As written by Reginald (Marcel) Henry, USA
SCREEN VI
Pass Field was not the only entity for which Keto Tunnel served as a hub for Pappa. But Pass Field is the first of these links to open up a little. Its great appeal for Pappa was Maas Kaanah. Maas Kaanah was a good man in special ways. For Pappa, it was because Maas Kaanah was a fellow smoker and he could keep a secret, too. Pappa could get him to share his rope tobacco or buy some for him and not tell any one. Rope tobacco was the fresh dried tobacco leaves twisted together to look like rope. It was sold by the inch and used by smokers who could afford neither cigars nor cigarettes, like the popular Four Aces and Zephyrs. Maas Kaanah was also good because he was the most skillful shoe repair man to be found anywhere. When he returned the broken and crisp shoes taken to him, the customer was tempted to ask, “Are these my own shoes?” before paying him a part of the charge and promising to pay the rest by next week. Again, Maas Kaanah was good because when he and Lurline were quarrelling or fighting they would “speak” to each other. Finally, he was good because, except when he and Lurline were at war, the only times his voice would be heard at high level were when the young boys passing by would shout their nickname for him, “Pluckseed”, and run. One of his little fingers was always stiff and sticking out straight, but that did not make Maas Kaanah a less good man.
Looking at nick-names, we must note that there are friendly nick-names like Tiddy for Missa Mais; te tep for Pappa’s cousin, Cyril. It’s the hostile nick-names that give us and the victims concern. Maas Edgar was Nod; Maas Ewan was Egg, or Goose; Maas Kaanah was Pluckseed; Mannaseh, Septy’s brother, was Tim Bim, because of a never healing gangrened leg which made him walk with a bad limp; and Pappa’s nick-name, to which we will come soon. When district boys saw any of these men, or other men with nicknames, and could keep out of their sight, or run away fast enough, they would holler out the applied nickname to upset the victim. The Henry children were never so disrespectful. Even if they were in the group that did it, the victim would see them but right away excuse them, for “Miss Rhoda children have manners.”
It was also from Keto Tunnel that Pappa reached out to a couple school teachers. His occasional visits were to present them with the best of his farm produce. Doing such an act was common in farming districts and other men did so, too.
From Keto Tunnel Pappa reached out also to lovely Gatta. By this time her husband, Leonard Williams was dead. In complexion, shape, and conduct, Agatha Ashwood-Williams was designed like a wasp! Pappa would visit her with some goodly farm produce in his knapsack for her. But more notable was that many evenings he could be seen relaxing on the front stoop of her home in Ashwood Line, or just sitting in the cool of one of the trees in her yard.
Keto Tunnel happened also to be the hub for the events of Pappa’s Bloxburgh sojourn. This is the sojourn that received the name, The First Bloxburgh Sojourn.
For this Bloxburgh Sojourn Pappa left Keto Tunnel. The children knew not what time of day or night. They knew not why. He was just gone. It turned out that he went to live with his sister Repersia Spencer and her husband, Missa Spencer. They were then living in Bloxburgh, St. Andrew, fifteen to twenty miles further west than Somerset. Soon, four boys of The Henry 12 (the 12th was, at that time, undreamed of and only waiting in God’s book), went to stay with Pappa. During their time with him, Eric, Ephraim (Duddo, now John), Clive, and Lloyd went to Bloxburgh Elementary School. After a couple years they returned to Mamma at Keto Tunnel. When Mr. Spencer died, Repersia left Bloxburgh and went to live in Ramble again. Pappa continued, alone, in the house and continued farming on a piece of land about two miles away, which he eventually bought from his sister. In Bloxburgh, Pappa was different and lonely! He was no match with anyone or anything around. Bloxburh field workers planted mostly thyme and eskallion and yellow yam, products that were different from what Pappa used to plant in his Somerset fields. Bloxburgh’s natural vegetation, unlike Somerset’s, was scant and stunted and even the mangoes, they were mainly hairy mangoes, were tough skinned and had very little flesh. Bloxburgh was higher up and cold! It must have been this cooler temperature that attracted some of the colonial Europeans. People simply named the huge European mansion there, Great House. It was built on an extensive plateau at the highest point of Bloxburgh. This location provided an excellent all round view, including portions of the Caribbean Sea, Kingston, Port Royal, and parts of St. Thomas. The local people neither trespassed on the occupied part of the property nor inquired about what went on there. They knew it as a mysterious place: they knew people were there from time to time, but never saw anyone; sometimes they saw a few horses about the place; and sometimes they could hear what they thought to be piano or organ music coming from the great house. Even with such mystery about the property, some of the local men intruded into the unattended parts and cultivated ganga, marijuana. Pappa simply told his boys that the property belonged to a Mr. Swit and they should keep away from it. Mr. Swit? To the boys the name sounded like Mr. Swit. Pappa’s field was half way between the Spencer’s house and Great House.