high times in jamaica

8/6/2019 High Times in Jamaica

1/28

High Times in Jamaica

Richard Jacobs
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/read_db.pl?search_field=author_id&search_for=RichardJacobs&order_by=author_last,title&page=1http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/read_db.pl?search_field=author_id&search_for=RichardJacobs&order_by=author_last,title&page=1


2/28

March 1954. Ashore in Kingston, Jamaica. AsScotty and I are walking up Princess Street,someone behind us is yelling, "Scotty, Scotty,Scotty". We both turn round to look. There isthis huge Negro woman running down thestreet with a big straw hat on her head which

she has to hold down with one hand. This isAgnes. She runs a saloon in Kingston calledAggie's Place at #7 Princess Street. Scottyintroduces us and tells her our story. She saysthat we will come and stay with her until wesign up on another ship. I look at Scotty and he

looks at me. He says, "Okay, Richard?" And Isay, "Okay, Scotty". We pick up our gear, throwour bags over our shoulders, and away we go.

What I thought would be Aggie's home turnsout to be the saloon. Above it there are fourrooms. A kitchen and a bedroom belong to

Aggie and her little boy. Across the hall are twosmall bedrooms. Scotty and I are given theback bedroom, which has a big double bed anda smaller rollaway bed in it. It's just about bigenough to make us comfortable. Aggie's saloonis sure as hell not the best damn place I have


3/28

ever been in. It has a small bar and an oldworn-out linoleum floor. It looks as if it was builtout of old scrap lumber. Out back is a patch ofdirt ground surrounded by a high board fence

made out of old driftwood. There are dogs, cats,and chickens running around. Several girls arein the yard, sitting in the sun or washing theirhair. They are getting ready for the business ofthe evening. The more I look around me, themore I understand this place is a whore houseas well as a saloon.

Aggie brings out a couple of bottles of coldbeer for us. We sit down and talk about the tripfrom New Orleans and why we signed off theship. Aggie is happy to see Scotty. She keepshugging him and telling him what a great timewe will have as her guests. Some of the girlscome in and began to laugh and joke and talkwith us. They want to know how long we aregoing to stay. There are calypso recordsplaying. A couple of the girls begin to dance bythemselves. Very slowly, very sensuously andsuggestively. One of the girls comes over andsits down in my lap and puts her arms aroundme. Her name is Marjorie. Most of the girls arevery dark-skinned Negroes. Some have Chineseblood and several are of Syrian descent. Most of


4/28

them are pretty enough. We're going to have agreat time staying here.

Scotty and I decide to take a shower and

clean up. It's almost 6 by now and theArnettasails tomorrow morning about 8 o'clock. Wedecide to make a night of it and have a ballwith our shipmate buddies before they leave for

Trinidad. Aggie has several cases of beer put onice and sends out for rum.

The party starts out kind of slow. We sitaround out in back and have some beer andrum and cokes. Several girls we haven't metthat afternoon come in. It isn't long beforeeveryone begins to loosen up. Scotty is really inhis glory because so many of the girls thereknow him from before. Several people come infrom the street to join our party. Marjorie, thegirl who sat on my lap before, has taken a likingto me. If the other girls try to come over andmake out with me, she says she will cut theirthroats. If I make eyes at any of the other girls,she would just as likely cut mine.

The captain has ordered the crew aboardthe ship in time to secure the hatches andwinches and tie down the boom. They will beleaving anytime between 2 and 6 o'clock in themorning. About 11:30 the crew begin to amble
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#1http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#2http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#3http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#1http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#2http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/HighTime872.shtml#3


5/28

towards the docks. I don't say anything toScotty. I just sit there and watch him staringinto a glass of rum. I know he's sorry to seethem leave without him, he's sailed with them

for many years. Many of the girls have left, butthere are still quite a few people in the bar asthere are other ships in the harbor. Marjorie iswith me and a girl named Blossom is sittingnext to Scotty, holding his hand. There is littletalk or conversation.

All of a sudden we hear the blast of theship's whistles. Three quick blasts. Silence.

Then three quick blasts again. Scotty stands upand says that he wants to go down to the docksand wave goodbye to his buddies. So we takeoff. Barefoot and with a bottle of beer. Severalof the girls walk down the street with us and acouple of the seamen come along too. We walkthe two blocks down to the docks and stand onthe end of the wharf. It's about 3:30 in themorning when theArnetta pulls away. I thinkScotty is crying just a little. The crew line theside of the ship and begin to wave and yellfatherly advice to us. And then they're gone.

Just a light fading in the gloom. On one of theships tied up at the dock the crew begin tolaugh. They think Scotty and I have missed theship altogether.


6/28

Jamaica and the waterfront. There is little

work to be had. Most of the boys make a livingby begging, guiding tourists around, or selling

souvenirs. You can hardly move withoutsomeone asking for a shilling or something toeat. The trouble is they mean it. They reallyneed something to eat. They don't botherScotty and me too much because they knowwho we are and that we are on the beachourselves. But so many of the people who livearound the docks, the wharves, and thewaterfront actually have no place to sleep.When we get back to Aggie's from seeing the

Arnetta off we find one of the girls and a coupleof guys asleep in the hallways. Someone else isasleep in one of the chairs in the saloon. No onedoes anything about asking them to leave.When we climb the stairs to our bedroom, I'll bedamned if there isn't someone in our beds.Marjorie and Blossom. Seeing that so manypeople don't have a place to live or sleep, Ibegin to wonder if Marjorie has taken a liking tome or my sack. Well, there's nothing to do butcrawl on in with her. She murmurs "'Allo Dick,you like me, yes?" And she snuggles up niceand warm. A fitting way to end a full day.


7/28

Next morning Scotty crawls out of bed andwraps a towel around him. I jump out of thesack and follow suit. The girls are nowherearound. We put on wooden sandals left by our

bed for us and go clippety-clop down the stairsand out into the back yard. Everybody laughswhen they see how we are dressed. I ask whereI can wash up and Marjorie comes towards me.She leads me to the side of a small shed.

There's a pipe sticking out with a faucetattached. She says I can take a shower. I waitfor her to leave but she doesn't move. She justpicks up a bar of soap and a rag and takes thetowel from me. Nothing to do but to turn on thewater. She proceeds to wash my back and helpme take a shower. Well, I have never hadanything like this happen to me before, but I'msure not going to waste any time arguing aboutit.

After I shower, Scotty takes his. Then we justsit around in the sun in our towels, and have abeer. Aggie comes back from shoppingdowntown. She asks us if we would likesomething to eat, then has one of the girls fixus some fried eggs and potatoes. We talk alittle about the fine party we had last night and


8/28

how sad it was to see all of Scotty's old friendsleave.

It seems that Aggie is a pretty importantindividual in Kingston. She has quite a bit of

political pull and is well known from one end ofthe island to the other. Many years ago therewas a strike on the island against the laborsituation and the wages. Many of the Englishfactories had closed down, many Jamaicanpeople were out of work and had no money tobuy food. Aggie set up a kitchen in the saloon.She had people lined up continually, just like inthe United States during the depression of the1930s a soup line. Most everyone considersAggie their friend and because Scotty and I aregoing to stay here we too are their friends.Every time we go someplace from Aggie's, wehave a small army following us. The girls gowith us, the guys go with us, and we pick upfriends along the way.

After showering this morning and havingbreakfast, we decide to walk around thewaterfront to see what ships are in. We are noteven going to try to get a job on a ship for atleast a week. We are just going to lie around,relax, and enjoy ourselves. That is O.K. withAggie because she is real pleased to have uswith her.


9/28

Scotty and I walk around Kingston all day. Atthe docks, boys are begging or trying to carrythe baggage of passengers for a shilling. Wewalk to a saloon called Dirty Dick's, about two

blocks from Aggie's. Scotty knows thebartender they are old friends. It is a niceplace to just sit around, talk, and drink beer. Wemeet some Englishmen off a ship that dockedhere two days ago. A bunch of rough bastards,here with Jamaican girls. We are starting off ona little party when one of the girls gets angry ashell at something one of the fellows says. Shestarts to throw beer all over the place, so heknocks her right on her ass. Of course, a brawlstarts, pretty soon the police come andeveryone is yelling, and jabbering, and talkingat once. Scotty and I just sit on the sidelinesand take it all in. The police kick everyoneoutside and try to straighten it out. Actually, itwas the girl's fault for throwing the beer andthreatening to hit someone over the head withthe empty bottle.

After the argument is all over, we go backinside and there we meet two Jamaican fellowsdrinking beer at the bar. We talk to them and Ifind out that one of them is Jack Anderson,editor of the Star, the Jamaican evening paper.


10/28

We stay another two hours talking to Andersonand find him to be a very nice person. He asksthat Scotty and I come to the Staroffice thenext day to be interviewed and photographed.

He will print a story in his paper about my triparound the world.

Jack Anderson leaves but Scotty and I decideto stay around awhile longer. By 12, the bar isquite crowded. Marjorie comes looking for meand joins our party. By this time we are well onthe way to a half-crocked great night. Scottystands up on one of the tables and tellseveryone to shut up because he has a speechto make. He says his friend will put on a showof acrobatics and tumbling such as had neverbeen seen before in Dirty Dick's. Everyonebursts into a round of applause. I am a coupleof sheets gone to the wind but I take off myshoes and socks and move some of the tables. Iwalk on my hands, turn back flips, do backhand springs, and dive over a table or two intoa forward roll. All these acrobatics get us a lotof free beer. But no one throws money! We endup the night thoroughly crocked and staggeringhome in each other's arms, with the help ofMarjorie and Blossom and several others. I goto sleep in one sack, and wake up in another.


11/28

The trouble is that maybe I had a good timewith Marjorie and don't even know about it!

We wake in the morning, take a shower, sitaround in the sun awhile. Soon, it is almost time

to go over to the Starand see Anderson for theinterview and pictures for the paper. On theway, we stop at Dirty Dick's and have a beerand a sandwich. Then we walk to thenewspaper office and meet with Jack Anderson.We do our interview and have our picturestaken. He tells us that the story will appeartomorrow or the next day in the Star. Aggie isquite pleased with this idea of the interview Scotty said that we were her guests at #7Princess Street.

After the interview, we come back to Aggie'sand find several seamen there from the Englishship. The party starts up again even though it isonly 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon. We meet anIrishman named Jim Sullivan. He has beensinging songs in a whiskey tenor voice for thelast two hours, but no one is listening. Everyone

just keeps doing what they are doing. The girlsare dancing, the music is playing, and everyoneis laughing and shouting. But he just keeps onsinging. He thinks he's great. It is getting darkernow and the warm tropical breeze is coming in


12/28

off the Gulf. The people are beginning to relax.We hum and sing a little. The phonograph fromAggie's kitchen is playing calypso music.Everyone seems to be happy and content. I

have always liked going barefoot and for thelast two days that is what I have been doing.

The only time I put on my shoes is when Scottyand I go to see a ship's captain, or to theimmigration department, or down to the harborshipping master's office to find out what shipsare coming in and when they will be docking.*

The nights are languid and calm in Jamaica. Allthe confusion of the afternoon is gone from thestreets and the moon comes up big above themountain tops. Marjorie and Blossom and someof the other girls have said they are going tothe movies tonight. I ask them what is playingand they tell me, Quo Vadis. I invite the girls tobe my guests, as I have wanted to see QuoVadis for some time. Strange that I have had tocome all the way to Jamaica to see it. We leavefor the theater. Six of us. We have severalblocks to walk and as we pass through thecrowded market streets, I notice the girlssurround me. I ask why and they explain thatsometimes a boy runs by, or a gang of boys,


13/28

and they hold you and take your wallet or grabyour watch off your wrist as they go by.

The Queen's Theater. First of all, it isoutdoors. Second, there are no real chairs in

the place, only slat-like benches with fancy grillwork on the back, sloping sides and anuncushioned seat. The seats in the higherpriced sections are a little more comfortable.We get our tickets and go inside. It is crowdedand people are arguing and jostling each otherwhile they look for a seat. As I look around Irealize that I am the only white person in theplace. One among perhaps 150 Negroes. Ibegin to feel everyone is looking at me ratherstrangely. I feel that I as a white person reallyunderstand for the first time how a Negro feelsamong whites. What is that feeling? Well, in mysituation, I think I can say momentary fright, forone thing. Uneasiness and uncertainty. I beginlooking for the quickest way out of here just incase I have to use it. Fortunately, there isn'tany need for that. We sit down. Soon the moviebegins.

I can truthfully say that this is one moviethat was never enjoyed as much in the UnitedStates as I see it enjoyed tonight in Jamaica.Believe me, what I see borders on the fantastic.


14/28

I have never known people to become soemotional and upset over a motion picture. Asthey watch this film they actually believe it as ifthey were really there. Especially in the scene

where the girl is tied to the stake and herbodyguard is trying to protect her from the bull.By this time, many of the people in the theaterare crying. I see people on their knees prayingand sobbing as they sway back and forth. Whenthe bull makes the first charge at the girl, thebig guy grabs the bull by the horns but isthrown down. Several people jump up andbegin to yell, "No! No! No". Time and again, theman is thrown to the ground by the bull and thepeople in the theater are in a frenzy. I thinksomeone's going to run up and tear down thescreen. Then he grabs the bull and throws himdown. He begins to strain to break the bull'sneck. The people are standing on their seatsand screaming and yelling. Even above all thenoise, confusion, and emotional hysteria, I hearthe neck of the bull crack. With this, the peoplegive a cheer and seem to fall slackly into theirseats with a great sigh, as if they themselveshad accomplished the feat. For sure, this is anoutstanding example of mob hysteria becausewhen I look at all of those people standing onthe benches and chairs, yelling and screaming,


15/28

where the hell do you suppose I find myself! I'mup on top of my chair yelling with the rest ofthem. I can't believe it! I have never seen orheard of anything like this in my life! Everything

that happens in the movie after that seems likean anticlimax. I feel like I have gone throughthe proverbial wringer.

After the movie is over, we walk slowly backto Aggie's. Scotty and several of the others aresitting around in front taking it easy. There isn'ttoo much doing tonight. We have a few beers,listen to the music, walk out back and talkawhile longer. I think that everyone feels theyneed a good night's sleep. I know I do! But theway this little Marjorie follows me around, if Ieven look like I am going upstairs, she takeshold of my hand. So, what can you do? I guessyou just have to live with it! We go upstairs,and she gives me a rubdown. Scotty and I arehaving a hell of a lot of trouble with bed bugs.Wake up in the morning with a rash and lumpsall over. Aggie has had the mattresses aired outand every night Marjorie brings a bottle of thisfluid which is supposed to keep the bugs away.I lie there naked and she rubs me from head tofoot all the time laughing and joking. Off withthe lights, and that's it until the next morning.


16/28

*The Starcomes out and, sure enough, big aslife, there we are. Scotty and I right on the frontpage. There is a big story titled "WORKING HIS

WAY AROUND THE WORLD". Then, thisafternoon Jack Anderson comes round toAggie's. He says that he has arranged aninterview with a Mr. McMillan for me. He is atheatrical agent and owner of the Colony SiteClub in Kingston. I am supposed to give anaudition tomorrow night at 10:30. If I get the

job, it will be a few dollars towards expenses.After a shower and a cup of tea this

morning, I go over to see Mr. McMillan aboutthe audition at the Colony Club. He tells me toshow up at the club to put on a show in front ofthe regular customers. If they like me, I'll be on.About 9 o'clock, Aggie, Scotty and I, plus acouple of others, go over to the club. I do theaudition for the patrons of the club, and Mr.McMillan hires me to do two shows. One onFriday night and one on Saturday night. Afterthe act, I meet Mr. Powell, a representative for

J. Arthur Rank Movie Productions in Jamaica,and the owner of several of the theaters on theisland. He says he may place me for a fewshows at his theaters, to keep the peopleentertained until the film starts.


17/28

*I put on the show at the Colony Club last nightand I think it went pretty good. When we wentto the club we had quite a little party of people

Scotty, Blossom, Marjorie, Aggie, and thefirst mate off a Norwegian ship, North Star, anold shipping mate of Scotty's.

I put on my act. Mr. McMillan had told usthat the bill we ran up would be cut in halfbecause of my working there. This included allmy guests. We took over the place and turnedit into a party. Needless to say there was notmuch left from my wages. I was a little stifffrom doing the act, not from the beer. Nomatter how hard you work out, when the realthing is done you always end up with a fewpulled muscles or a stiff back the next day.

It's Saturday night now. I put on the actagain and by this time I'm used to and it andable to ham it up a bit. Ben Bowers, the MC,

joins me in the act by leading me on inconversation. We pull off a couple pretty good

jokes. All in all, I think we had a better acttonight.

After a shower, I come back to the table. Awaiter comes up to me and says that I have aphone call. I go with him and answer the phone.


18/28

It's a woman. She says she saw my act lastnight and can't forget me. She asks me if I havefinished with the show and if I would like tocome over to see her. Of course, I go for this in

a big way. She says she'll send a car to pick meup. This is great. I go back and tell Scotty aboutit. He's a little mad at first because I'm leavingthe party. But when I tell him that maybe Iwon't leave Jamaica if this turns out to be theright thing, he understands. A little later thedoorman tells me that a car is waiting outside.

I was expecting a nice little limousine or achauffeur-driven automobile but I'm not toodisappointed when I come out and find a cab. Istart to get in the front with the driver when Inotice someone in the back. I know right awaythat she has come along with the cab. I openthe back door and climb in. I guess I expectedsomeone English, white, and about 35 yearsold. One whose husband is away in Englandperhaps or on a business trip at the other endof the island. I really didn't know what toexpect. She is about 22 years old, Jamaican.She says "My name is Faye Sparks". Before Ihardly have a chance to introduce myself, sheslides across the seat and wraps her armsaround me and gives me one hell of a big kiss.It doesn't take much more for me to know that


19/28

this is going to be a very memorable evening. Ionly hope that I haven't been spending toomuch time with Marjorie.

We leave the Colony Club and she asks mewhere I would like to go and what I would like todo. I say that that's up to her. I have a littlemoney in my pocket. I don't think she knowsthat I don't have too much. She says we'll go tothe Chinese Gardens just outside Kingston.

That's fine with me. Maybe I can talk to theproprietor about doing a night club act. Wearrive about 2:30 in the morning. The place isnearly deserted. There are a few couples sittingaround small tables and a calypso band playingon a stage overlooking a small dance floor. Weorder a couple of drinks and just sit theretalking. I ask her if she would like to dance. Weare the only people dancing. I'm three sheetsgone to the wind. I am having one hell of a ball.We dance up a storm. With the rhythm of thecalypso music beating and pulsating, along withthe effects of some beer and rum and cokes, Ireally let go. We calypso all over the place andonce in awhile we come together and cling in apassionate embrace. Then we separate andcontinue swaying to and fro on the dance floor.She is all sex and I know she wants me. We are


20/28

the only two in the place. I have the feeling thewaiters and orchestra wish that we would gotoo so that they can close up.

We leave at 5 in the morning. Our cab is still

waiting for us, the driver asleep on the frontseat. We climb in and immediately fall into ahot embrace in the back of the car. I wake thedriver and then go back to her arms. The nextthing I know we are at a house on the outskirtsof Kingston. I open the door of the cab andclimb out. She follows me and without anotherword she takes my hand and leads me towardsthe house. It's getting lighter all the time. Itwon't be long before people get up and starttheir daily business routines. I guess that's whatI'll be doing too.

It is a nice home, very clean, cool andcomfortable. She leads me through the livingroom and into a small bedroom off to the side. Iam really beat by this time, I just flop down onthe bed all ready to pass out. But she shakesme a little bit and says that perhaps I would liketo take a shower. I thought, well, this is going tobe great! Just like Marjorie! But she gives me atowel and shows me the way to the bathroom.

This isn't a little shed with a pipe sticking down.It's a real old-fashioned American shower with


21/28

hot and cold water. I strip down and climb intothe tub and turn the water on just as cold as Ican. I take the shower and when I get out I'mbeginning to feel pretty good. I dry off and wrap

the towel around me, then come out of thebathroom, go over to the bed, and sit down.She smiles at me and says that she will be justa few minutes. She goes into the bathroom andcloses the door. I can hear the water running soI know that she is also taking a shower. Thelights are out in the room but it is still dimlylighted. I am feeling a little drowsy but after afew minutes the sound of running water stops. Iprop myself up on my elbow expectantly andlook at the bathroom door. The sight that myeyes behold I think I will never forget. There shestands in a silken, sheer, pink negligee. Sheleans against the door, in what must be themost provocative pose since Cleopatra. I smileat her and she walks slowly over to the bed. Bythen the sun is coming up over the mountaintops. All I can say is if there is something aboutmaking love that Faye doesn't know, it isn't adamn bit worth knowing at all!

About 11 that morning, I crawl out of thesack, take a shower and dress. Sure as hell,there is the taxi outside in front of the house. Isay goodbye still wondering what it was all


22/28

about, not even knowing when I might see heragain. I climb into the cab. Back to Aggie'ssaloon. When the cab pulls up some of the girlsare standing outside, along with some of the

seamen from the HMS Sheffield. They have agood laugh when I climb out of the car allpooped out. You can bet that I am going to seethis girl Faye again if I can find her.

With the HMS Sheffieldin port, Aggie's placeis really getting business. There is a gang of theRoyal Navy downstairs now and it is only 3 inthe afternoon. They are raising all kinds of helland having a ball. During the brawl one of thesailors begins to sing a song, "A Dirty Shirt". Ashe sings the first verse of the song, he takes offhis shirt. He ends another verse with "My DirtyPants" and takes off his pants. In about 15minutes, he is standing there just as bare-assed, white, and naked as could be. Everybodyis laughing and as drunk as the Lord and itsonly 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon.

Today is my birthday and Aggie has had asmall cake baked for me. Tonight is really goingto shape up as an all-time brawl. I had my 18thbirthday in Japan. I have had birthdays inArizona, California, Chicago, Missouri,Minnesota and I spent my 19th birthday at sea


23/28

on the way home from China. Now here I amhaving a birthday in Kingston, Jamaica, BritishWest Indies.

The drinking, the carousing, and the

brawling start early. There are tables set up outin the back of the saloon. The chickens arecackling and the little old lady who does thelaundry is smoking her big black cigar. Thebottles of rum are on the table and the beer isflowing. Everyone is dancing and drinking allon their way to sharing another memorableevening. The girls won't let Scotty and me drinkthe rum. They say it isn't good for us. They letthe seamen do the rum buying and Scotty and I

just drink beer. You should see some of theseseamen, and the Jamaicans too, drinking thatrum straight. Believe me, that stuff is powerful.If you take an empty bottle and drop a lightedmatch into it, the flames spurt almost a foot inthe air from the fumes left in the bottle.

About three in the morning, Scotty andBlossom, Marjorie, and I go upstairs and hit thesack. With the shutters of the windows wideopen and the lights turned out and that big

Jamaican moon shining through the openwindows, it has turned out to be a beautifulnight. The four of us sit on the double bed withour backs against the wall and talk and drink


24/28

beer. It is noisy downstairs and the musicsounds loud and brassy as it comes from thespeakers in the back yard and the bar. Scottyand I talk a little about finding a job on the ship

that will take us out of here. Marjorie pouts alittle and says that she doesn't want that tohappen. I ask her how she would like to have ababy by the red-headed American. This hasbeen a joke here for the past three or four days.Aggie and several of the older women said thatthey would like to see Marjorie have a baby byme. It would give her something nice toremember me by. And they want to see what ared-headed Jamaican baby would look like.Marjorie says she doesn't think she would likethat at all and we shouldn't even talk about it.We sit there until about 4:30 and then decide tocall it a night. Just when it is beginning to getreal quiet downstairs, someone starts to screamand yell. One of the women is hollering at oneof the fellows and it looks like there is anotherfight in the making, But this one turns out alittle differently. The woman is knocking the hellout of her husband right in front of Aggie'ssaloon because he has given another woman ababy. She doesn't like that at all!*


25/28

The streets are quiet at this early hour 2:30.Occasionally a car goes by, a cat screeches andruns across the street. I pass the prison. I havelearned these five weeks that one should not

walk the streets alone at late night. Damn it, Iwant to see if anything will happen, that's why Istarted this trip. There are gangs that roam thestreets, waiting for a drunk seamen or one whois alone. They climb in the trees or on the roofsof the houses. As you walk by they drop on you.I know that to walk in the middle of the street issafer. On the waterfront Scotty and I are safe.We are friends of Aggie's and very few would doharm to us. Here in the back streets there areno friends. The guys on the waterfront tell methat if I am walking alone at night and one ortwo begin to follow me, I must keep the samepace. When I hear the whistle it will meanothers of the gang will be coming. I am about amile from Aggies's when I hear them. I glanceover my shoulder. There are two of them,walking on the sidewalk close to thebuildings in the shadows. My heart gives alurch and jumps into my throat. I don't think I'mso damn cocky now. I continue walking in themiddle of the street. I hear the whistle whatthe hell do I do now? I come to a small sidestreet. The main thoroughfare of Kingston is at


26/28

the other end, two blocks through an alley withone dim light in the middle casting its eerieshadows. I start into the alley. They close upquickly two of them. I know I won't reach the

midday point before they will be upon me. Iturn, face them and walk right past them. Theyare stunned, momentarily. They turn and followme. I have taken but five or six steps. I turn andonce again start past them. I am almost bywhen one of them reaches out. I jump back toface them. My heart is pounding in my ears. Ilook right at them but don't even know whatthey look like. One says, "Don't be scared,sailor." I take my watch off and put it in mypocket. He says, "All we want is cigarette". I tellthem I have no cigarettes. I put my hand insidemy shirt. I say, "If you think I have anythingelse you want, come and try to take it." Westand there, the three of us, no one moving.

They laugh, and walk away. I watch until theygo around the corner. I am shaking, but notfrom fear. From exuberance. I did not run. Ithought I was going to, but I did not. I wasafraid but I faced them. I can face anything.

I reach Aggies's about ten minutes later. TellScotty what took place. He is all for going out to


27/28

find them. There is no use in that. We have abeer.*Scotty left early this morning. Sad farewell.

Many of his friends come down at the dock tosee him off. Blossom is crying and very sorry tosee him leave Jamaica. We had a little party lastnight but there was no joy. We have had onegreat ball during the five weeks together on theisland. Now I am on my own again. I go back toAggies's. I am looking for a ship that is leavingfor any other port of the world and that will takeme along.

On Saturday afternoon I speak to theGerman captain of a ship out of Hamburg,Germany. He looks at me for a minute. He saysthat he is ready to leave. "If you get clearedwith immigration by 4:30 this afternoon, we willtake you with us to Cardiff, Wales. It has to bethis afternoon. Today is Saturday and theimmigration offices are closed tomorrow."

I can hardly believe my ears. I race down thegangway, all the way to the immigration offices.Back to the ship. I show my papers, all in order,to the captain. He says I can get my luggageand gear and come aboard that evening. I walkover to Aggies's saloon. I stop and talk to Aggieand the girls. I kiss them all a fond farewell,


28/28

have a last glass of beer, and then go down tothe docks, walking for the last time downPrincess Street.

high times in jamaica

Documents