THIS realisation did not come from special lessons, but from the definitions of elders and people we know; cultural behaviour is distinctive, as this reference captures. A lady we all knew often visited the home of a female relative. I was waiting for the relative to take an envelope to my godparents, whom I lived with, when a conversation began. This visitor told my relative she had to get rid of a specific chair in the hall. This is how the conversation went:
“Ah gon decide upon that,” responded the relative, but the visitor was not satisfied. She continued, “Imagine yuh got a man and gon sit down in a chair like this fuh de holidays.”
“I’ent gon throw it out,” was the reply.

The visitor responded, “If yuh give me the chair you would be surprise how I would nice it up. Anyway, tell meh when yuh ready.”
“Hm, ah got fuh run along now, girl,” and she passed me on the step. “Eh! Eh! Yo ent gone yet, bway?”
“No, auntie, ah tying fuh tie me shoe.”
“Yuh know is not good manners fuh listen to big people talk?”
“Yes, auntie, ah know that. I ent listening to nobody,” but one of the last bursts: “Try deh quick, I gone.”
My aunt looked through the window. “Yuh see Dorothy, she always know wuh good fuh everybody, in she interest. Yuh uncle already decide fuh fix the chair. She is one petit-bourgeois, talk yuh down fuh mek she happy.”
Down the road, up comes some work by the koker. Nobody ent too sure is what deh doing… but the biggest voice is not the machine, but Brigga Bobby shouting orders. Though everybody is active, the sudden turn bossman mekking sure that Brigga Bobby gon shout loudest, suh everybody knows that he’s the bossman, that deh pon de wuk.
Then we pass a gate, some people calling out ‘fuh Cousin Dexter’ in front of a nice wooden building. Cousin deh inside but ent want fuh answer. He done fo-get he own family since he a big boy now. He’s a big-shot lawyer, drink with any and everybody. If he did only come out and listen to them people in scrawly, wash-out clothes, he might have learned that he old-time “tek a drink” pardner, who used to give he all de information, get lonely fuh friend and go back and tek a tuks.
With the same people he cochure and big lawyer put in jail, and deh give he bad liquor. Now family come fuh tell he that he friend burying tomorrow… if he did only pause from the call from the new lady friend, he and all wouldn’t a take the invitation fuh go to a high-class place that evening, and enjoy much more of his true aristocratic life of honesty, patience and success, than the days that followed.
Clouded by bad feelings all over he body, too late he remember the old-time parable: “Dem sweet ah tap friend dem” always ready fuh big deception.
And so, from Yansen’s sensible Creole jargon: You and yours have a sensible 2026