CHAPTER 6: Part 1 THE BRITISH SOLDIERS

With our spirits uplifted Clarence my aunt Yvonne and I began preparing for the big Easter Monday kite flying day.  Only to receive a letter from my mother Aunt Gertis stating that she wanted us to spend Easter with her in New Amsterdam. The next couple days was now spent preparing for the long journey to New Amsterdam.

We boarded the train in Georgetown, Lamaha Street in Cummingsburg to begin the trip New Amsterdam. 

To our amazement and joy as boys we were in the same compartment with two British soldiers.

Guyana the then “British Guiana” was a sovereign colony of England.  The British army sent soldiers to help squash the unrest and riots and return to country to a state of peace.                            

Between strained snips of conversation we got to know the English soldiers. They proved to be a savior to us after the train made one of its major stops at Mahaica. At this stop we are allowed to leave the train to stretch our feet and buy food and stuff.

All illustrations for Once Upon an Easter are not For sale.  Attached art ":Out Of  Darkness" 24in by 18in  on sale for $1000.00, perfect gift for Mother's day. Feel free to inquire of any other art seen on blog Folk Incognito. Once upon an Easter is also available in eBook format at Barnes and Noble.com.

CHAPTER 5 Part 2 TEST FLIGHT

 It flew so high it homed so loud it could be heard form miles, my heart could not stop pounding with happiness.  Then as if out of nowhere a strong gosh of wind blew and pop went the twine (Crochet #0) and away flew my kite.  There was no time to waste straight away we plunged in to action running in the direction of the falling kite. As fast as the kite fell it disappeared more speedily. We now had to go from yard to yard over fences fearing bad dogs and angry shouts. Finally we got to the yard of an old lady and decided to ask her if she had seen a fallen kite.  “Yes” she said, and then asks us to describe the kite. I slept well that night with my kite by my bedside.

Once upon an Easter.

Illustrations for Once upon an Easter are not for sale. However attached {Riverside} is on sale for $600.00. Once upon an Easter is also available at Barnes and Noble.com in eBook format.

CHAPTER 5: TEST FLIGHT

With Easter approaching fast and not having a wooden kite to fly my brother, Clarence and I were worried.  We explained to the Gardner our dilemma. He convinced us that our fears were unfounded and we could build our own wood kite. Up to that time we could only build pointer broom kits. Which were not very efficient kits. They were prone to breaking easily and had disastrous flying records.  The Gardner then proceeded to lead us through the steps of making our own wood kite with old pieces of board hanging around our yard.  And assisted by my aunt Yvonne who provide us with some of her Grease Proof paper and some color Barbados Paper we built two {Singing Engine kits} with big bulls so that they could hum in the air.  The kits being completed mine was put to the test flight.
illustrations for Once upon an Easter are not for sale.  However attached art" lillie's Night" is on sale for$260.00. Once Upon an Easter is also available in eBook fromat on Barnes and Noble.com.

CHAPTER 4: THE GARDENER

The time was the early sixties there was political unrest in Guyana schools were on vacation and my aunt Yvonne was out on strike so was my uncle Wilfred. There was rioting in the capital Georgetown, and political factions marooning the streets. It was getting close to Easter my brother Clarence and I were facing the daunting prospects of going without a kite. In Guyana it is traditional to fly kits on Easter Monday symbolizing the resurrection of Christ from the grave. We were moping around the house feeling sorry for ourselves and being lazy. 

Because Guyana experiences bursts of heavy rain at any time and extreme heat and sunshine the grass grow at an aggressive pace. It therefore happens on one of those hot spells that a Gardner came by and offered to cut the grass on our aunt’s Yvonne’s lawn for a small fee.  My aunt Yvonne quickly agreed.  We as boys stood and watched in amazement as he used his scythe to swipe through the tall grass. Due to the extreme heat and humidity the Gardner had to take a break which he did. We sat around him in my aunt back yard and chatted with him and watched in amazement as he sharpened his scythe.

Once Upon an Easter

Illustrations for Once upon an Easter are not for sale.  However attached painting 'Tasty' can be purchsed for $170.00. Once upon an Easter is also at Barnes& Noble.com in eBook format.

CHAPTER 3 PART 2 MILKY

After swimming for hours we return to banks looking for our cloths which we hid under some shrub.  Only to discover to our horror that they were gone.  My older cousin while we were having fun had crept up and grabbed our cloths. This presented a big dilemma how do we get home without cloths?  Hands between our legs and over our bottoms. Picture that?  Total humiliation as we walked down the street the girls of the neighborhood to see us and laugh at us; then licks like peas when we got home. And if you don’t holler loud you get more licks not an easy proposition never the less, we have to journey home. May be we wait till dusk? Still not good proposition dusk is chilly and cold mosquitoes and Sand flies bite your tail. 

Once upon an Easter.

Illustrations for Once Upon an Easter are not for sale, however Sunflower is on sale for $170.00. Once Upon An Easter is also available in eBook format at Barnes&Noble.com.

Chapter 3 Milky

Feeling the nostalgia of youth and some of the happiest moments of my life I present to you my followers the remaining chapters of Once upon an Easter. Attached to this blog is art "Blue Diamond" which is on sale for $400.00. Illustrations for Once upon an Easter are not for sale. Once upon an Easter is available on Barnes&Nobel.com in eBook format.

With the coming of Easter also comes Easter showers and Campbellville always floods.  Mr. Kerry our neighbor had a speed boat which he would float down to the wide trench at the back of our homes. The trench was called Milky.   And there gather all the boys of the street and we would go speeding up and down the trench. This was the water way where all the boys in the neighborhood learned how to swim.

Peter one of the older boys would lead us out to the middle of “Milky” floating on a log then take the log away and leave you in the middle. This called for desperate action frantic scramble to the shore line suddenly we were swimming.  Going to swimming in Milky was not however approved by my aunt Yvonne. Therefore after concocting lies as to our reason for leaving the house we would end up at “Milky” swimming naked as we were born. Best way to swim one felt a sense of freedom. 

ONCE UPON AN EASTER

Today Monday 04/13/2020 in Guyana and most of the Commonwealth of Nations it is Easter Monday and a holiday. On this day kite flying and picnics and parties are celebrated. However today I mourn for all who have died and are sick due to the COVID-19, pandemic sweeping the world.

                          CHAPTER 10: JOURNEY

When we got to Kite Man’s room he was already dressed and waiting for us he had a broad smile on his face and his eyes sparkled with anticipation of the day. He wore a green suit with white shoes. And said “We go fly in style”.  With breakfast over we headed to the Back Dam where all the kite flying took place.  Our kite was so big we had to hitch a ride on a donkey cart and bumped our way to the Back Dam.

Once upon an Easter.

The full story of Once upon an Easter is available in eBook format at Barnes &Noble.com. Illustrations for Once upon an Easter are not for sale. However feel free to inquire of any other art seen on previous blog.