FORTY TO 40

Forty to 40 is a Blog & Podcast Hybrid Project looking back, living in the now and pondering on the future as Raymond Nurse turns 40. Each blog or podcast episode will feature topics beginning with ‘F’ such as ‘Foundation’, ‘Family’, ‘Financials’ and ‘Frenemies’ and much much more.

07/40 - Foundation

I have no choice but to start this episode with a plea… a real cry for help is the direction my ‘First Five’ is heading today. Firstly, Mumma… Sorry again, no more apologies for you, according to Ashley, we cussin’.

Now for my plea… To my country-men, country-women and country-children of my island home, Barbados… I recorded ‘F*CK’ and not one time did I say Rasshole…

Not 1 Rasshole time…

I know I know…

I cah now cah my RH cause my Bajan card gine get revoke.

If I could get it back, I promise I will never again make such an egregious error cause I was moving foolish as RH. My ‘punishment’ is having to go and list this episode as explicit because I didn’t do ‘F*CK’ right in the first RH place…

I had fun recording ‘F*CK’ since after appearances, language holds important value in exposure to the culture of others and how we connect and communicate. I enjoy seeing others, how they live, love and just liaise this journey of life we are all on.

Foundation

As I was coming up with topics that would drive Forty to 40, I pondered on not just what they would be but also on the order of how they would be delivered. Naturally, some topics would overlap others and some would stick out like sore thumbs next to others that one would think they just should not be there.

‘Foundation’ was always going to have some overlap with ‘Framework’ and I had to come to the realization that this occurrence was okay. The placement of it would serve as a foundation of sorts after the wildness that was ‘F*CK’ and before what is to come. I chose to resist my architectural leaning when seeing the topic of ‘Foundation’, instead opting to explore ‘Foundation’ in my life to date.

‘Framework’ explored macro organizational aspects and now I will delve into more detailed components. ‘Circumstances’ by Buju Banton felt right to highlight the parts of my ‘Foundation’ that I hold near and dear to my heart.

‘Circumstances made me what I am Was I born a violent man? Circumstances made me what I am Everyone should understand…’

I am from ‘not nice’ areas of Barbados and I will shout it from the mountaintops every chance that I get. I know we want to do ‘better’ in life but from a socioeconomic perspective, I get it. Why do I need to skirt and avoid my foundation to be more accepted by others? Bayland, Dalkeith, Brittons Hill and the Orleans are my stomping grounds. I am a straight ‘Town Ting’, don’t ever forget it.

I am blessed to be able to afford accommodation at a myriad of hotels and guesthouses when I go to visit my island home. That’s just not who I am and where I am most comfortable. About 2 trips ago I was home for almost 2 months, it was not a glorious trip but that’s how it goes sometimes. That trip I attempted to stay at a hotel. It was so quiet, sterile and just not me. I am glad it was only for a few days.

I knew that was likely going to happen because the best time spent for me is sleeping in my Dad’s family home in the Orleans and driving to my Mumma’s home to visit the old girls (My Mum and Gran).

I am most comfortable in the ‘ghetto’, I am most perturbed in the ‘suburbs’ and most of my professional life in America has been spent living and working in cities. 12-hour and 18-hour cities to be specific, the 18-hour plus city living is too much for a Bajan boy such as I. I have now studied and/or worked in 4 countries; Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia and the United States.

With all of this my first foundation is African. Inside me is a region I will never really likely know as intimately and thorougly as I do Bridgetown.

founˈdāSHən represents an underlying basis or principle. Since 3 of the countries I have lived or worked are not my place of birth but still exist as the substructure of who I am. I will drop one quick example from the country, positive or negative if need be, to illustrate how these places impacted my foundation.

University of Technology, Jamaica CSP1010

CSP1010 was a course I did at Utech that I feel should be a requirement of all tertiary education institutions. I had a chance to take part in this Community Service Program that had placements in botanical gardens, schools, and other organizations. You were not able to graduate unless you had met the 40 hours required for CSP1010 in undergraduate. Jamaica has a divide between education quality based on costs so there is Preparatory and Primary School, then there is High and Secondary School with the Primary School and Secondary School being the lesser funded offerings across their age levels.

I chose to be an assistant teacher at a primary school and would never forget the day I was walking through Papine and heard some Jamaican students shouting Mr. Nurse, Mr. Nurse and seeing my little ones were now years older and still in school keeping it cool. It was such an amazing program that I hope it’s still ongoing and I hope that others would look to emulate as it really does help.

Jounen Kwéyòl, St. Lucia

My time in St. Lucia was way too shortlived but quality over quantity is how I view it. I’ve seen many a festival and a celebration but I was not quite ready to see euphoria, pride and majesty in madras on display like I saw during Jounen Kwéyòl. I would leave the foundation of what the festival means to be explained by a sister of the Lucian soil like Taribba do Nascimento cause she love ah explaining.

Throughout ‘Forty to 40’, I will feature persons throughout the region of the Caribbean doing amazing things. She is the first feature, go check out, like fa real fa real, go check out her creativity fueled by a Jounen Kwéyòl foundation. She’s over at https://memebete.com/ or memebete.bags on Instagram.

You never know who might talk off ya ear during a Bunji performance in a fete eh.

St. Lucia at its foundation was magical to me, I plan to return real soon as it’s been a decade since I left but its impact on me remains to this day. Cheers St. Lucia for your part in my foundation.

Carlton Basmajian at Iowa State University

Iowa State University definitely rocked and tested my foundation during my time there but some things stood out as forever positive in memories and best practices that could be deployed anywhere humans are.

I did not have the greatest time for graduate school but Mr. Basmajian came through with a course that made me feel as at home as I had felt in my time there around faculty and in this new school system. Ben Shirtcliff, now of University of Oregon, gets an honorable mention for sure but Carlton’s class was by and large, a winner.

Carlton’s class was centered around simplicity. He had 26 odd students, most were older in age and class time was in the evening. Dinner is a big deal in America and we are all human with a need to eat. Carlton taught his Regional Planning History course in a real way. I got to learn many things like the old school ‘Photoshopping’ that went into the iconic Transcontinental Railroad image. People really go through some lengths to revise history in their image and likeness eh.

Most imporantly, I learned through a weekly potluck which of the students I wanted to invite to any lime I had cause

Whooo whooooo

Every week 2 persons from the class would sign up to cook or provide something from their home country. This class was super blended too. We had Uganda, Cameroon, Costa Rica, India, Barbados, Japan, China, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, America, Nepal, Indonesia and many more in the dance.

It was a great era for my tastebuds every time we took this break cause this guy loves his gut. It was a great food too for my mind as I got to interact and learn about the foundation of persons in a way that mattered. I learned about their foundations through the act of breaking bread and candid conversations.

I am now an elder statesman producing ‘Forty to 40’. I never pictured this in my life as my foundation was developing. My building has developed well past the foundation phase. I could not resist the urge to be cheesy and include an Architecture reference. I plan to add a few more floors once the Big Man Upstairs will have it that way. A key thing I try to carry with me daily is that despite my building having developed well past the foundation phase, I stay wary that the bedrock can still evolve or devolve as life happens. My plan is to continue to stay as grounded as I can through it all.

The next episode will be a podcast hosted by Ashley Long.

Cheers for listening and stay blessed, Family.