Sunday's Child Excerpt

I haven't put up an excerpt from 'Sunday's Child' in a very long time. This blog, after all, is about that book so I figured it was definitely time to do so. Here's an excerpt I posted years ago on this very blog. It's content is exactly the same, but it's been edited to change a lot of the dialect it originally had. 


Loud, crashing, splintering sound, then broken glass on my face!
Oh Gawd! What’s happening to us?
Franc was crying. Mammy was screaming, “Get up! Get up!”
I was still half asleep. Theresa was shaking my kite-like, little frame. “Ann! Ann! They breakin’ in! Run!”
Franc started to scream. She was in spasms. I knew her mouth was open, but I couldn’t hear anything but a hissing “whoop.” I waited for the next burst of scream. It came, and with it I was lifted out of my bed and rushed out of the room. The last thing I saw in the shadow of the street lamp as I was dragged from the bedroom was a dark boot stepping through the now-broken window pane, into the bedroom, and onto the bed. The owner of the boot was holding a cutlass in his hand. Mammy won’t like that. No shoes allowed in the house!
* * *

“Ah think he went back out,” Theresa whispered, grasping the baby as we all stood trembling together in the safety of living room. “He only want to scare us” she said, pulling the bedroom door shut.
“It’s the two of them,” Mammy shouted-whispered. “Derek wid him!”
I knew who Derek was straight off. He was our landlady’s crazy-hair son who’d run away from the prison. I supposed that the other one was his sister’s mad, criminal husband. Mammy always said, “Them’s dangerous people to get mixed-up with.”
One time Theresa had asked her, “Why you say that?”
Mammy had a very long answer to that. I can’t remember all that she said, but one thing that stood out in my mind was when she explained that the landlady was a dark spirits’ worker, and that people went to her when they wanted to put bad, Obeah spells on someone.
“Ann, you go out the back door and call fuh help,” Mammy instructed me, jerking me back into the terror before us.
“No, doan send her out,” Theresa pleaded. “They still in front there shouting. One of them can easily run under the house and find her on the back steps.”
“No,” Mammy said. “They won’t hurt a child. Go, shout for help. Mr. Barry will come.”
“But yuh said that Derek is a murderer. She can’t…I’ll…I’ll go,” Theresa told her.
“You make the baby keep quiet,” Mammy shouted, and this was no whisper-shout either. “Go,” she said, and she and I crept through the dark kitchen to the back door.
She shoved me out.
Then I heard the bolt click.
* * *

I was screaming before I could hear my own voice. I was wailing and crying, spewing like a volcano – a lava of tears running down my face.
“Help! Help! Somebody please help us!” The louder I screamed the harder I wept. My body wanted to do this so much. My voice was breaking, but it was not because of the shouting. I was crying so hard I could barely say ‘Elp.’ I was exposed and only had moments before the two men walked under the house and came to deal with me.
I almost imagined footsteps getting nearer and nearer, closing in on me. I thought of all the things they could do to me, and I saw my half-grown body chopped up into tiny pieces with the cutlass the person who stepped into the bedroom was holding. A bizarre voice in my head shouted louder than I ever could, ‘But would that be so bad?’
I was shivering in the hot night air, feeling the not so foreign hand of fear take hold of my heart and squeeze and squeeze. I knew my heart was going to spurge its contents all over the hand in seconds. That’ll teach it.
I looked for the men through my tears, while I reasoned with that voice, ‘But see, I am only little.’
‘Is that why I catch yuh thinking of dying?’
‘I don’t want to die, please, I don’t want to die. I’m really only little.’
Heavy tears were streaming down my face when I heard him. He was blowing his whistle through the curtain of the night. It had to be Mr. Barry! By the time he reached our house still dressed in his pyjamas, he had most of the street behind him.
* * *

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Blessings, Not Riches, Oh, Lord

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We ask God to give us more. We need a bigger house for our family. We need more money to send our kids to good schools. We ask for more so that we could help our family members and friends in need. We want better health so we could work hard and save up for a better pension.
I too, find myself asking for more. Lately I've been wondering if this is the right approach to prayer. Of course, it's not wrong to make requests to God in our prayers. He's invited us to do so. But have we considered He's already given us the things we keep asking for? That His answer to our prayers has long since been a resounding, 'Yes'.

I've known the story of Jesus feeding the multitude with two fishes and five loaves of bread for a long time. I've accepted this as a miracle even though the maths don't compute, but have never associated it with my own life. Jesus fed thousands using the two fishes he already had, after blessing them. He did not ask for more food. He used the food he had, blessed it and shared it out. It was enough. In fact, at the end of the meal his disciples picked up baskets of leftovers. This is the nature of a blessing - whatever you have, no matter how little, goes a long way. It's enough for you.

I think I should change my prayers in relation to making requests. Of course, I pray for others and thank the Lord for the things I have. However, when it comes to making requests maybe I should ask for blessings on the things I already have rather than asking for more.

God doesn't need to give us more in order to build a comfortable home for our family. His blessings will stretch whatever we have already. I don't have to understand how, but He can! I should have faith that He's already given us enough and that by asking for a blessing instead of more, He can make our little treasures multiply into thousands simply by saying the word.

How do you stay focused on counting your blessings?

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Wonder Drugs That Heal Without Side Effects

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We've all  heard of and tried medicines that heal and those that don't. Whichever category drugs fall into, they always come with mild to severe side effects. Solving one problem to create another in a body you have to live with 24/7 isn't ideal. This is why I want to share some 'wonder drugs' which go on healing with no negative effects on the body.

Broccoli

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Broccoli is very high in sulforaphane. A healthy amount of sulforaphane in the body fights off the bacteria that causes most ulcers. As it's been said, prevention is better than cure. A balanced diet with a good dose of broccoli several times a week will not only keep you healthy, but save you money you may have to spend on expensive antibiotic remedies later on.

Tomatoes

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Lycopene is an essential anti-oxidant for the body to possess. It fights off dangerous illnesses which can cause detrimental effects on your health. One such illness is cancer. Make sure you're cooking with lots of tomatoes, as they're full to bursting with lycopene. Tinned tomatoes are especially potent when it comes this particular anti-oxidant. Add them to your sauces and stews. You wouldn't even notice they're there. Eat raw tomatoes in salads etc, and you could be having them 4 to 5 times per week. Lycopene is crucial for fighting off all types of cancers, but especially prostate cancer.

Watermelons

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If you don't like, or can't eat tomatoes, watermelons produce the same effects as above. They're not always in season like tomatoes, but to make up for this, they are twice as rich in lycopene, and three times as refreshing to eat!

Cinnamon 

Just a little sprinkling of cinnamon goes a long way to preventing high blood sugars. Trials suggest that in just a couple of months, using cinnamon on your desserts, fruit salads, toast etc can have desired effects in keeping blood sugars at safe levels. Make cinnamon your sweet spice of choice and always keep some in the kitchen so you won't forget to use it.

Avocados 

There are bad fats and good fats. Many people misunderstand the difference between them and cut out all fats like avocados and essential olive oils, which are actually crucial for good health. One would not even consider running a machine without the oils it needs to function properly. Yet we carry on cutting these vital ingredients out of our lives. 

Avocados are great for lowering bad cholesterol. Eating it just twice a week dramatically increases the levels of good cholesterol in your body. Apart from this, avocados have other essential minerals to keep sicknesses at bay. Why not pick up an avocado with your weekly shopping from now on. You'll be glad you did.

Have you got a super food that you simply won't live without? What is it and how did you discover it? If you like this post, please share it on your favourite social networking site from the links above this article. Thank you.