So I remember visiting Junction in St Elizabeth a couple of years ago and, oddly enough, when I went back last week, I found the same thing happening as I did the first time. Nothing.

Now, I don't in any way mean to suggest that Junction is a complete bore-fest, but even residents of the area will tell you that these aren't exactly happening times in the southern community.

It's not a very big place, but it does have some very nice homes. The town square, which, as is customary in St Elizabeth communities, is the centre of activity, isn't the bustling place it used to be. Local barmaids are quick to tell you that the downturn at the nearby aluminum plant is the main culprit behind the slowdown in Junction, but they remain hopeful that things will get better soon.

About five minutes' drive outside the square, I met Miss Lee. Now, Miss Lee is 74 years old and was born and raised right there in Junction. It was little wonder I was told by residents to visit her to learn about the community.

Middle-aged woman

I drove up to Miss Lee's home, a small, concrete house on a dirt road, to find a middle-age woman sitting on the verandah. There was a large fowl coop at the back of the house and a skinny woman was standing near it, looking in.

"Howdy!" shouted the woman on the verandah. She was sweating and wore a baseball cap. I returned the greeting and asked if she was the popular Miss Lee. She smiled and then hollered to someone inside. "Sheron! Tell Miss Lee dat a genkleman is here to har!"

Soon, an elderly woman appeared. She wore a green merino, short pants and a big smile. I had caught her in the middle of an intense session of house work and mentioned to her that I was grateful for her time. She shrugged it off and went inside. The woman soon reappeared carrying a chair which she placed on the verandah.

"Sit, man. Yuh can't just stand up so," she said.

No burglar bars

I gladly accepted and asked Miss Lee about Junction. "We don't have crime and those things. All midnight mi sit outside here wid di place open up and not a problem. You can sleep and leave all yuh place open. Nobody going to trouble yuh," she said.

I had noticed that there were no burglar bars on the windows or doors and mentioned to Miss Lee how uncommon such a scene has become in Jamaica. The old woman smiled.

"Well, maybe dem know nothing is in here to thief, so that's why I don't haffi worry!" she laughed as she spoke. Miss Lee was born in a house down the road from where she now lives and has travelled abroad quite frequently over the years. "But everytime mi go, soon soon mi want to come back home," she said.

Miss Lee said she loved living in Junction but is deeply irked by St Elizabeth's water woes. "Is just di water, but everything else alright. Mi not leaving Junction. It alright, man!"

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com

Many cars, but little happening in Junction, St Elizabeth.