Living in a fast paced world meant the moment you slow down is the moment you get kicked out the ring... OR SO I THOUGHT!

Working and living in the city was a lifetime dream. As a teen I would dream of the day I would be working in a nice company, driving a nice car and be able to visit KFC everyday at lunch time. Being able to go watch a movie at the famous Carib on a Friday night with friends or just walked the Mall and shop for hours sealed the deal. This was a small part of my big dream to be in the hustle and bustle of everything as soon as I graduated from high school.

My first experience travelling to the city was for no particular reason. Heck I still wonder why my mothers allowed me to go when I told her I just wanted to go to Halfway Tree to look around and return on the following weekend.  I was just 15, yes 15! I have always had the luxury of travelling in my father's Lada to the city every summer. That was a big trip as we did all our back to school shopping. There were SIX kids..... this takes a long time to get all booklists checked, all shoe sizes checked, and off course get enough bookwrappers from the then famous Times Store.. Wait up.. I know what you're thinking. Don't be silly, Eight persons cannot hold in one LADA.. trips during the summer meant One big child and the two smaller ones get to go with Mom and Dad and being the second to last child this meant " MI ALWAYS IN THE CAR!"

The good old days..

 Country Bumpkin comes to TOWN!

So there I was on my way to the city on a TATA aka Country bus.  All dressed up for the city in my loose fitted jeans, t-shirt, sandals and my natural curly-ish hair in a bun.No, I did not have any "Bag or pan" to carry afterall this was my excursion where I was about to LIVE IT UP in the city for one day. Just before I left home my mother went over a few details... She said "Dandiggle.. as you come off the big hill and see a nice place with a plaza to the right that is called Manor Park DONT GET OFF YET.. Look for the big colourful ballon on the top of a building..Pavillion Mall so as you gon the bus sit on the right hand side behind the driver. The bus conductor will yell HWT and you get off there. When you are ready to come back home go right back to where you come off ad wait for the bus. Make sure you walk around and look so by the time it comes back to country and return you are ready so you have 3hours to walk and eat lunch.. OH and no go no where with nobody and dont let the three card man dem tek your money".

WHEW How at the chicken, fries and hash browns am I to remember all of that mommy? Either way i was safe... Just in case I got lost I was equiped with a telephone number for my big sister who was working somewhere in Stony Hill at the time and I had secure a Cable and Wireless Caliing card. Should danger come my way I will just call her to come get me.. well I hope the number still works.... BUT I have been waiting on this day for far too long to let anything bad spoil my one day of freedom, alone in the big city of pick pokets, three card men and places that look similar to the other if you had no knowledge of where you looking for.. 

There I was on the bus heading to the big city.. Gosh it felt good I was so excited. It almost felt unreal for a while until I got tired of the bus making continious stops along the way.. I fell asleep.

"Excuse me" the person beside me screamed in my ear and I jumped out of my sleep. Where the heck am I? Did I miss my stop?. fearing the worst I didnt ask anyone for assistance. I just kept on staring out the window until I realised that I was leaving Manor Park and heading on my way to HWT. I erased all traces of sleep from my eyes and now began to keep my eyes on the roof tops of building. WHY?

Mi was looking out for the big colourful ballon so I can yell BUS STOP DRIVER!

Atlast it came in sight.. The city was a buzz.. a crazy buzz of excitement. Everywhere i looked out the window people where walking up and down the street. Even meandering through the traffic that had come to an hault.. "HWT let off dis!" the conductor yelled and I got up and began to join the rest of the passengers as we inorderly tried to jump off the bus before the traffic light changed.

Standing at Jamaica National looking left then right. I really stuck out like a sore thumb. I dreamt of this day all my life and now I am finally here and I did not know what to do first. Eat or window shop?  I chose not to delay KFC any longer. Eating without a sibling begging a piece of your chicken was by itself the best thing that could ever happen to me.. He begs down to the crumbs and my mother would often break a big piece of my chicken just so he could stop crying..

Such a spoil brat.. You tell me how you must eat your piece of meat and then have the audacity to cry over mine? If only I could learn to eat faster......

Finally I found a KFC location... Pacing while standing in the long lines I almost lost my cool. First there were 7persons in the line, then 5more persons joined that 7...they were holding the line for each other. My thoughts were " Town people really no have no manners at all!"

In 30mintues I gulped down my KFC, I had one condomient left (ketchup packet) which I intended on saving to show, rather torture my younger brother tell him I ate two huge pieces of KFC all alone and never took home any for him... A nice serving of KARMA

Look out for Part 2 of Country Bumpkin Comes to Town