Prepare for takeoff

My first article for this column was published on January 5, 2020. I can hardly believe that three years have passed and that I have written an article every week of that time for publication on Sunday.

Somehow that span feels more like just a year, perhaps on account of the fact that time was seemingly condensed or brought to a standstill when Covid came along and we were in periods of lockdown.

Looking back on my articles, I observe that not much has changed in areas over which I expressed concern, whether human or animal related.

One such subject is that of fireworks and the seeming reluctance to regulate them, despite repeated calls for this from a notable sector of the population.

As I write this article, it is Wednesday night, December 28, 2022. The sound of ten rapid "explosions" (fireworks) not far from home, just disturbed the quiet of the night, in our residential area. "Who vex lorse."

A few nights before Christmas I heard a loudspeaker in the area of Crown Point, announcing something about FireOne Fireworks. I had never heard such an announcement in Tobago. I remember a few years ago talking with a woman at a FireOne Fireworks stall in Scarborough. She told me that fireworks were new to "Tobago people" as (according to her) all they know about is "bamboo bussing."

How times have changed. No longer "untouched and unspoiled" in this respect, the inevitable infiltration of fireworks and their increased usage in Tobago is, in my opinion, unfortunate.

On Boxing Day or the day after, I saw a comment on social media, written by a woman in Tobago, saying that her dog had died "last night" from fireworks. I private messaged her to offer condolences and to find out more details, but until now she has not seen the message.

How did fireworks kill her dog? Did someone fire one directly at the animal, causing his/her tragic demise? Did the sound of the fireworks cause so much terror in the animal that he/she succumbed to a heart attack? I know from messages that have been sent to me, as well as from reports that I have seen on social media, that many dogs have died due to heart attacks caused by uncontrollable terror experienced during detonation of fireworks.

This article will be published on Sunday, January 1, 2023. For animal rescuers/advocates/lovers throughout Trinidad and Tobago, this supposed-to-be-new-and-hopeful day traditionally meant for setting goals and looking ahead to the promising horizons of a new year, is often a day of dread, as the carcasses of animals are found scattered and splattered upon the nation’s roadways. Those innocents, darting wildly, terrified by the incessant banging of explosives, meet their death upon impact with vehicles – most of which are no doubt being driven at great speed, to or from fetes and other celebrations.

As I write, loud noisemakers continue to explode around me. One would think it is midnight on old year's night – or that we are in a war zone. I dread hearing what will take place on December 31.

Every few minutes, loud crackling noises disturb the night. Perhaps people in the community got fireworks for Christmas. So much for being a nation suffering due to job loss, increased cost of living and other financially debilitating ills. There seems to be no difficulty in finding money for explosives.

As you read this on the first day of the new year, I, and many others (perhaps more so in Trinidad) will be out on the roads looking for animals that might have been injured and are still alive, in need of assistance. As long as there are fireworks, that morbid reality will be a constant.

The big guns selling fireworks are overly active in marketing their products. "Buy one, get one free! We are open until midnight on December 31! Free giveaways! Shop online! Delivery or curbside pickup!"

Perhaps by writing about fireworks (again) I too am helping, albeit unintentionally, to promote them. Do I even need to write new articles on this subject when those I penned up to three years ago are still relevant?

Nothing has changed. It seems that the more citizens speak out against fireworks and call for their ban or regulation, the more they bombard our air (and ear) space.

I have no further comment on the cacophony.

In closing, I thank my readers and wish each of you inner and outer peace.