Demokrissy: One Moment in Time Story of a Storyteller Extraordinaire

Her Excellency President of T&T
Her Excellency Paula Mae Weeks
presents the National Medal for the
Development of Women,Gold
( Journalism/Development
of Women) to Dt Kris Rampersad

Today would have been my Pa’s 104^th birthday. He passed on just after I began my first degree at the university. He might have been proud to see me receive the Medal for the Development of Women, gold, for Journalism and Development of Women through a career he delivered me onto; or my graduation with a bachelors, first class honours; or doctorate, and the acclaim as the first sitting journalist/editor to have done so, along with all else that is listed in my CV as accomplishments or accolades.

Or he may have simply reiterated as he often did, 'commonsense comes before booksense' and 'help who you can, when you can,' without any great show of emotion.

Pa, who had brought me to Port of Spain for my first job interview, not only gave me the window on the bus on our four-hour journey there, but also provided the first window to the world outside the village in having me accompany him to sell the produce we grew at the San Fernando market. The amiable, affable, people, character and experiences of the market from when I was just over five years old, would mark on me what I believed to e the national character, and feed the first columns of the Discover Trinidad and Tobago series, that blossommed into the television series Cross Country and more recently, my third book, LiTTscapes - Landscapes of Ficton series which spotlights 'MarketScapes" as one of the defining arenas of nationabuilding.

Pa remained seated in the lobby of the Guardian, as I am whisked away. I left him looking as if it was he who was to be interviewed, in his characteristic guarabara shirt jack, holding his mark of style - his dark brown Homburg felt hat, slightly indented at the top; its one and a half inch ribbon running along its circumference near the brim; its inside lined with Satin that felt cool on the head as I would find out when I sneaked try-ons. Pa wore it as any stately leader might, though he may not have known that it was the style of hat which the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, often wore, made famous by British King Edward VII, the son of Queen Victoria.

Nor would he have known, sitting there casually, that he was handing me over to a new world, a new life, nor that it would earn him a one-paragraph acknowledgement of his passing in the upper editorial pages five years later, Journalist Loses Dad.

I am not related to any of the already famed Rampersads who were then in public life, I would have to tell those who enquired. Rampersad was in fact his first name, which was a practice adopted in Trinidad by some families, rather than passing on last names. Born in the year of the first World War, he carved his own path, giving dignity to every undertaking, whether it was as a market vendor, as cash crop gardener or in his valiant attempts at carpentry and making odd things around the house, with the saw and jackplane he bought himself, having worked, too, as a forester that gave him the head cold that will claim him. And he kept us grounded with his insistence that ‘commonsense comes before booksense’ and never let us forget that!

By the time he watched me disappear up through the doors and up the stairs from the Guardian lobby, he had already set the foundation. It was the glimpse of Trinidad and its people to which he exposed me in those days as a preteen that I accompanied him to the San Fernando market, that shaped my impression of who and what we are as a people. He passed to me his ease among men, women and children of any age, class, colour, ethnicity and religion. Their returned respect and camaraderie with him, gave him the stature of what I envisioned any leader to be.

In his shirt jack and Homburg, he was ‘the Sheriff’ as his friends and the villagers called him. At home in his merino he was storyteller extraordinaire. Night after night we would huddle on Ma’s bed listening as he unraveled fantastic tales pulled from his boundless and prolific imagination as I good find no written, no oral recounts of them.

If Ma shaped my spirit; Pa shaped my social being. The dedication in my first book read, To Ma and Pa: Ma for the gift of Spiritedness; Pa for the legacy of his imagination. There are many resonances to that influence.

Our journey had begun in the wee hours of what he called ‘foreday morning’, through the territories of his stickfighting, sugar cane planting, market gardening and vending, and then some (More in upcoming biography, LIFE! Holeheartedly.

Remembering him, I share two earlier excerpts that captures part of Pa’s, and others like his, unrecognized contribution to our times:

Jus Call Me Cooligan: Bois and Bacchanal in Meh Blood https://goo.gl/yTrR9q

My Discoverie- Columbus lost and found https://goo.gl/ixGu7y

If by Rudyyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream, and not make dreams your master;

If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And, which is more, you’ll be a Man, my son!

Website: https://goo.gl/FDLQdg:

The Walk of Excellence: a life in 60 seconds to receive the National Award for the Development of Women: https://goo.gl/wk4pBx

What My Mother told me: https://goo.gl/CxBJrr

Nobel Blogging: Demokrissy trends with global think tanks https://goo.gl/8cVB8g

The Funeral Scores. Sir Vidia Naipaul final farewell in a fanfare of Naipaulian fictive irony https://goo.gl/NQibgR

Year of LiTTributes to Laureattes https://goo.gl/oW81Nm

Demokrissy trends with worlds leading think tanks https://goo.gl/ua3rXm

My Collision with Stephen Hawkins: https://goo.gl/Fx47Ak

Reflections on the Death of Nobel Laureate Sir Vidia Naipaul see link https://goo.gl/7eBP5a

Authors Tete-aTete Dr Kris Rampersad and Sir VS Naipaul https://goo.gl/gU11Jv

Noble Tears of a Nobel Bard Death of Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott https://goo.gl/WXbMpv

Sportscapes Cricket Games We Play LiTTours: https://goo.gl/ENum7X

TheMagic and Realism of gabrial Garcia Marquez RIP https://goo.gl/s7y2oc

Pat Bishop: The Killings, the curfew… https://goo.gl/DgFk9E

Lagahoo tribute to the independent spirits: https://goo.gl/C7kND1

Earth Quake Earthquake

Youtube video: https://youtu.be/A8TgWZPuEkE

LiTTscapes: Facebook: https://goo.gl/HBJsmM

Five Year Old Child Stars at LiTTribute: https://goo.gl/fn3oTR

One LiTTle bookshop: LiTTscapes and the Nobel Laureate https://goo.gl/cpvr2T

Launch LiTTribute: https://goo.gl/g1mmED

Through Novel lenses Youtube https://youtu.be/_zWHPEQCqHA

LiTTscapes Child Star Tops SEA: https://goo.gl/iNqt32

Prophesy A.Bourdain and Aboud. Port of Spain and Lebanon : https://goo.gl/zwtyWq

Devil’s WoodYard, Earthquake Aug 2018 https://goo.gl/myXCAQ

Migrants Motherlands Mothercultures https://goo.gl/MGrnPQ

Heritage a vehicle of understanding against extremism violence https://goo.gl/gpfGPp

Gender Bender Mia Mottley takes political helm in Barbados https://goo.gl/xL3DEd

In the News LiTTributes attract award winning newspaper https://goo.gl/n2GsG9

Bridging Cultural Gaps LiTTribute to ToronTTO. See link https://goo.gl/jLHTBE

Yo Ho Ho Piracy and Heritage: https://goo.gl/TvXOHU

A Diaspora Celebrates: LiTTribute to the Americas See link https://goo.gl/brUkjH

Join us or commission your own Creative Conversations: https://goo.gl/qPBzef

Arresting the Tears Hayti I’m Sorry https://goo.gl/6sy3y6

Towards State of the Art Museum: https://goo.gl/FfHfJL

Murder and the Museum: http//goo.gl/FHs3Fr

Celebrating Nationhood But Can new Save the Nation https://goo.gl/qSqJtT

my-discoverie-columbus-lost-and-found https://goo.gl/ixGu7y

Pat-bishops-last-struggle-killings https://goo.gl/tQUySt

Them-red-house-bones

A-tale-of-two-skeletonsJurisprudence An Ode https://goo.gl/Gmn7l0

Ah Drinking Babash https://goo.gl/GhMncz

Lagahoo-tribute-to-independent-spirits https://goo.gl/P6gP2Q

Murder and the Museum http//goo.gl/FHs3Fr

Woman in the mirror https://goo.gl/pvnX9d

The Triumph of Gollum in the Land of Shut Up Suicide of the Fellowship of Partnerships Book 11. A Sequel Futuring the Agenda Forward https://goo.gl/HU3rp3

Celebrating Jamettry The Sacred and the Sacriligious

https://goo.gl/oCk1PB

Demokrissy https://goo.gl/FHs3Fr

The Human face of constitutional reform https://goo.gl/6escjj

Pat-bishops-last-struggle-killings https://goo.gl/tQUySt

Them-red-house-bones

A-tale-of-two-skeletons

Arresting-tears-for-us-and-haytian-globe:

Yo Ho ho and a bottle of rumhttps://goo.gl/TvXOHU

Demokrissy https://goo.gl/FHs3Fr

Changing the World with Ideas goo.gl/Pa6jAk

Lagahoo-tribute-to-independent-spirits
Nationhood in contestation with globalisation: http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2017/08/nationhood-in-contestation-with.html https://goo.gl/KWdUtx

http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2017/08/creating-revolution-through-knowledge.html

http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-world-inspired-littscapes-turns-3.html https://goo.gl/J1EFn5

http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com /from-beirut-to-port-of-spain-how-west.html

The-price-of-passion-awards-and-rewards

https://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-price-of-passion-awards-and-rewards.html

Exploring a World Through MultiCultural Lenses https://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2017/07/dr-kris-rampersad-exploring-world.html

Power Failure Media Blackout Brets Muffled Threats and Ransoming Father: https://goo.gl/YjbBgx

Jurisprudence-rip-obituary-walcott.html

my-date-with-narendra-modi-dat-merkel affair

Of-diasporas-migrations-arrivals.

Elixirs-of-entrepreneurship-The Emperor and I

Ah-drinking-babash-in-this-fo-rum

Nobel-tears-of-and-for-nobel-bard

Things-that-make-me-go-steups-stars http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2016/12/things-that-make-me-go-steups-stars.html

The Walcott Files
LiTTscapes for Littribute to the Antilles
A LiTTribute at UNESCO
Inscription by UNESCO of Poems
Small only in Size UNESCO Executive Board told
World in a Fishbowl
A Musical Heritage walk UNESCO Creative Cities

Breezes-of-tropical-arab-spring

In-war-and-peace-from-hiroshima-to-home.html

A-path-out-of-mayhem-and-murder

Turning-our-dreams-to-shame-rip-asami

Focus-resources on real crime

jus-call-me-cooligan

The world-in-fishbowl

The-other-magnificent-seven

Tribute-to-literary-mentor

The-human-face-of-constitutional-reform

The-ghost-of journalism past

OverCopulation - The Archbishop The Priest The Politician & The Journalist

Ask About LiTTscapes,

Ask about LiTTours and LiTTributes

Diplomats get stimulating LiTTour

Murder She Wrote: Death Written in Stone in Dana Seetahal Assassination
Creating Centres of Peace in Trinidad and Tobago
The Price of Independence:#DanaSeetahalAssassination
Conceive. Achieve. Believe
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Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
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Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
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Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
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Apr 07, 2013
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Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013
Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2.
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Oct 20, 2013
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Demokrissy: Futuring the Post-2015 UNESCO Agenda
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It is placing increasing pressure for erasure of barriers of geography, age, ethnicity, gender, cultures and other sectoral interests, and in utilising the tools placed at our disposal to access our accumulate knowledge and technologies towards eroding these superficial barriers. In this context, we believe that the work of UNESCO remains significant and relevant and that UNESCO is indeed the institution best positioned to consolidate the ..... The Emperor's New Tools ...
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Demokrissy: Cutting edge journalism
Jun 15, 2010
The Emperor's New Tools. Loading... AddThis. Bookmark and Share. Loading... Follow by Email. About Me. My Photo · Kris Rampersad. Media, Cultural and Literary Consultant, Facilitator, Educator and Practitioner. View my ...
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