Arima, My Home Town

I would like to pay tribute to my hometown of Arima, Trinidad, W.I.

Whatever lands I travel to and wherever I live abroad,  Arima will always be home to me.

No other country holds so much appeal to me than the country I was born and grew up in.

And to share this personal attraction of mine with you is how you can attest for yourselves this fascination of mine. 

Land Of My Birth

Why does it have a special place in my heart? Well, countless humans from Arima have played a huge part in our upbringing. 

And the top of any list should start with our dear, loving parents. They are the foundation of our development. Not because they are our parents, but the special role they played, and how they carried out that leading part.

They were the ones who taught us to care for others. This happened when we observed for ourselves, as children, the things they did. Those memories have lasted our whole life. It is that enduring.

My Siblings

The brothers and sisters that we grew up with formed part of the bond of a home. 

The home consists of the Arima then as it was. 

We, boys and girls, rode bicycles barefoot to the Dial and the neighborhoods of Arima. We lived in a peaceful, loving, and friendly town.

We enjoyed activities with other children in our neighborhood, and with school friends who lived nearby.

Our parents' close friends' children shared our playful pursuits too.

Community Uncles And Aunts

Then there are those adults around town that I refer to as community uncles and aunts. They were the security boundaries that kept us in check and always lurked in the back of our minds.

We were always on our best behavior, as those eyes taught us respect for our elders.

Common Touch

We grew up as common folks in Arima. We lived humbly. We all shared what we had with one another. We embrace being charitable, for that was all we knew.

To never lose the common touch is the training we received from young. I am so happy for our humble beginnings.

As We Have Matured

That may be ions ago. But those memories will last forever. Our hearts long for those good old days, the Arima we knew and still love to this day.

Let us continue to cherish one another. The good, old times are long gone, but you my longtime friends are still here. Let us enjoy those memories holding onto each other. For we are the ones that remained.