Pssssssst! There is life after Carnival

Surely you can’t be that silly. For one thing you could lose your job, as I almost did once, when I failed to show for work one Ash Wednesday and even though I had a bona fide sick leave to show that I was genuinely sick, I was sent home packing for one week, by my then Editor, the late Irwin Sandy. Tried as I could to explain that I had caught a bad Carnival flu virus he wouldn’t hear me, believing instead that I had faked illness to rest up after a hard Carnival. It wasn’t true, since I had always been a moderate type, who hardly ever drank, and who understood early that the power of the Carnival fever can consume you, if you let it. But I learnt my lesson — even if you are sick you must show up for work on Ash Wednesday. Ashamed of being stigmatised later on, I never took an Ash Wednesday off, and my own children learnt early never to ask for a day off from school on that day.

Now it seems Ash Wednesday is becoming a thing of the past. There was a time when Christians used to think that making the sign of the cross with some ashes on their forehead would cleanse us of our earlier wantonness, but even that symbolism of atoning is dust in the wind with the advent of Ash Wednesday Carnival. The once family- type cool down fetes on the beach, have now become a million dollar industry as the beach bacchanal grows and the start of the Lenten season is delayed. Strangely the Church has remained silent on the issue, even though Manzanilla Parish Priest Fr Michael Makhan admitted recently that Ash Wednesday Mass was affected and parishoners could not go to church because of all the confusion and chaos in the area. Just a few days we saw the court getting involved in a cool down fete, following a magistrate’s ruling to ban the activity because of lewdness.

People, my advice to you is don’t take unnecessary risks. In the next 48 hours your life can change for the worst and while it may be alright to put aside the stresses of the 363 other days it is never an option to put yourself at risk. For one thing, don’t underestimate the sun, it is as powerful now as it once was to the Greeks and Romans whether it is called Helios or Sol or Apollo. Too much exposure to it has been linked to skin cancer and can cause severe damage to your eyes. Proper sunglasses with Ultra Violet (UV) protection is mandatory. Remember too, despite assurances by the National Security Minister of increased security you must take responsibility for your personal safety. Buy your own drinks for instance, and do not accept open drinks from people. Date rape drugs are easy to get it seems. Know your limit too, once you begin to feel the effects of the alcohol it is time to cool it. Also make proper arrangements for transport to take you home. It is true that some taxi services are unreliable, even so, have another plan in place. Oftentimes we expose ourselves to the mercy of people from whom we “take a lil ride.”

Remember you need to keep rehydrated, with plenty of water and fruit juices, especially if you are drinking alcohol. Make sure that children and babies in your care also get plenty of liquids. With a lack of proper toilet facilites in and around town for Carnival, plenty drinks, mean you will have to “go” often, but if there are available toilets around the city make sure you get a friend to stand outside the door. Remember to wear proper sneakers for the miles of jumping and walking you will be doing and don’t buy food you buy on the roadside it is safer to walk with your own eats.

And for those who feel there can be no Carnival without sex, the cruel truth is that Carnival sex could bring with it all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/Aids. We may have grown used to being handed condoms in our costume bags, or have them slipped into our hands at a fete but having them and using them are two different things. Besides there are no guarantees that wearing a condom will stop you from getting a disease, so why put yourself at risk in the first place? For me the soca music, the energy of the people and the sheer joy of having a good time is orgasmic enough. Happy Carnival!