Freetown Part II

In the evenings we would line up to shower in our outdoor bathroom. It was about fifty meters away from our kitchen and had no roof. There was a large standpipe that functioned as our shower and large river stones were all around. Zinc was used to give us some privacy and someone had fashioned a soap dish of sorts on the middle of the shower stand. We often hung our clothes on the inside of the zinc door. After we were clean we would race to the house to get ready.

Spice assembled outfits for most of us to wear. He was and still is very fashion forward. I remember one holiday as we were getting ready to go out in the town for grand market, he proudly declared that the color for the season was red and proceeded to dress us accordingly.

Image by Peter Kaul https://pixabay.com/users/peterkaul-5850968/

We packed ourselves in a single cab, sitting atop each other and headed into the town. It was a buzz of life. Street vendors were plying their wares. At every corner, you could see smoke rising in the air from the jerk pans that lined the strees. Christmas lights flashed everywhere and music pulsated from the sound boxes. There were hundreds of people just walking around enjoying the festivities. The streets were packed and sections of the main road heading to the big clock had been cordoned off to allow pedestrians and vendors to mingle. We jumped out the cab and I…