Routes [chapter]

Janelle Joseph
2017 Sport in the Black Atlantic  
Routes Old Dog Tom "Old Dog Tom!" a portly, dark-skinned man shouted from across the parking lot. Erol's head peeked up from over the gear bag he was desperately searching through at the side of the cricket pitch. He would be unable to bat if he did not put ointment and a tensor bandage on the knees he' d abused for fifty years. He had heard the call but could not make out the figure crossing the parking lot, although it was clear that the man was beckoning to him. "Tom" had been Erol's
more » ... in primary school. When he was 7 years old, he' d had a fascination with the illustrations of Old Dog Tom books. He would carry them around with him, trace the images, and beg, borrow, or steal art supplies so he could try to reproduce them. Back then in his village, most dogs were feral, but Erol was the strange boy who wanted a dog for a pet. His friends started calling him Tom and many of his school mates hardly remembered his real name. When he heard someone in England calling for "Old Dog Tom, " he knew it must be someone who knew him from his younger days. At the collegiate they had started calling him Elquemedo after the famous spin bowler, and after that he was known as Shakey, which was related to a particularly boisterous night at the dancehall. As the portly man drew close, Erol began to distinguish his features, a round dimpled nose, skin black as tar and teeth big like a lion. It could be none other than his childhood friend, Chris, whom he had known as Boca, due to his big teeth and the fact that it was the only word he got right on their first form oral Spanish test. They stood in an extended, warm embrace. "My brother, how you been keepin'?" Thirty years apart and it was like they were back again at the Maple Cricket Club grounds in Holetown, Barbados. The cross-border flows of people and cultures, including a desire to return to origins, are considered defining features of diasporas. Many scholars have shown that return visits to the birthplace are critically important in facilitating the survival, mobility, socialisation and possible repatriation of many migrants. The Mavericks demonstrate that visits to diasporic locations other than the homeland are equally important in facilitating the formation of community and identity. "Old Dog Tom" is just one representation of the dozens of reunions that occurred between MCSC members and their friends
doi:10.7765/9781526104939.00007 fatcat:usvmap6tvndkpbhwegu2f2uuzm