately results in a sale or income generation. Facebook “Page” offers information across the board. Almost any kind of businesses can utilize a “Page” to their utmost advantage. Information pertaining to the location, phone number, services, goods, activity or any thing else can be added to a “Page”. With “Liking” your page, customers can follow the information you are sharing. Your customer can invite their friends to “Like” your page, hence increasing your customer base. Biggest disadvantage, “Page” does not allow a user to “Check in”.

With the increasing availability of mobile phones in Guyana, “Checking in” to Facebook so your friends know where you are and what your are doing is becoming the norm. As a business owner this screams a huge opportunity for you. How do you capture that “Check In” and make it work to spread your message? There is a “Place” for that. Facebook “Places” is everything your “Page” is with the added bonus of utilizing “Geo Location” mapping to interact with customers.

How does this work? When a person “Check in to Facebook” their friends are able to see their activity. Which means, if a person “Check in” to your establishment all of their friends are immediately aware of your establishment, hence the term “Place”. Your business just appeared in front of people who probably never knew you existed by using your customers as your marketers. Typical example, when someone checks into Venu Shopping Center in Skeldon, all of their friends around the world know that this place exist, without the owners lifting a finger.

So how does a business owner create a “Place”? Simple, search Facebook Help for

How do I create a new location?
Or follow the steps below:
You can only create a new location if one doesn't already exist with a similar name. On a mobile device with location services enabled:

1. Tap 
2. Select  Nearby
3. Tap Check In (top-right corner)
4. Start typing the name of the location you'd like to add
5. If there are no existing locations with similar names, tap Add "[New Location]"..."
6. Confirm the name of the the location you want to create and tap Add

You can then continue to post from that location:

1. Write a caption, tag friends or add a photo
2. Tap Post

The default location for any new place you create will be where you are currently located. Also, keep in mind that any location you create is public. This means that other people may see the location while browsing Facebook.

Tips
1. Notice I mentioned “Place” and Facebook Help used the word “Location”? They are the same thing. A “location” is the physical address using Global Positioning Satellite to pin point the exact location. A “place” is the place on Facebook where the location is attached.

2. This process can only be done through a mobile phone with location services enabled. It cannot be done from a laptop or desktop computer.

3. Adding a location does not make you the user in any which way or form attached to the business. Businesses must claim their location as the owner in a separate step.

Which brings me to what happens after the location is added. As a business owner you have to now prove to Facebook that you are indeed the owner of this business. This stops other people to claim your address as their business. Here is how to:

How do I claim a Page that already exists for my business? Can I merge it with my business's official Page?

A Facebook Page may exist for your business even if you or someone else from your business didn't create it. This happens for a variety of reasons. For example, when someone checks into a place that doesn't already have a Page, a new Page gets created to represent the location.
If you're an official representative of an existing Page that someone else is managing, report it. If no one is managing the Page yet, you can request to claim it:

1. From the Page, click the menu.
2. Select Is this your business?.
3. Follow the steps that appear on your screen. Add and verify information about your business, like its address and website, and click Continue.
4. Next, Facebook will ask you to claim your Page to prevent other people from becoming an admin without your permission. Choose to verify your connection to the business by Email or by uploading Documentation:
   • Email: Choose this option if you have an email address associated with your Facebook account that was officially issued to you by your business. Email addresses from generic providers like Yahoo! or Gmail will not be accepted. The email address should correspond to your business's name, ex: jane.doe@acmeproducts.com.
     
   • Documentation: Upload a scan or photo of an official document that shows your business's name and address. Ex: phone bill, business license, business tax file, articles of incorporation, etc.
5. Click Submit.

You're now an admin of the Page and can begin managing it. Please allow up to one week for the Pages team to review your claim request and respond. If your request is accepted, other people won't be able to become an admin of your Page without your permission.

Once you've claimed your Page, you can merge it with duplicate Pages that you may already have set up for your business. The Pages must represent the same thing and have similar names to be eligible for merging. Additionally, if the Pages have physical locations, make sure the addresses are the same.

Is any of this making any sense? Don’t fret follow these steps and you’ll see how easy it actually is. Social media is user friendly and all the information is online. Don’t be afraid to tackle this. Now sit back and watch the world come to you. Well not so fast, you do have to work at making your “Places” engaging and interactive.

Feel free to leave comments or ask me questions. I am by no means an expert, but I have done a few of these. If I can do this so can you. Run off and conquer the world.

Displaced Immigrant: What could have been might have been.

June 30, 1989 – Loaded taxi took off from Line Path A, Skeldon, Guyana carrying my grandfather, grandmother, mom and myself.
June 30, 1989 – Arrived at (then) Timehri International Airport, Georgetown, Guyana.
June 30, 1989 – Flew to Piarco International Airport, Trinidad. Missed the connecting flight because we did not know where to go and what to do. So we spent the night at the airport. Still unsure of what to do. Finally, my 17 year old self grew a pair and walked up to a counter attendant to explain our ply. They are wondering about us. We were sitting right in the lobby. First time on an airplane, first time leaving Guyana, first time my old grandfather was out of his element. It was a very fast maturity for me. Hours to be exact.
July 1, 1989 – Arrived in John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York. USA. Spent time reuniting with family and friends.
July 7 1989 – Got on a flight Minneapolis, Minnesota bound, where my step dad lived. This was the final destination of my mom. Her childhood sweet heart had finally got his childhood crush. When they we little kids growing up in #78 Village these two destined souls were giving each other the googly eyes. As time would have it, somehow parents were not in agreement to this. My mom was sent to live with her grandparents in Line Path A. Enter my swankadeen dad, the playboy of Line Path A, man of men amongst Sugar Workers, a friend to anyone who crossed his path. He swept the young girl from #78. They got married, I arrived on earth in 1971. My dad passed, in August 1977, from some would say his reckless behaviour of driving motor cycles without a helmet falling too many times and hitting his head. Others would say it was a hereditary brain disease, guess I would never know the real reason.

Back Yard Jan 18, 2013
My stepdad was divorced from a marriage that resulted in two kids, a boy and a girl. What better thing to do than pursue his childhood sweetheart? He came back to Guyana looking for her. They got married and sometime later off to the States we came.

Front Yard Jan 18, 2013
Having very limited knowledge of the geography and lay out of the US, I really never considered living in Minnesota. It was all about living in New York amongst my cousins. I was given a warm welcoming reception when we arrived at my stepdad. His kids, my now step brother and sister, were very accomodating and treated me kindly. I spent that first summer exploring and getting to know my new family. Never did it cross my mind that this could have been my home, had I choose to.
At the end of Summer 1989, I went back to New York to start my own journey. As faith would have it one day as I was walking around Times Square New York, I literally stumbled into the military recruiting office, a month later I was enlisted and attended United States Navy boot camp in Great Lakes, IL. Being the gunho sailor I was, I volunteered for the first Desert Storm onboard the USS Midway forward deployed from Japan. Which saw me serving out my time of enlistment in Japan. After military service, sailing around in the cold North China Sea, in the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese waters, I could not see myself living in a cold climate. I relocated to sunny Florida, where since 1994, I enjoyed the warm climate similar to my motherland.
During my years in Florida, at one time I gave Minnesota another try. For reasons apart from the weather, I could not find myself staying and living. Is it the way of life, is it the scarcity of West Indians? They are many Guyanese who call Minnesota their home. Many of them are spread out across the state. I never really felt right here. Yes there are many great things about this state, apart from my mom being here. There are magnificent lakes, nature parks, great fishing, great education, great living conditions, the state is always looking for ways to better systems, increased ease of transportation, and many more wonderful things. It was touted as one if not the best state to live in many years running. But I just can’t seem to get behind the eight ball.
They say hindsight is 20/20. Look back to see where one came from, look around to see where one is, and look forward to see where one must go. When I look back, there will always be that unanswered question. Did I make the right choice to not live in Minnesota? Some may continue to argue that it is never too late to make changes, I fully agree. However, I am still not convinced that I can make a life in Minnesota. I am very fortunate to be able to freely choose where I make my home. Who knows what might have been could have been.

An attempt at Guyanese Black Rum Cake

Recently I encountered a Caribbean Black Cake at a restaurant. It immediately brought back memories of my childhood growing up in Guyana. Since my later start at cooking Guyanese food, it dawned on me that I did not know how to make a Guyanese Black Rum Cake. So I set out to research and ask around, in the hopes of having Black cake this Christmas.

Black Cake as any West Indian descent should know, is a heavy dense cake made with fruits and liquor. Every island in the Caribbean have their version of this specialty. Since my interest lies in the Black cake of my childhood, I am focusing on the Guyanese version. If memory serves me right, I recall Guyanese rum and sweet red wine, in our recipe. This specialty of the Caribbean is very popular at weddings and Christmas.

My earliest recollection, being the only boy in a house full of girl cousins was to assist in the cake mixing. During the late 70s throughout the 80s, we did not have the luxury of an electrical powered mixer. I am not sure many households have a mixer even today. We mixed in a big enamel bowl and a wooden spoon. Of course, as any one knows the payment for slaving at the bowl was to lick the spoon and bowl clean. My aunts were gracious in turning a blind eye to my finger dipping or maybe they knew. In any case, I was too young to learn or remember recipes and ratios. Underage labor was tolerated.

During my research for this recipe I consulted with those same aunts. Who would you believe they still don’t have a recipe?  However, an older cousin sought to try and master her mom’s recipe. In as much as there was no fixed standard recipe to pass on, there was enough knowledge of little particulars that can only be learned from years of practice. Just talking to my family about Black Cake brought back memories of childhood, a simpler time, in rural Guyana. I can clearly remember my grandmother reaching for an overhead hung basket with a rod. That’s where she stored our Black Cake and other sweet goodies.

In this day and age of computers and the internet there is a wealth of knowledge to be found. Several websites and personal blogs depicted and offered information, recipes, tips, pictures, and step by step instructions. Some sources were particular to Caribbean Fruit Cake, while others identified individual islands. There are several schools of thought and views. However, since I really wanted to bring back a childhood memory I had no other option but to assemble a recipe taking the best of all sources. My black cake recipe is based loosely on Jehan Can Cook Blog, with some modifications.

Soaking Fruits VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The essence of Black Cake is in the fruits. I remembered growing up people would dry local fruits and then soak them in rum and/or wine. Not having the time to dry local Guyanese fruits I opted for already dehydrated fruits from my local West Indian Supermarket. One such major supermarket in Orlando repackage their fruits in house with very limited information on the labels. One label said “keep refrigerated” and the product was left on a shelf. The American supermarkets carry most of the same dehydrated products, well packaged and stored accordingly. But I found a different West Indian Supermarket, in Clermont, that package in house but stored all of their products refrigerated. So I decided to support this supermarket. One huge West Indian liquor store, in Orlando, was out of stock for El Dorado 5 yr Old Rum, but carried El Dorado Gold Rum. Another Indian owned liquor store, in Clermont, had ample supply.

Fruits
¾ lb pitted prunes
1 lb currants
¾ lb raisins
¾ lb cherries
¾ lb golden raisins
¾ lb mix candied fruits
1 bottle of El Dorado 5 yr Rum
1 bottle Sherry Wine
1 bottle Port Wine

With my little stick food processor, I finely chopped each container of fruit and then put them all in a huge baking pan. This gave me room to hand mix all the fruits together. After they were well incorporated,  I added 1/4 bottle of rum and sherry. The semi liquid mixture was then placed in an airtight container. Periodically, over the next two weeks I checked and topped up the mixture with rum to keep it moist.

Dry Ingredients VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Dry Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp mace

I passed the flour through a sifter to ensure all the grains were loose and the same size. Then used a whisk to gently combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Wet Ingredients VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Wet Ingredients
1 lb or 4 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups brown sugar
8 eggs
5 tbsp burnt sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed essence

I started out by creaming butter and sugar until all sugar grains were dissolved. This is the part that finger licking is allowed. Maybe add a little more sugar and butter. Or be a disciplinarian and stick with the original measurements. Me, I tipped the sugar spoon. Crack and add one egg at a time while continue mixing. If you are using a table mixer, this part is easy for one person. If you are using a hand mixer, like I did, get help. As the mixture gets fluffy, add vanilla and mixed essence. 

I added 3 cups of fruits and continued mixing. Then place a spoon in the middle of the mixture to check for consistency. The mixture was a little loose so I added 1 more cup of fruits. A little more mixing and the spoon fell slowly. Time for Dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients in one cup at a time until the spoon almost stays vertical but still falls. Add burnt sugar to your color preference. I added 5 Tbsp. Be careful this step could turn the whole thing bitter with too much burnt sugar.

		Baking VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I divided the mixture into two pans lined with parchment paper. With a little slamming on the counter and smacking on the sides to ensure all the air was gone, I placed the pans in a pre heated oven at 275 degrees for 2 hrs. I started to check the center with a tooth pick. When the tooth pick came out clean the cake is done! Every oven has it’s own characteristics, so this is a crucial step. Keep checking. Time to let the cake take cake a swim, I poured rum and port wine over the cake until all was absorbed. The next day I brushed on more port wine. This brushing will continue every so often to keep the cake moist. Or until it’s all done!



All of the above was done with a recipe of 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of spices, and 10 eggs; baked for 2 hrs. The result: a dry cake with very little flavor. So I adjusted the recipe for 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp of spices, 8 eggs; baked at 350 degrees. Then dropped to 275 degrees. The result: moist, flavorful, memories of my childhood.

		2nd Try VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Photo Privacy Settings for Facebook Groups

There have been some photo postings in Skeldon Conversation that are not visible to ALL members. The whole idea of a group is to share information with everyone in that group. Restricted photos should be kept on your timeline.

We respect your privacy in Skeldon Conversation. If your photos are set to “Friends Only” then you do not need to post them in a group for your friends to see. However, when your photos are set to “Friends Only” and it is shared in a group, those who are not your friend will see a blank post. Hence, the questions, Nothing? What is here? and a slue of other comments. Sharing photos in a group require that privacy setting be “Public”. While photos on your timeline can remain amongst your friends.
This post will seek to assist in changing your photo privacy settings. There are two scenarios: First, your photos may be in an “Album” as in Your Family Vacation and second, your photos maybe “Single” as in a Mobile Album. I will address both cases.
ALBUM
Select the photo that you wish to change.

Image Above: Notice the RED circle next to my name. That icon represents your privacy setting for “Friends Only”. Click on the icon.
This dialogue box appears. Click on “Edit Album Privacy”.  
This dialogue box appears.Click on drop down arrow in Black circle.
This dialogue box appears. Click on “Edit Album Privacy” in Red circle.
This drop down box appears.Click on “Public” in the Red circle.
The drop down box retracts. Click on “Save”.

Your photo is now set to public. EVERYONE can see it in the group.

SINGLE
Select the photo that you wish to change.

Image Above: Notice the RED circle next to my name. That icon represents your privacy setting for “Friends Only”. Click on the icon.
This drop down box appears.  Click on “Public”.
The drop down box retracts. Your photo is now set to public. EVERYONE can see it in the group.

I hope you can follow these steps to happy photo sharing. Remember to keep your photo sharing Guyana related.

Feel free to contact me for any further assistance.

Young Guyanese girls youth are being stolen.

1979 – A busy taxi driver picks up a passenger at Timehri International Airport (now Cheddi Jagan International Airport), “Where to sah?” “To Corriverton, Berbice,” replied the oversees citizen of Guyanese birth. “Suh wah yuh guh do in Corriverton?", inquired the seasoned taxi driver. The overseas man replied, “I am going to find me a nice young Guyanese gal to play with.”

Fast forward 2012 – A Facebook conversation. 50 something year old Guyanese man, from overseas reaches out to an eager 19 year old in Guyanese girl.
Man: “Hi, how are things in my home country.”
Girl: “Things looking nice.”
Man: “I really miss my country.”
Girl: “Things change up.”
Man: “I would love to visit and see, but I have no one there.”
Girl: “Nah seh suh, meh deh heh.”
Man: “You would show me around?”
Girl: “Yes of course.”

Man goes to Guyana, spends a week. Girl shows the many improvements and wonderful things happening in Guyana. One thing leads to another, they have sex. Man comes back oversees and forgets about girl. Or man comes back oversees and goes back to marry girl. Then girl comes oversees and man turns out to be protective, abusive, dominating, and violent. Wishfully, all works out and they live happily ever after.
Have you heard these recollections before? How many times? With your family, friends, or neighbors? Is this really still happening?

While there is no scientific statistical basis that I could find, this is a recurring scenario that I hear about over and over again. Being such a closed community about issues that does not portray us in a good light, we tend to sweep these darker issues under the rug. Our sisters and cousins from Guyana does not talk about this gross misleading or abuse until there is a knife put to their throats or a gun to their heads. Even more distressful, when we read about these incidents the community raises in an uproar. Facebook comments fly like AK-47s, OMG I am so sorry, So sorry for ur loss, so sad, I feel for the family and on and on… The long crocodile tears flow like the mighty Kaiteur Falls. Where were these same people when the young girl was being lured by this grown man predatorily pursuing her?

Yes there are tons of issues in Guyana that spurned a whole generation of people to flee. Some by choice, some who were too young to make that choice for themselves, the choice was made for them. Those issues are still there. Although, there are certainly some significant changes that enhance and makes Guyana very attractive to live in. There is still the yearning of many people to leave for a perceived better life overseas. While there are many who flourish and  enjoy the benefits of living in a place of their birth. It is still very common for arranged marriages and matches made in drunken bars or bottom houses.

The old practice of parents arranging marriage for their kids, especially young girls, still exist. How many people do you know seeks to find a nice Guyanese girl for their “very successful” older boys? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a relevant match. For generations match making in various societies are the norm. This practice will continue. However, when this practice is used in a reckless manner the social outcome is disastrous. What possibly, can a 50 something have in common with a 19 year old? This girl can be his child! Outrageous! This is not love and marriage as it is meant to be. This is desperate people acting irresponsibly.

This is parents not allowing their child to grow into a relationship, just the lure of going “outside”. Alternatively, young girls may not have the strength to say no. The marriage happens, young girl comes to oversees and then the drama starts. Three kids later, staying home, barefoot and pregnant in the some cold basement in the bowels on New York or New Jersey, the startling realization happens. What the hell did they get themselves into? Wait, let me point out the abuse. This man has lived here most of his life, he is probably on a second or third marriage, all of young Guyanese girls, directly from Guyana. He goes to Guyana brings another one, knocks them up, two or three kids, slaps them around, if the girl is lucky she escapes his clutches. He goes to Guyana does it all over again.

Will this cycle ever end? When will Guyanese realize that marriage and relationships are much more sacred than “better financial lives”? When will young Guyanese girls realize that a 50 something year old man has nothing in common with you? All he wants is a younger more attractive model. He could be your father. Would you go to bed with your father? I think not.

Of course there are some who will opine that there is no age in matters of the heart. I believe that. Love can happen in strange and mysterious ways. The laws of logic are thrown out of the window. But I also believe that two people should at least be able to have things in common. These commonalities happens with age, culture, exposure and a host of other factors.

Who am I to say this is an inappropriate way of carrying on life? Every person makes their own bed. I strongly believe that as a community we should have discussions about these issues and not sweep it under the rug. No two relationships are the same, neither are any two circumstances. There is always a means to an end. Or a way to better life. Do we want to continue reading the horror stories of this issue? Do we want to keep making the same Facebook comments of sadness? Older men, find someone your own age or age group. Younger girls, don’t be lured by the glamour of “outside”. Parents, start being parents. Community, let’s open a dialogue with our loved ones. We cannot keep encouraging a generation with single mothers raising kids on their own, while fathers are either deported to Guyana or allowed to keep trading in for a newer model.

Ultimate Car Makeover in the Back Streets of Skeldon

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578009284279919750.html
Does anyone remember the days of Datsun cars in Guyana? Today, much to my surprise the Wall Street Journal carried this article announcing Nissan’s intention of reviving the old car brand. Back in the 70s, growing up in rural Guyana my father’s first car that he owned was a Datsun Bluebird. Later my grandfather performed what everyone I recalled said was totally crazy. He merged a Datsun Bluebird, Japanese made car with a Vanguard, English made car. Impossible? No, I was there. I helped build it.

My dad was a graduate of Guyana Sugar Corporation Apprentice Training School in Port Mourant, Berbice. He worked at the Skeldon Sugar Estate’s Field Mechanical Work Shop. Since he was a mechanic he must have seen something in this mashed up Datsun. The Datsun sat in the yard of a beer garden. A beer garden in those days and probably still is the same today, is a place where people mostly men gather to drink beer or rum. Most beer gardens were little “bottom house” shops, but as progression took a hold of the drinking public beer gardens evolved into major establishments. This beer garden was owned by a “red bone” man named Sammy. I can’t quite remember if Sammy worked with my father or he just owned the beer garden. Red bone was the name given to any person of mixed race with Portuguese and any of Guyana’s five other races. The beer garden was located in Kingston, off the main Kingston Rd. first right hand turn, second house on the right. There was an up ramp since the house sat on stilts. The car was buried in mud and grim with a mashed up front right side. I clearly remembered my grandfather who was a taxi driver, saying, “That rass would never run.” What do you know, first kick the engine caught life.

Around 1975, convinced that this was a great car, my father bought it. Over the next couple of months he worked on bringing the car back to it’s original glory. The interior remained blue, while the exterior sported a bright fire engine red color. It had a unique horn that carried a song like sound. This was a sexy little car. My grandfather even got to liking this little car and he used it in his taxi service. In 1977 my father passed. My grandfather continued to use the car. However, the car’s body started to rot in several places. All this time the mechanics of the car excelled. It was small, fast, nimble, and burnt minimal fuel. But the amount of money spent on patching the body was huge. Not to mention how ugly it started to look with patches. People did not want to ride in a car that appeared to fall apart. My grandfather’s taxi business was taking a little beating.
Back in those days up until the Berbice River Bridge was built in 2008, there was and still is a vibrant taxi service from Skeldon to Georgetown. Before the bridge there was a ferry service that crossed from New Amsterdam to Rosignol, ever so frequently or infrequently, depends if you missed the boat or the boat was inoperable. If you wanted to traverse to Georgetown from Skeldon, you would have to reserve a seat in a taxi the night before you wished to travel. The taxi would pick you up at 3:30 am and make the trek to wait for the 5:00 am ferry crossing. If you missed that boat, there was an alternative pontoon crossing from Blairmount. Either way if you had morning business to conduct in Georgetown, you were already late. Most of these taxis are packed with people and luggage. So it is very important to have a strong, sizeable, and stable car.

Since the Datsun was just running well but too small and falling apart, my grandfather, Uncle Phil was on the look out for something bigger. He kept passing a Ensign van type car without tires on No. 19 Public Road. According to him, that car was sitting there for ages and the body was still in great shape. So one day we stopped and talked to the people who owned it. They agreed to sell. We put four tires on the car and towed it to Skeldon. My grandfather was a mechanic through necessity. I don’t think he was ever formally trained, he just picked up from driving cars all his adult working life. He did have a brief stint of driving an estate truck when he first left his home village of No. 35. to settle in Skeldon. Over his long career as a taxi driver he acquired most of the tools required to work on cars. For as far back as  I can remember we had a car. There was a semi work shop with car parts littering our yard. I remembered at one time we dug a fish pond in the back yard and I am convinced that we retrieved an entire car parts catalog of relics from various eras. Needless to say we revived the Ensign to a blue whale of a van. It was huge, spacious, with a huge trunk for carrying luggage and a huge engine. That huge engine drank an enormous amount of fuel. For a good couple of years this van did it’s job. As time passed, the engine started to go. Another car caught my grandfather’s eye. A Vanguard sitting under Mr. Scott’s house. Mr. Scott was a onetime mayor of Skeldon and a good friend of my grandfather. The good old boys network. We acquired the Vanguard.

Most of the Vanguard’s parts were interchangeable with the Ensign. As we phased the Ensign out, the Vanguard did the heavy lifting. As a car the Vanguard was spacious, functioned well, but still had the thirst for fuel and was sluggish. During all of these years as a child growing up from Primary to Secondary School, many of my out of school hours were spent messing with these cars. My very first memory was a good trashing from stuffing grease in my mouth. I would crawl and hang out with whoever was working under whichever car we had at the time. I was the unofficial shop helper. Child labor laws did not exactly exist. I can’t quite remember the exact moment, but one day my grandfather called me over to the Datsun. Remember, the Datsun was sitting at rest again. Brush, vines, mud, grime, and small animals had taken residence once again. He asked me, “Do you think this car can start again?”

I knew the car could start. Because when he wasn’t home, I would start the car and prepend I was driving. I was only 9 or 10 yrs old. He probably knew also. Maybe I kept starting the car in remembrance of my dad. Who knows. So I replied, “Yes it can.” He said, “Start it.” When my grandmother over heard the conversation she came over. Uncle Phil had a huge personality and intimidating voice. But he was a gentleman. She was wondering if he was going to give me a good trashing for messing with the old car. I was shaking in my slippers. I got in the car brushes and all, inserted the keys and turned. The engine turned over. Nothing. He started to laugh. “Meh think, yuh seh dis old shit can wuk.” I tried again. Nothing. He walked away with his wife, Eva, still laughing. I tried again. The engine fired. The car jerked and did what it had done so many times when he wasn’t around, started! He came back over and leaned in the window. “So eh a wuk. Turn it off.” I did as I was told. He beckoned me out. We sat on a wooden bench in our semi work shop. He looked at me straight in the eyes and ask; “This July when school close do you want to work on a project with me?” You think I was going to say no to him. Never. I loved this old man. He went on, “We are going to take all of the mechanical parts of that Datsun and put it in the Vanguard’s body.”

What? Did I hear him right? We were going to take a Japanese made car with everything in metric measurements and put it in an English made car with everything in Imperial measurements. Was this ever done in Skeldon before? Was it ever done anywhere? I would never know these answers. But can he pull this off? However, I know that we were going forward with putting together the solid English body with a stellar Japanese machine. Uncle Phil recruited two of his on again off again apprentices Steve and Chico. I rounded up my little friends Sean, Intikalb, Tariq and anyone else who lived on the street and wanted to get dirty with me. We were set when the doors of school closed that summer. Steve and Chico were both accomplished wielders and Chico was a good mechanic. My friends and I did everything else, from clean up, wash parts, run to the store, buy cigarettes, take love letters to these guys girlfriends while they worked and whatever else needed to be done. Uncle Phil was the brains. Like every boss he talked more than worked. Slowly we stripped the Vanguard and cut it’s chassis out. Since not a whole lot can go wrong with taking things apart. I was tasked to strip the Datsun with my underage gang.

After making the necessary adjustments we transferred the Datsun’s chassis under the Vanguard. Then Uncle Phil took to rewiring the Vanguard. With wiring in place we started to transfer part by part often times having to fabricate the mounting. It was odd when we transferred the dashboard. There was space on both sides since the Vanguard is much wider than the Datsun. But we made it work. Same goes for everything under the hood. We had to fabricate a longer drive shaft. Which was a piece of cake for Uncle Jamna, another one of Uncle Phil’s long time friends. Uncle Jamna’s Metal Work Shop was our “go to” place for anything we could not handle. We kept the gas tank of the Vanguard for more fuel capacity. After everything was completed which took most of summer vacation, it was time to test our creation. First time out the car was sluggish as if the engine was straining to carry the heavier body. With minor adjustments the Ultimate Car Makeover was a complete success.

This car ran until Uncle Phil retired from the taxi business. Since I was still too young to drive, the car just sat parked. After we all immigrated to the states I am not sure what happened to the car. I was told several years later that we sold the house and everything in it. When I went back to Guyana in March 2010, our entire house was gone and so was everything in the yard. It is a clear vacant yard. No car in sight. I asked around the neighbors, no one remembered what happened to the car.

If after so many times the little Datsun, that a mechanic thought was a good car, still roared to life. I believe the revival of the Datsun brand will certainly be a success. Maybe, as the company is focused on developing countries we may not see this car in the United States. But, some day I will meet a Datsun again.

Reflections of Silence

Recently, someone in Skeldon initiated a private conversation with me about a public posting being discussed in the Facebook Group, Skeldon Conversation. The posting is, “This Sex Worker Thing”……how is public prostitution an accepted thing in Guyana?” The response was twofold, an on the ground assessment of the current crisis and a case of silence.

 “Hey Eric, I just saw the post on sex workers and found it to be interesting in some parts but, seems misinformed in others. As it relates to the trafficking in persons for the purpose of sex trades that was an issue of several years ago. It has reduced drastically. Continuous work is being done with all stakeholders including the Ministry of Human Services..... most bars you guys are referring to are a thing of the past sex workers are more wise these days hence not associating much with bars and brothels.... yes there are young girls in the sex work profession but they are independent workers both school age and older.... One challenge for NGOs working with these sex workers is they are able to work with the older population but are restricted to provide said services to minors. Although there are adequate evidence to prove these children are in sex work the laws of the land ties their hands. The law enforcers are blind to the part of the constitution that states sex work and buggering are illegal.”

The above excerpt was very surprising to me. Why does this person feel that they cannot post this response in a public forum? So I posed this question. Here was the response.  

“There are senior government officials who are a part of this group. Hence could compromise a lot of what I could say. I don't have a problem to speak. The thing with the situation here is that with everything there is politics at work. So, speaking is one thing, the way it affect the organization I represent will be another. I worry about the staff that has to provide for themselves and families more than myself..... It complicates things a lot there.”

Wow....things are still the same in Guyana even two decades later. No wonder I can't get anyone to participate from Skeldon. Is this the reality?

Note: I will not divulge the person at the other end of this conversation. Don’t ask and don’t assume you know who it is. Let’s look at the issue at hand.