“Bush Tea With My Father”

At breakfast and dinner, my siblings and I were guaranteed a nice cup of Milo, Ovaltine, homemade hot chocolate or Cocoa. My father paid close attention to how much we drank because one night, in every week,  we are going to get the same size cup, full of local herb tea —BUSH TEA. These herbs were from his garden. He would say to my mother, “Make this tea for those children.” We all complained, but it did not help. He sat at the dining table to make sure we drank it all… It was either, Bois Canon (Bwah-kah-no), Malomay, lime-bud, Portugal-bud, soursop-bud, even guava-bud tea. I did not like those nights…