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ROLL YU BUMSEY

The rain did not wash away the revelers as they made it though the rain on Eastern Parkway, for this year’s West Indian Carnival. Of course you didn’t have to be from the West Indies or the Caribbean to participate or to enjoy yourself. All you needed was your flag and your desire to jump and whine.

Not to be left out, the politicians came out, wanting to be seen so they could get a vote or two. If you were running for office, you were on the parkway, wanting to see and be seen. Moving quickly through the rain, some were recognized after the fact.

It didn’t matter if you didn’t have a truck and a massive amount of people behind you. It wasn’t the size that counted but the enthusiasm of the crowd, and the message you wanted to deliver.

If you weren’t behind the big truck, you were probably standing or walking on the sidelines, umbrella or scarf or towel over you head, protecting you from the constant rainfall. Through the on again off again downpour, the people pranced and danced, representing their group to the fullest. One truck with a sea of Haitian flags, seemed to have taken over the entire route at one time. The VP/WLIB truck surrounded by the black, yellow and green, indicated that Jamaica was in the house, adding a reggae flavor to the steel pan and calypso music.

The bands were as magnificent as always, some larger than some, with hundreds of gyrating bodies following behind, most adorned with a flag, depicting the country of origin or choice. Every year, the costume designers seem to outdo themselves with the lavish ways they represent their ideas. Whether you had on your tights and bodysuit, or not, you didn’t let a little rain stop you from rolling and whining and showing the world what kind of bumsey you had.

Big up the red, black and white, the blue, and yellow, and all the other countries that represented themselves on the parkway. For a day, everyone was a bona fide Caribbean.