Silence (Mecheonu): A True Caribbean American Life Experience

By Zoey Jentile

It was that new beginning she began observing and reflecting on the past and present, integrating the old with the new including other ethnical cultures of which she became associated. Observing the difference of life in her Homeland and the United States of America, she perceived that migration offered the same ethical standards but different from living in her native country. Work, home, family, children and their needs as she assimilated in this new culture living away from home has opened new dynamics, to her and others that she shares in this book with anyone of similar experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477237458

Zoey Jentile

Zoey Jentile Was born in Kingston Jamaica, emerged from a large family during her childhood day she attended secondary, high school and college commuting between Kingston, and St. Andrew. After her school years she worked with the Jamaican Government in the Circuit Courts System in Kingston, Jamaica. In the mid-eighties she migrated to the United States of America and began a new chapter in her life after resigning from the Jamaica Civil Service. It was that new beginning she began observing and reflecting on the past and present, integrating the old with the new including other ethnical cultures of which she became associated. Observing the difference of life in her Homeland and the United States of America, she perceived that migration offered the same ethical standards but different from living in her native country. Work, home, family, children and their needs as she assimilated in this new culture living away from home has opened new dynamics, to her and others that she shares in this book with anyone of similar experience. Zoey worked in the Reggae Entertainment Industry and continued her education in the USA to further her studies; however, she began writing through true real life experience that has taught her to write as she observed. This interesting of book of true cultural experience and poems may relate to others living at home or abroad.

Book preview

Silence 

 (Mecheonu)

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A True Caribbean American 

Life Experience

Zoey Jentile

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Zoey Jentile. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   07/09/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-3746-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-3745-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012912050

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Writing of my own culture,

many went to write and study other’s culture

and never returned they became natives

Creswell, J. W. (2007)

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Silence . . . date of manuscript begins on the fall of 2003

Mecheonu means Silence

the Southern NIGERIAN language

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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This book is dedicated to my mother, grand-mothers, brothers and to all persons who have left us in some form or another, whether they are confined in an institution or some, these persons may have had it all, or may not have lived a good life, or although they had a dream to fulfill, or to meet their goals in life. Now their life is somewhat silenced yet their journey is not completed. Their journey in this life is still not yet completed but was somehow disrupted, or disturbed in one way or another. Silence about the things which we cannot speak about and eating our hearts out, or things which we are not able to talk about. Situations in our lives and things that happened past and present for which we are still searching for answers, which we may not receive because of one reason or another.

CHAPTER 1

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I was born in Kingston Jamaica WI. Those were the good years, between 1950-1970 Every-thing was easy it was fun growing up, nothing to worry our hearts about. Our parents care for us no matter how large the family was back then couples were having from two to thirteen children per household some had six some had eight some had nine some had two, some had one. Regardless of the number of children, our parents cared for us, send us to school and would do the necessaries to make sure we would go to school and get an education, food on the table when we got home clothes on our backs. We and our siblings would sometimes fight for the same dress or pants, a fight without malice because we loved each other. One or both parents would work in the household, this way they would be able to provide for us food, clothing and a clean and healthy living environment for their children. Sometimes, we were even able to extend a helping hand to a family or friend or a neighbor in some form of contribution one way or another. People were more loving to one another and more caring. It was a time of massive migration as well, people were leaving Jamaica to Europe and the USA more than any other time in 1950’s-1970’s. Some migrated and never return to their children they left behind, the children had to be raised by other member of the family household. Christmas time Cathy and her sister BJ would always look forward for a Christmas dress and that new pair of shoes, the dress from their Aunt Cinthy God bless her soul and the shoe from mom, and this would continue for further years to come till they became of age to do it for themselves. The boys would look forward for a similar treatment those were the things that made us happy at Christmas time. The things our parents did for us, even if we were not able to get it every year we were still happy.

The 1950’s & 1970’s I did not remember the 50’s but my memory as a child kicks in the mid-sixties I remembered was the good years, in Jamaica West Indies, not only in Jamaica, but in a wider definition: in many other countries things were good the politics were always there however, it was not much of a burden on its people as it is in today’s world. My Grand-mother ‘Retinalla’ by my father’s side, God bless her soul, was one of the best cook in the world, she made the