Growing up on a small island we had many interesting stories to tell. I can remember when I was still in Primary
School, my friends and I would hang with the Most Coarse Rastafarians. There
were Ito, Ita, Jobi and many others most of whose name I cannot remember. When
they were not in the hills, where they have secluded themselves, they will move
from Montrose, Bottom Town (Rose Place), The Slum (Paul’s Lot or Avenue) Harlem
Edge and the other neighborhood in and around the Kingstown area; burning fire
on all who represented Babylon, shaking their dread, Reading the scriptures;
hailing King Selassie and burning Cali weed.
They never encouraged us to smoke
or use any illegal substance (weed). However, my friends Garfield Mayers AKA Bread-head,
Nigel Sylvester Nie Blue, Curtis John AKA the pip, Anthony Culzact AKA
Bangalang, Arnond Culzact AKA Bam, and others, we will all grow what we called
a summer Natty (Natty dread), which we were proud of. However our Summer Natty
Dreads were cut on the last Sunday of the summer holiday, the day before the
new school year began; when we all sported new haircuts to attend school, the
next day; which was the first day of the new school year.
We all admired the Rastafarians
and the movement they were a part of, although my friends and I wanted to be as
real as we possibly could be to the real Rastafarians, Bread-head, and I who
were best friends at the time, were not ready to use Marijuana.
Then Bread-head told me of a
discovery he made, I cannot remember exactly how Bread came up with this
discovery, however; Bread discovered that the dry papaya Leave when burn smells
like Marijuana when it is burnt; I tried and discovered that Bread-head’s
discovery was true. As a result, we purchased cigarette wrapping paper, we
collected our portion of banana bark (The Rasta’s substitute for Rapping Paper)
and we had our portions of untreated tobacco AKA high leave which the Most
Corse used to mix their ganga with.
We will go to the Rastafarians
camp where ever they were hanging out reading the bible and smoking weed. My
friends and I, sporting our Summer Natty, gain acceptance with the Rastafarians.
We talk the Rasta talk, and when they began to smoke we will break out our
stash of fake weed AKA dry Papaya leave and light up with the Most Coarse Rasta.
They wanted to know where we at our age got money to by weed from, but that was
our personal secret. At time they (The Rastafarians) will try our fake weed and
rate it as being good stuff; only if they knew what they was really smoking.
Consequently, news got back to my
father that Bread Head and I are often seen on Nine Steps smoking Marijuana. I
can remember my father called me into the shop, which he was tending, and he
asked me if I smoke Marijuana, I looked him square in his eyes and told him no.
He told me that people have told him they have seen me and Bread-head on Nine
Steps smoking weed. He told me the people will not lie on me like that. At that
age, it did not even dawned on me that, my father and the people were referring
to the papaya leave or (fake weed) all I knew was the thought of smoking weed
never entered my mind. So when I had the encounter with my father and I was
accused of smoking weed, It honestly never entered my mind that they were referring
to the fake weed Bread-head and I could be often seen smoking on nine steps whilst
we pretend to be Rastafarian.
Because my father knew I was
simple and brutally honest he believed me when I look him in his eyes and told
him I don’t and have never smoke marijuana. However the youngest of my sisters
who was about four years older than I was, became upset that I was not dealt
with by my father who was a stern disciplinarian. She accused me of lying to
our father and became very upset. It never crossed. It was recently, the memory
of this event came to my mind, it was only then I realized that the accusation
of me smoking weed was really me and Bread pretending to be smoking weed what
was really fake week AKA papaya leave.
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