The Caribbean Man...

The management committee of the Cricket World Cup imposed a rule which stated "that no rum or drinks purchased externally would be allowed into the venue where games are held."

This Trinidadian man and his friends evaded the rule by putting their Johnny Walker whiskey (the Caribbean man's trademark drink) in a sunblock lotion bottle - which was probably washed and primed for months before for this very occasion. This is why I love Caribbean men. LMAO.

I recently got together with some friends I hadn't seen in a while to catch up on life. One of the gathering had big news. We waited anxiously to hear what it was all about. Then it came: she was dating a guy...and he wasn't West Indian. Silence.

"Are his parents Caribbean?" one friend asked.
"No."
"His grandparents?" suggested another, hopefully.
"No."
"Great-grands?" I asked.
I think we'd have traced his family history all the way back to Africa to find the Caribbean connection. LOL. It was actually a pretty funny exchange.

Now don't read this and think that we're a bunch of close-minded individuals who will only date men from the Caribbean, because we're not. I think I speak for every woman I know when I say we appreciate men of all races, colors, sizes and creeds - ok, maybe not sizes. But it's human nature to gravitate towards those with whom you share similarities. And besides, there are just some things that in my opinion, are undeniably Caribbean, regardless of race. A white Bajan wukkup is no different from a black Bajan one (trust me, I've tried them both...hmm, I wonder where those pictures are...). Things like:

- A Caribbean man can give you a good hard wine (dance), understand that it's just a dance, and not get hard while doing it or follow you around for the rest of the evening like a stalker.

- A Caribbean man understands that a hard wine/cool-and-deadly-up-against-the-wall is not for a gathering with the older folks; those situations require a more laid back style.

- A Caribbean understands what I mean when I say, "Reverse back" or "plug it out" and won't spend hours trying to debate the grammatical correctness of each statement.

- Even though the dialects are different, I won't have to translate proverbs into standard english with a Caribbean man. Trust me, nothing ruins a good West Indian proverb like an english translation. "Wha sweet nanny goat gwine run 'im belly" does not equal "The food the goat enjoys will give him diarrhea later."

- A Caribbean man intuitively understands West Indian customs, and just accepts that that's the way things are. Look, I don't know why Jamaicans eat bun and cheese at Easter, or why it's perfectly acceptable for a man to leave work in the middle of the day to go have a drink at the local bar...it's just the way things are!

- A Caribbean man understands that some actions have too many meanings to define. For example, sucking teeth/stupsing could mean anything from dismissal to tiredness to anger:
*stupse* "Is a long day in trut'. I tired."
*stupse* "Yuh nuh easy at all."
*stupse* "I gine give she one rasshole chop wid dis machete if she come over here again!"

Many of these may seem inconsequential, but believe me I've seen many relationships run amuck because of these same little things. I'm open to dating anyone, really I am. But for some reason, I'm inevitably drawn to these little je ne sais quas, even though I can't articulate them clearly here. This picture just reminded why I love Caribbean men so much!

Robin Thicke, move over...a Caribbean(ish) white boy named Collie Buddz has taken your place!