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Baxter’s Road: Five Dollar Door

iqpLENS October 30, 2007

Baxter’s Road: Five Dollar Door, originally uploaded by pictureinfocus.

BDOS081306_0012
Baxter’s Road: Five Dollar Door
Baxter’s Road, Bridgetown
St. Michael, Barbados
Series: A Sunday Walk Along Baxter’s Road to Bridgetown
(08-13-2006)

Growing up in a village setting was wonderful and colorful for me. My grandmother and aunt sent me to the shop many times to buy stuff like sugar, salt, flour, meat, and drinks. I never thought of it then, but a shop was an intricate part of village life. And for many folk I am sure it was a place to gather information and catch up on all the happenings.

There are still old fashion shops in Barbados, but by no stretch of the imagination are there many. So if you are relatively young, you may have to ask your grandmother or some other village elder to tell you about when the village shop was king.

~~~

Old Village Shop Door

To this old red door came many village folk
Looking for their supplies of salt, sugar, and meats
Conversations with the shopkeeper over the old pound scale
Trying their best to get every ounce into the folded brown paper
The shop’s larder with fine wire netting housed
Wonderful ham and cheese cutters that wet the throats
And noises coming from all angles filled the shops
Accompanied with sweet smells of all types of food
Behind this door gossip and secrets were told and spread
As if the entire village were hidden somewhere
In the shop’s secret holes and crevasses, just waiting to unleash
But now old faces and voices are no longer within
What was once a vital part of village life was abandoned
The decay is somewhat hurtful and painfully sad
Life still clings here as long as memories can be revived
Even the harshest of plant life understands
And it grows at the foot of the once travel shop door
Looking for comfort and love, and maybe a soft voice
Saying, welcome, welcome…welcome

Keith H. Clarke (PictureInFocus / BarbadosInFocus)
10-30-2007

~~~

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5 Comments

  1. Ann (MobayDP)9:10 PM

    Even though Jamaica is a bigger island than Barbados(and I suspect maybe because we are a bigger island) we still have many of these street corner shops, especially in Montego Bay and the more rural areas.

    I have yet to muster the courage to take a snapshot of one of these corner stores though.

    This is such a great photo. :) I really love that bright red door. I wonder if they're selling that door for $5.00! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. iqpLENS11:03 PM

    The composition of the door is as I took it. I however enhance the color of the door to reveal how it may have looked originally.

    Ann thanks for dropping by.

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  3. Anonymous1:36 PM

    I can stop calling you BIF, now that I know your name :)

    This poem brings that whole world to life in such a vivid way. I grew up going to modern supermarkets, but I do recall tales from my mummy and grandma about their going to the shop "down the road." And I just love that red door. There's something about it, almost as if that past would spring to life again, once it's opened.

    ReplyDelete
  4. iqpLENS1:59 PM

    JD, thanks for viewing this post. Old buildings and places just captivates me. And I am forever thinking what it would have been like to live in those times.

    Ah, so my name has emerged. You can still call me BIF. Well, what is it in a name anyway? Come to think of it, your name is still in hiding.

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  5. Anonymous2:09 PM

    So much character.

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