Carolyn Cooper | Kingsley Cooper, one man wid vision

CHAKA-CHAKA SPELLING

Mi heart full dis week. An mi have nuff tings fi seh. So mi nuh have nuh space fi nuh half a column inna Chaka-Chaka. A pure Prapa-Prapa. All who get lef, can go read di English version pon mi blog: https://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com/

PRAPA-PRAPA SPELIN

Fram wi a pikni, mi did nuo se Kingsley neva aadineri. Im did brait laik maanin staar. An im a ‘entrepreneur’ lang bifuor im did nuo dat de French word. Di Seventh-Day Adventist Church did chrai ton di uol wi ina kyapitalis. Dem did av wan invesment pruogram fi mek moni. Evri ier, evribadi get wan likl moni fram di chorch fi inves ina som likl bizniz fi mek di moni gruo.

Wan ier, Kingsley bout 13 ar so, im disaid fi tek di moni mek biskit. An im mek nof moni. Im ton iin di moni tu di chorch. Lang aafta dat, wi si Kingsley stil a sel biskit. Dat de taim, im a get di flowa an shuga an aal wa waantin outa fi wi uona kichin. So wi aks im, ou invesment don an im stil a sel biskit. Im se, im did inves fi di Laad an im a inves fi imself nou. Aal wi kuda du, a laaf an gwaan bai biskit fram im.

WAN NYUU MAGL A BYUUTI

Wen Kingsley ton big man, im stil a inves. Bot a no ongl fi imself. Im elp nof smadi divelop dem talent. Im inves ina ediekshan, ina kolcha an ina di byuuti bizniz. Wan a Kingsley bigis invesment a fi mek blak uman ina disya konchri nuo se wi byuutiful. Dat a no wan likl sinting. Luk omoch gyal pikni a gruo op iina Jamieka, aal nou, an a tingk se dem ogli! Dem blak, dem ier no gud, dem nuoz flat an dem no shiep laik Coca Cola bakl.

Wan taim, Lois Samuels, wan a Pulse suupamagl, we byuutiful kyaahn don, tel mi se somtaim shi stil fiil laik se shi ogli. It ort mi tu mi aat. Mi nuo shi naa go shiem fi mi tel unu. A no shii fi shiem. A di wan dem we chriit di likl blak pikni dem laik se dem a no notn. Luk pan di adz dem fi di Jamieka fambili we aal kain a bizniz put out! Di faada blak, di son blak, di mada bruon, an di daata bruon. Wa rang wid di likl blak gyal dem? Dem kyaahn go ina adz?

Wen flat-nuoz, jredlaks Zahra Redwood win Pulse Miss Jamaica Universe Contest ina 2007, mi glad bag bos! Kingsley gi Jamieka wan nyuu magl a byuuti. A di sed siem ting Tammy Chin se ina 2009, wen shi did a pafaam fi Caribbean Fashionweek. Shi stap sing an shi se tu Kingsley: “You’ve definitely changed so many girls’ lives; and you’ve changed the way people even look at themselves and what we thought beautiful was.”

Nof a di fashan magl dem outa di Pulse Modelling Agency de pan aal kain a tap-a-tap magaziin kova aal uova di worl. Ina Aktuoba 2015, Vogue magaziin did put out wan stuori, “5 Jamaican Top Models Who Changed the Face of Fashion.” Grace Jones, Stacey McKenzie, Nadine Willis, Robyn Mackintosh an Jeneil Williams. Tuu a dem – Nadine an Jeneil – a Pulse magl.

BIEBI BRODZ

Ina Juun 2018, wen Kingsley torn 65, mi did rait wan kalam fi selibriet im bortdie: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20180603/carolyn-cooper-a....

An mi taak bout wan a di pikcha dem ina di invitieshan tu im bortdie paati:

“My favourite picture in the invitation is of Kingsley, me and my dolly. Mischievous people have commented on the white dolly. What did they expect in the 1950s? My dolly is perched on my hip, supported by my left hand. And my right hand, on my baby brother’s shoulder, protectively holds him close.” Di pikcha de pan mi blog.

Mi a tuu an a aaf ier uola dan Kingsley. An mi did kaal im Biebi Brodz. Mi did chriit im laik se im a dali. A plie-plie wid im aal di taim. Wen im staat gruo op, im neva tuu laik dat. Wors laik ou im a bwai an mi a gorl. Im fiil se im big sista a chrai kanchruol im. An wi did av nof kyach op uova di 71 ier a im laif. Bot im did nuo se mi an did di de, roun im shuolda, aal di taim, a protek im. Mi neva waahn notn apn tu mi Biebi Brodz.

Mi sari mi neva nuo wen Kingsley tek sik laas mont. Im mek mistiek an neva go a dakta wen im beli tek im. Unu don nuo, nof man no laik go a dakta. Mi did rait bout dem ina mi kalam we kom out pan Mie 19. An mi puos it pan mi blag:

https://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com/2024/05/20/wa-mek-man-fraid-fi-go...

Mi nuo se Kingsley no ina dat de kyatigori. Im a man wid vijan. Aal nou, mi kyaahn andastan wa apn. If mi did biliiv ina uobiya, mi wuda se dem uobiya im. Mi a fi tek bad tingz mek juok. Bot, fon an juok asaid, if mi did nuo, mi wuda go a Kingsley yaad, grab im an tek im go a dakta. Ina dis ya taim, nobadi nat sopuoz fi ded fram bos apendiks. Bot a so. An mi jos a fi aksep it. Bot mi beks bad.

Kingsley did de iina Intensive Care Unit a University Hospital fi faiv wiik. An mi go de nof-nof taim. Wen mi go luk fi im wan taim, im se, “Thank you.” An mi se tu im, “We yu a tangk mi fa? Mi a fi de ya.” Mi an stil roun im shuolda. Di wait dali mash op lang-lang taim. Biebi Brodz jos gaan lef mi. Mi a go mis im fram ier tu itorniti.

Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com