Unfortunately, a lot of mangoes and fruits go to waste in Jamaica. I have passed countless trees filled with cherries and mangoes ready to be eaten but they’re not. People sometimes give the fruits to others but mostly they just ignore them. They fall on the ground and waste away. A popular saying here in reference to people who need something but can’t get it or those who don't need anything but waste what they have is: “waant it waant it cyan geh ee and geh ee geh ee no waant it.”
But perhaps the biggest reason these mangoes were still on the tree was that they’re “common mangoes.” Just as the name says they’re all over the place. Most folks don’t treasure them because they don’t have much flesh and have a lot of hair so it’s a hassle to eat them. But having lived abroad without mangoes for so many years I’m hardly picky. I’ll eat any variety of the fruit.
Fortunately, the mangoes I ate last night were surprisingly sweet. The perks of taking fruits off holy grounds.
-- Connie Aitcheson
-- Connie Aitcheson
1 comment:
There is no shame in liberating these fruits from religious bounty. It would, I think, be sinful not to come to the rescue. You can always ease your guilt in the collection plate if you are so moved--I would love to taste the sweetness of one of those common mangoes right now. I remember when I was a likkle boy going to visit family in Evergreen, Manchester-- a very 'common' lush valley district in central Jamaica-- I couldn't wait to glut myself of a variety of common mangoes. I use to think the mango sweetness, the juice so plenty you couldn't stop it from running down your arms and anywhere else, was the heights of good living. I say start a revolution and liberate all mangoes!
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