I cannot play mas again! WOWZER!!! it’s just too heartbreaking to be in the middle of it and not be on the road; hence my breakdown in DC last year. One of my favorite lines in “Unconditional Love” by Machel Montano is “we hypnotized by the music from d truck so we walking for miles”; it’s such a true statement and really captures the essence of Carnival…well 5 mins into walking those miles, my ass would have to stop!
We have come up with a way around it of course…we only play in bands that we have contacts/know the leaders, so that we can organise for me to be on a truck. For the past 2 years in DC (it’s the only mas that i actually play in up here), I’ve been a fixture on the drinks truck in one of the bands – and that’s my parade. It could be worse, it could have been that i didn’t even have that option.
I don’t think that i want to go back home for carnival ever again – at least not while suffering from Foot Drop/weakness. While i am not a burden to my friends here, i know that Trini carnival is a whole nother beast and i cannot/will not slow them down besides, if i cried down the place in DC, what the hell would happen on Independence Square!