Dear Editor,
I admit that I am an enthusiast when it comes to American football. So much so that I follow the programmes with the analysis which runs before the actual game. One such programme has a segment called ‘C’mon Man’ where the panel looks at situations in previous games and elsewhere, and I wondered the extent to which the expression could be applied to some of the goings-on here in Guyana.
I try to keep fit by walking in the National Park at least 5 times per week. (My President does so from time to time, but I can’t match his walking speed!) Every morning between 5.30 am and 5.45 am a goodly gentleman lets about 9 nine members of the bovine family out onto the not-very-bright roadway – Camp Road – from the Public Service Union compound. He himself is on a bicycle behind the last of the group waving a not-very-clean red rag attached to a short piece of wood. C’mon Man!
Surely 4 pm cannot be the best time to collect garbage on a one-way street like Robb Street, but that is exactly what a certain garbage collection company does with its outsize trucks. Collecting garbage at 4 pm! C’mon Man!
I know that things are tight with government ministries money-wise, but surely the Guyana Police Force through the Ministry of Home Affairs could find some funds from somewhere to put up proper ‘No Entry’ signs at those newly designated one-way streets such as Albert Street and North Road. C’mon Man!
I am also a cricket enthusiast and closely follow the game wherever it is played. In more recent times, a certain phenomenon has manifested itself to the extent that whenever a wicket falls, two refreshment carriers run onto the field of play with refreshment for their players. During the first ODI between Australia and Sri Lanka, they dutifully appeared whenever wickets fell. But there was an instance when, having appeared after a wicket fell in the middle of an over, they promptly reappeared when a wicket fell during the next over. C’mon Man!
I had assumed that two criteria in particular had to be satisfied for someone to be selected to do cricket commentary: the first would be a solid working knowledge of the game and the second a solid working knowledge of the English language. Many would easily satisfy the first criterion but it seems as though there is a problem with respect to the second one. We have commentators mixing singular verbs with plural nouns and vice versa, not being able to differentiate between the use of adjectives and adverbs and otherwise playing T20 with the language. I’m sure we can do better than that. C’mon Man!
Yours faithfully,
C E Housty
