By Francis Quamina Farrier 

THE weather was good where I was on Father’s Day, 2024, in the USA. My wife Pat and daughters Arlene and Venita closed ranks even closer and produced a fantastic Father’s Day for me. The breakfast which was prepared for me was extra super as the day began to unfold and the sun rose higher and higher in the summer sky. That first Father’s Day 2024 meal which was so lovingly and specially prepared by the most loving and important individuals in my life, was most yummy-yummy, if you will. Indeed, that first meal on that special day for many fathers around Guyana and beyond, was most welcomed by my digestive organs, and I’m sure, added extra strength to my entire body.

Having mentioned that aspect of the day for starters, is to state the fact that we tend to speak of the weather mostly when it is not too much to our liking — bad weather; and we most often complain bitterly. Those of us in Guyana, have only “dry weather and rainy weather” to deal with. However, we readily complain when there is an extension of rainless weeks and months, and our crops in particular are affected.

Temperatures can go to even 85 degrees Fahrenheit; sometimes even higher. However, in looking back, I can’t say that Guyana has really experienced really devastating weather. At least any that I can recall. There was, of course, the floods of 2015 when there was quite a lot of losses of agricultural produce as well as livestock; including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs and even cows. That was a bit of a wake-up call for those who are responsible for the drainage and irrigation of our coastlands. Most koker attendants do a good job opening and closing the koker doors at the right time.

Backing up a bit, I have to say how much it irritates me when I hear Guyanese make the following statement; “Guyana is below sea level.” The intelligent and correct thing to say – and this is what I was taught in First Standard in Primary school– is, “The coastland of Guiana (Guyana) is below sea level, at high tide.” That certainly makes a lot of sense. All of Guyana is not below sea level as the statement of some simpletons tend to imply.

There is that patriotic song which has lyrics that state in part, “From Pakaraima’s peaks of power…” There is the Pakaraima mountain range as well as the Kanuku mountain range. Consider as well, the Mount Roraima, which in fact is the tallest of them all. There is also the reality of the Kaieteur Falls plunging 471 feet from the lip to the gorge below. And all around Guyana, locally brewed Guinness also flows almost like a waterfall as brewed at the BANKS DIH Thirst Park complex.

In this article, lovers of Guinness will be pleased to know that along with others who toured a Guinness brewing facility in that brewery in the USA on Father’s Day last Sunday, I had the pleasure of enjoying some complimentary Guinness. We all drank in moderation of course; just one glass each. And as I sipped, my thoughts flashed to Guyana and the CEO and Chairman of BANKS DIH Ltd, Clifford Reis, and the brewery which brews Guinness. Clifford Reis always advises, “Drink in moderation.” Come to think of it, I saw no one who had exceeded his or her drinking capability on Father’s Day 2024.