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Pulse of the Caribbean
The Pulse of the Caribbean Podcast with Kysha captures the Caribbean spirit. Listen to the latest news from the region, interviews with beautiful Caribbean people making exceptional contributions worldwide, and travel with us as we highlight destinations and activities. Inspirational messages are also shared. Experience the essence of the Caribbean right here.
Pulse of the Caribbean
#30 HR, Farming, and Poetry: The Multifaceted Journey of Caribbean Poet Linette Rabsatt
Ever wonder how the worlds of Human Resources, farming, and poetry intertwine? Join us as we sit down with Linette Rabsatt, an extraordinary Human Resources Manager from the Virgin Islands who is also a dedicated farmer and a prolific poet. Lynette will take us through her unique career path. She will read her poignant original poem, "Mama's Prayers," and celebrate the release of her new publication, which is now available on Amazon.
Don't miss this inspiring episode of Pulse of the Caribbean, where every Thursday, we bring you remarkable stories and insights from the vibrant Caribbean community.
Lynette Rapsat, Human Resources Manager, Farmer and Poet, is our guest on today's Pulse of the Caribbean podcast.
Speaker 1:Hi, welcome to Pulse of the Caribbean podcast. I'm Keisha, inviting you to join me here as we showcase the finest of the Caribbean. I am a Caribbean woman excited to share the Caribbean with you. I am a Caribbean woman excited to share the Caribbean with you. Join us on the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast as we shine the limelight on spectacular destinations, notable events and exceptional Caribbean people making positive impacts around the world. Hi, welcome to the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast. I'm Keisha Blyden. Lynette Rapsat, Human Resources Manager, Farmer and Poet, is our guest on today's Pulse of the Caribbean podcast. Human capital, nature and the word are an amazing combination that make up Lynette Rapsat. People in nature are part of everything, and our words, written and spoken, tell a story, stirs emotions. That calls us to action or inspire. Today, we will learn a dynamic combination through our guest, Lynette Rapsat. With that, we say welcome, Lynette Rapsat, to the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast. Thank you so much. We are the Pulse of the Caribbean, so tell us what makes you Caribbean.
Speaker 2:I am a Virgin Islander in every sense of the word, born in the US Virgin Islands and I live in the British Virgin Islands, so I am 100% Caribbean all the way.
Speaker 1:Definitely. We know the US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands are very closely joined, with family and relatives living in both territories. Now, human resources is one of our greatest resources needed for every area of life, livelihood and industry. So tell us what led you to be a human resources professional. We know today you're a human resources manager and tell us about the importance of your work.
Speaker 2:So I actually got into human resources I would say, almost by accident. It was never a position that I actually applied for, but I think some of my colleagues thought that I would be a good fit for the role and I was encouraged at first. When they approached me, I actually said no, I don't want to do that, and I taught about it, I prayed about it and I said you know what? I'm going to give it a shot. So I'm into human resources since 2013. And yes, I'm a HR manager now and it's really a rewarding field For me. What I enjoy the most is seeing people develop and knowing that I had a hand in recruiting someone and then seeing them being able to get you know certain benefits, such as a promotion or be able to get study leave because we do offer study leave in our organization and then to see that person return and get a promotion at a higher level. I think that's absolutely the best feeling For me. Learning and development those are the aspects of HR that I love the most.
Speaker 1:When we talk about people and developing skills, it is so vitally important to let them grow. Being an HR manager, there must be some balance as it relates to employee-employer relations. Tell us how you manage this balance.
Speaker 2:It is a very, very delicate balance because, of course, we have policies, we have laws that we must follow, but at the end of the day, hr is about the human side and your employees are always your greatest resource. So the first thing we have to look at is how we write our policies. Are they focused on with the employee in mind or is it just organizationally focused? So it's just find that balance in between. I like to ensure that we follow the policies and the legislations that guide us. I think that is absolutely critical.
Speaker 2:We can use our discretion at times, especially, you know, depending on the type of situation. We can use our discretion, but definitely it is human first. That's what HR is, and if your employees, your team members, your colleagues are unhappy, then we need to go and look back at the policies. I find that we tend to create a policy or create a legislation and say, okay, yes, we got it, that's it. But when it's time to implement and you realize that employees are getting frustrated, people are leaving, it's time to rethink, go back at it and try to improve, because you want your employees to be happy. If they're not happy, they're not going to produce.
Speaker 1:What are the tools, as you see it, in any industry, for success for employees throughout their professional careers?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Employees must continue to seek ways to improve the way they work. I know not everyone wants a promotion. Some people are happy with the work that they do and they're happy at that level. What I would say to them is continually look at how they can perfect their craft and be open to learning and development. I think that as people, we tend to get comfortable and it's not helpful for you professionally or even personally, because you touched on people thinking about retirement. You want to know that if you retire at 50, 55, 45, 65, that there's still something that could keep you engaged along the way. So I would say your key tool as an employee is to use learning and development to perfect your skills, improve your communication, open new avenues. Just go and learn something new. You may love it and you may want to. You know, create a business, do entrepreneurship, but for me, learning and development is always my number one.
Speaker 1:And we are learning every day. Another aspect of your life is your love for the outdoors nature. We notice a lot of your poetry recitations takes place outdoors. In the Caribbean, many of our people, in terms of our parents or grandparents, were in touch with nature, knowing trees, crop bearing trees and fauna, something they learned and shared. Tell us what inspired this love of nature and farming?
Speaker 2:I grew up in nature with a farmer, so I would say I didn't have a choice, but I actually really loved it. I just loved knowing that you could start something from a small little seed. And then I think the first thing I planted and it grew was a pumpkin seed. And to see all the pumpkins coming out, it's such a beautiful feeling. I love being outside. My family always says you're always outside in the garden. But it's not just about being able to produce. It's also a way to just kind of de-stress and relax after a long day.
Speaker 2:I get a lot of inspiration for my poetry when I'm outside. I usually get these random tarts, just one line here and there. And of course it's also a source of income, because what I produce I do share with family and friends. Of course, because that's the Caribbean way we always share with family and friends. Of course, because that's the Caribbean way we always share with one another. But I also sell produce and I sell fruit trees and some seedlings from time to time. But that is my haven. My garden is my haven. After a long day dealing with people, I go and I talk to my plants. I sing to them as well.
Speaker 1:Awesome, so you're in nature as you engage in farming. What are you doing to engage the next generation?
Speaker 2:My children. I have two wonderful children, Anthony and Anjanique, so they're involved in different levels. So my daughter she's really good at getting things started, so my carambola tree was actually started from a seed that she spit out and we had a really great bumper crop this year before Ernesto came and knocked everything off. And my son he's a little bit older, so he's my business guy, so he takes the stuff to the supermarket for me. So each person has their role in helping me. But when it comes to the taking care of the garden, that's me. I love doing my weeding and my pruning and, you know, singing and talking to them too.
Speaker 1:Something that you mentioned that is so inspirational is the time that you spend in your garden getting in touch with nature. When you get home at the end of the day, it's about de-stressing. And the other dynamic part that you mentioned is the involvement of your children, not only in the planting but on the business side, where you take your crops to market. So certainly you are equipping your children to feed themselves, not only physically, but to feed themselves as entrepreneurs, by generating income from what is cultivated at your farm. So tell us about the crops you cultivate.
Speaker 2:Well, I would say I am so blessed to have some wonderful Julie mango trees. I have a cottage mango trees. Those are the local Tortola mangoes. The cottage, that's the original mango that a lot, of, a lot of people really like, and the Julie, that's what we usually call, that the grafted, that's the more succulent one, I would say. The cottage mangoes are smaller and they're more hairy. I also have the carambola. Just started to get some soursop. I have sugar cane, basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, green onions. Sometimes I have eggplants and seasoned peppers, but the things that I really take to market are more the basil, the chive and also I have tarragon. I don't know if you know what tarragon is. They usually use it a lot in French cooking, but it's also used locally in Mavi. It has a real licorice, fresh, beautiful's a nice tea. So I want to expand my tarragon garden a little bit more, because that's not a lot of people don't really plant it, so I'm trying to build my own little niche market that's wonderful, because you mentioned all the crops and all the fruits.
Speaker 1:I know about making sourssauce, drinks and Mabi. Those are the wonderful treats that we create from crops in the yard or in the garden or, in your case, on the farm. So what are some of the treats that you make?
Speaker 2:in your kitchen from your harvest, I usually make a lot more juice. Oh, and I forgot to mention the queen of the crop, the best tart fruit. I have like 20 pineapples planted, so pineapple so I'm saying this to the world Pineapple is the best tart. There is no, none other.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. You know that's interesting because occasionally I see online the tart wars what's your favorite? Coconut, pineapple, guava and of course, during the holiday season when we have guava berry oh my gosh, that is one of my favorites, but you're for pineapple.
Speaker 2:And my second favorite would. It used to be guava, but now it's guava berry. Guava berry is my second favorite.
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts on the impact of farming, especially in the Caribbean, when we think of hurricane season and the pandemic which slowed shipment of goods into the region? Tell us about your thoughts on sustainability, supporting local farmers and agriculture within our local communities. Within our local communities, and also, how do you save crops, or spare crops, if you can, and then rebound from storm events like the recent storm Ernesto?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you, to be honest with you, after Ernesto passed, I was a little bit depressed because outside just looked really bare. I had about six or seven hands of bunches sorry bunches of bananas that were coming, and to see everything on the ground, it, you know, it really hurt. And this wouldn't be the first time, it wouldn't be the second time. We've been going through this as a cycle for years and years. And that's where, having the seedlings always, you know, try to keep your stuff replenished. So I was able, I was lucky enough, to save quite a bit of the bananas, not the fruit, but the trees themselves. So everything is growing back up very quickly since we had those rains. Everything is growing back up very quickly since we had those rains. When it comes to the cash crops, complete devastation and I'm seeing some of the trees starting to put back leaves. But I basically had to just take out my entire basil crop. But for the pieces that remained, it's just to restart again. And it's just, I guess, the circle of life Once a storm passes, as you said, you secure what you can. So, some of the bananas they're young, but we surely did eat them and we made banana salad. It's green banana salad the way you would make potato salad with the mayonnaise and the seasoning. So we made some green banana salad, we made use of them, we shared them with the neighbors because they were way too young to sell to the market. At least that wasn't a complete loss. With the star fruit, I salvaged as much as I could, I shared with co-workers and then we froze some of them. But the whole thing about freezing because I usually freeze a lot of my fruits so we could make juice after we didn't have power for a couple of days. So we ended up having to throw away things. But I think that's where the lady who I grew up with. I didn't grow up with my parents. I grew up with an older lady and she was heavy into making jams and jellies, so you always have something to eat down the line, because they grew up without electricity.
Speaker 2:We have the luxury now and as soon as the power goes off, everybody goes crazy. I saw people in my neighborhood I've never seen before moving around up and down. I was like who's that? Because the power was out, there was no TV, there was no internet, so they had no choice but to get up and walk around and talk to each other. You know, sometimes when you think back of how life used to be, it really makes you appreciate things a bit more, because people worried oh my God, they don't have power, they don't have internet. And I was like, yeah, just go outside, go talk to somebody, go draw something, go plant something, go make something, do something, but don't just sit and lament that the power is out.
Speaker 2:So we've tried our best to, you know, live in this whole climate change environment where the storms really do impact us and don't talk about the floods. That's the other thing by itself. But going back to the old ways really seems to be what we need to do more of. So the old people they used to you know corn, do corn pork and corn fish and they'd make the jams and the jelly, so you always have something for that rainy day.
Speaker 2:I don't really eat meat, so I wouldn't really partake too much in the corn pork and things like that. But it's something that we really do need to think about in terms of doing our preserves, and I, as a farmer, also need to look at planting cycles when the weather is coming, because I just recently had planted out some of those basil and I was all excited and then Ernesto came and just wiped out the whole crop. But we persevere. I planted out some more and we're going forward. The bananas are coming back, the trees are getting back on their leaves and we're just hoping for the best for the rest of the season.
Speaker 1:Now tell us about the other part of Lynette, and that is how did you begin your journey as a poet?
Speaker 2:My journey as a poet started at the University of the Virgin Islands St Thomas campus in a class with Dr Vincent Cooper. One of the assignments was to write a poem. So I wrote the poem. I was like this sounds corny, but I'm going to do it for the grade. Then he gave another assignment. I wrote another one and he said I think you've got something. Gave another assignment, I wrote another one and he said I think you've got something. Continue to try, continue to play around with the words.
Speaker 2:So that was in 1996, we're in 2024, so lots of years later. Here I am today, still in awe from that conversation with him, and looking today and saying I have over 300 poems Just because that one person gave me that positive feedback. It just took Dr Cooper to say I think you may have something, keep at it. It wasn't anybody else, it was just Dr Cooper, and he's definitely someone who I would say I owe a lot to that small word of encouragement really has you know, it's boosted me in more than one way, not just with the poetry, I would say overall, because sometimes you just everybody needs somebody in their corner, and it doesn't have to be a family member, just need somebody in the corner to say, hey, I think you got some talent there, do something. So Dr Cooper gets the credit for that.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Tell us your process of creating a new poem. Where do you start?
Speaker 2:When I am creating a new poem it's so many different things that happen to me. I might be outside and I think of something and I say, okay, you know what. I'm going to play around with that thought in my mind and then write something around it. So I just let the writing flow. I don't write with pen and paper very much anymore. I use my computer and I just start typing as a random words come to me. And then I have this friend, dr Deidre Wheatley. I chat with her a lot and I usually would say things you know, we have good banter. She's also an HR professional, she's also a poet and we may speak on a particular topic and I say you know, I'm going to make a poem out of that. So a couple of poems that I put on my blog were actually inspired from conversations with her, because I think she's a very positive person, I find that she engages me in good conversation and I'm inspired by that.
Speaker 2:Another way that I create poems is through poetry prompts that I usually find in various Facebook groups where we focus on poetry. So our prompt today was a poem. Well, it was a picture of mangroves. So we worked on that over the weekend, so I just sat down and I wrote a poem and then I saw another prompt about a therapy session, so I just wrote about that. So the process is more of just having a start or maybe having a word, having a topic and then building from there. Sometimes I rhyme, sometimes I don't, but I do like to play with rhyme schemes. I like to play with phrases and words in sets of three.
Speaker 1:I guess you can say it's a callaloo of writing, where it's a mixture of things in terms of your environment, your daily living and encounters based on what I'm hearing, along with collaborations that spurn inspiration, and how do you know when a poem you're working on is finished?
Speaker 2:It's finished once I can read it, and it flows to the point where it's already met the climax and it's time to bring it to the end. So, whether the end is just one line with just one word in it, or it's a part of a song, I don't know, somehow it just seems like, okay, it's time for this one to end. And I have poems of varying lengths. I have haikus and I still have poems that would span about maybe two pages. I'm not a very verbose person. I don't write very long poems or long stories. I'm usually kind of a get to the point, hit it, send the message and I'm gone. But I think I try to tie it where you get the message. So if it's a message about love, you know that the love has been evoked. If it's a message about love, you know that the love has been evoked. If it's a message about hurt, you would know that at the end I am broken. I'm expressing that last line to say I really am broken.
Speaker 1:I can have fun with that. Are there any recurring themes in your work?
Speaker 2:your work. There's themes on nature when it comes to climate change, hurricanes. There are themes on love.
Speaker 1:There are themes on domestic violence.
Speaker 2:There are themes on feeling broken and depressed, but I think the major thing and I was told this in one of the online meetings it's more a message of hope. It's a message of trying to encourage people to say you know, hey, you got this, we're gonna get through this. I prefer to do more positive poetry that has a positive message. Not that I'm oblivious to everything else that's happening in the world, because I do talk about politics as well too. Because I think, when I look back at singers like the Mighty Sparrow and even Daddy Friday, they always had a message somewhere in there to wake somebody up, to wake somebody in the government up to say, hey, let loose, we got to do something different. You need to always send that wake up, that clarion wake up call to say we're watching you. You need to do better.
Speaker 2:But because of where I work, I don't really focus too much on the political poetry, or what I would do is you know, change the message. So the poem may sound like it's talking about birds, but it's really about us. But our close friends and family would know okay, we see where she's going with that. But to the masses it would be like okay, that's a nice poem about birds. No, no, no. That's a poem about us and our behaviors. So I like to keep things positive. I like to. I want the world to be inspired by. I think everybody has a talent and you should use your talent wisely. I strongly believe in the parable from the Bible about the talents. I don't take it as a coin. I literally take it as the talent that you have, that you were born with, that God gave you. Use it positively to inspire someone.
Speaker 1:Tell us about your experience in sharing your poetry and some of the memorable occasions you had in sharing your poems.
Speaker 2:I started sharing my poetry I would say at the same time in USBI and St Thomas. While I was at USBI. At the time we used to have different poetry readings, so I think they used to do one up at Bluebeard's Castle. I took part in the Rock Collective as well. We used to have poetry readings here in the BVI at this wonderful vegetarian spot called Melamoods. We used to have some really good times there. I would say the most memorable performance would have been at Carrie Festa. I think that was in 2008. That was in Guyana. That was my first time going to Guyana and being able to share my poetry with other regional poets. I think that was a really, really great opportunity. More recently, I've been more doing stuff online and during the pandemic, after the pandemic, because the pandemic had its good and it had its bad mostly bad. But the opportunity that came for me is the online poetry readings, so I'm able to link with people in Australia and the.
Speaker 2:UK and New York all over and share my poetry, and I think that was the greatest opportunity for me, as much as the Carifesta stage on a regional level. Excellent, there's no question about that in terms of the face-to-face, but the online platforms that are available. I absolutely love them. Sometimes I'm in two readings in one day Because you want to interact with other people, you want other people to hear your work and to give you feedback. Of course, I have my YouTube. I share stuff on Facebook from time to time, but people just listen. They don't necessarily give you feedback. But the online readings I think it's an excellent platform. You know, I say big shout out to Allographic and Poetic Edge with Ashley Cultivating Voices Poetry in terms of creating a platform, and also to calling all poets to series. Excellent platforms to share your work, get feedback, link with other writers best experience.
Speaker 1:So it's about collaborations and sharing your works to provide inspiration. As we listen to music, we also listen and read poetry. With that being said, do you have any favorite original poems that you've written and would like to share with us?
Speaker 2:I would say my favorite poem is my Michael Jackson poem, but I don't want to share that poem today I think there's probably maybe about 20 song titles in there because I am a Michael Jackson fan, but I don't want to share that poem with you. I want to share a different poem. This one is called Mama's Prayers, because I think this piece shows a different side of me and it, hopefully, will help to evoke some emotion. So I'm going to ask you to give me some feedback on it. So this is Mama's prayers. She said you know how long they've been trying to get you. I responded I'm watching them. If they play, they will get booed. She gasped how do you think you will get through? You know me, I'm going to boldly speak the truth. She gasped the system made it for them is the same system that will break it for them.
Speaker 2:Her worried brows said more than words, because she was worried about the poisonous swords meant for me, invisible and designed like I can't see. They're acting like I can't see and like I can't be free. Mama, don't worry about me, I don't be free. Mama, don't worry about me, I don't pick trouble. I'm just being the person that you prayed for me to be Mama. Your prayers will cover me, even on days when I can't see, when I don't know where, when, why, or who I want to be. She just smiled, or who I want to be. She just smiled and I knew her heart wept, and not for any secrets she kept or for the days the world made her upset, but she knew my talent and abstract concepts and the love for my people that I hold in the depths of my heart. Poem.
Speaker 1:Imagery. That's wonderful. As he spoke about the expressions, the poem speaks about culture for me, in terms of listening, because that is something within our Caribbean community. Our Caribbean community is founded on Christian concepts in raising our children and we've always heard our parents or about our parents and grandparents praying for us, praying for you, and certainly we know that it is based on their prayers, perhaps even before we became, where prayers were lifted up for the next generation. So we know the covering of those prayers is what keeps us and propels us forward and it offers inspiration and encouragement because you know someone prayed for you and, as someone said, prayers for us, we should also pray for others too, as that is our source of strength. Tell us about your publication, new publication, where it's available, how we may support you and how to contact you if someone want you to participate in an event.
Speaker 2:My book is available on Amazon. It's actually a Kindle book. It's called Be Inspired Poems by Lynette Rapsad. It's a small book, just about 15 poems by Lynette Rapsad. It's a small book, just about 15 poems, but they're pieces that I hand-picked and put together in that small little compilation, hoping that you know the word would get out there. I chose the Kindle book because it's easier for it to be distributed and the wonderful thing is you don't need a Kindle in order to read it Once you put the app on your phone or you use Kindle for PC. It's easy to use, easy to read my poems. Some of them are also available on my blog. My blog is wordsofribbonblogspotcom.
Speaker 2:Very easy to find or by simply just searching Lynette Rapsad and that's L-I-N-E-T-T-E. On Facebook, on YouTube, on Instagram, I am L-A Rapsad, so I'm actually quite easy to find. If you just search for L-A Rapsad, I'm the one and only I'm the Facebook comedian. I'm the one who argues about Tart and mathematical problems at some times too. You can also find me on Twitter, same LA Rapsat. And I'm also on LinkedIn as Lynette Rapsat. I do share some poems there because LinkedIn, even though it's a work community for some people, their poetry, their writing is their job. So there are groups there as well where we share and we interact and give feedback. So I think I'm quite easy to find by just searching, like I said, for Lynette Rapsad, l-a-r-a-p-s-a-t.
Speaker 1:What is your advice to aspiring poets?
Speaker 2:To all the aspiring poets out there. It's very, very simple Get started. That's the key thing. Get the pen or get the computer, whatever is most comfortable for you, and get started. Share your work with your family. Get feedback, because I have this other thing that I say. It's two mantras I have. If it's written and hidden, it's useless. You're supposed to share it. So get started. Start by sharing small within your comfort zone. For me, I've already broken the comfort zone. There's no comfort at all. It's all hard work. So the first time I did an online reading, I was all scared, but now I'm so comfortable with it, I have my screen up, I know how to maneuver, how to put up my background and I let people see my face. I don't hide. You're going to know it's me.
Speaker 1:I'm the one who said that. So I'm encouraging poets.
Speaker 2:please write, share. I join. Some people don't like social media. A lot of people don't like Facebook, but I use Facebook in the wisest way possible. It's an awesome, awesome tool to put your work out there. And then we've developed so many different communities in there for writers, even for gardeners, so we have a group called BVI Green Tums. So we go in there and we share our struggles. We share our triumphs. People share that they're grafting all kind of really awesome things. I share my Guava Berry journey. I share my time. So share, share. You know, don't keep things to yourself.
Speaker 2:My other mantra is to invest in what grows you.
Speaker 2:I feel that my poetry is an excellent way for me to put myself out there, for me to share my work, for me to inspire the world, so I'm investing in my poetry tree, same with the garden. I'm investing in my garden not only because I want to eat healthy, but I would like to provide a great source of local produce available to my wonderful people here in the Virgin Islands. And, as an employee, as an HR manager, investing in my team, spending time to help to develop them, finding ways to improve performance management and just sometimes just sharing inspiration, sharing something positive and just encouraging them along the way. Investing in them helps to grow me, because then I'm seeing where I myself can improve and working with them you know, being a good colleague is all part of it Even to persons who are not within our particular area. We're a great big organization Sharing that support and love and inspiration with everyone. I think that's invest in what grows you, love, you take care of you, share your work, share your knowledge, share your inspiration. Be good to one another.
Speaker 1:What is your message to Caribbean nationals about our people and our global impact?
Speaker 2:We may be small but, as recently we've seen in the Olympics and in world athletics, small places do produce awesome stars. We have people in the WNBA, nba people winning gold medals here and there, so we are making a global impact. So don't feel because okay, well, I'm just from a small island that you can't make it. Invest in what grows you. Put yourself out there, whatever it might be, whatever your talent is, grow, grow yourself. My son is a graphic designer and I'm like you know you can do this. Use that talent. So he designed my book cover, because why would I go to somebody else? And I have it right here at home. So we inspire one another. My daughter is very good at creating videos, so if I need a video created or edited, I have it right here at home, and me using them to build my products opens more doors for them as well. So, my Caribbean people, whatever you're good at, invest in it. Learn. You have YouTube, you have friends, you have families. Do your research and invest in what grows you.
Speaker 1:What is your life philosophy?
Speaker 2:My life philosophy is to live by the golden rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and that's for your family, for your friends at work. It's all the same. If you don't want people to disrespect you, don't disrespect them. You want somebody to love you, then you have to love them and you have to love yourself first, of course. So that's something that has stayed with me Treat people the way you want to be treated, so I want to be treated like a queen. I am a Virgo queen who loves pineapple tarts.
Speaker 1:I expect to be treated as such.
Speaker 2:So therefore, I have to be good to people.
Speaker 1:Yes, you should be good to people and be good to yourself.
Speaker 2:Any favorite Caribbean sayings I think I have a few of them, but the one that has stayed with me from the time I was a little girl, growing up with that old lady who don't hair does feel that is my favorite saying because we told you not to touch the stove. Didn't we tell you that? They know you get burned. So that has stayed with me all my life. Listen to advice from your elders. They've been there. They know when things are going to go wrong, Follow suit. Who don't hear does feel. So to say it in nice English if you don't listen, you will feel the repercussions. You will feel the repercussions.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, lynette Rapsat, la Rapsat, human Resources Manager, farmer and Poet, thank you for being our guest on the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast. We certainly enjoyed our conversation, your wealth of knowledge and information you shared with us.
Speaker 2:And thank you as well. It has been an awesome conversation. I hope I could come back another time and share some more poetry.
Speaker 1:Certainly we'd love to, and perhaps in the future we can do some collaborations. Thank you.
Speaker 2:I am Lynette Rapsap, poet, backyard gardener, and I am the Pulse of the Caribbean.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast, where we shine the limelight on spectacular destinations, notable events and exceptional Caribbean people making positive impacts around the world. We are one Caribbean. Spread peace and love, and if there's one thing you can do, be kind and never look down on someone unless you're helping them up. Pulse of the Caribbean podcast is a production of the pulse of the Caribbeancom. We release new episodes of the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast every Thursday, so there's always something new to discover. If you love listening to this podcast, please leave a review and subscribe to our podcast on your favorite streaming platform. Visit our website pulseofthecaribbeancom to read interesting articles and visit our travel page to connect with tourism sites in the region. Check us out and follow us on Facebook and Instagram and tell your family and friends about Pulse of the Caribbean podcast and pulseofthecaribbeancom. Until next time, may God bless you. One Caribbean, one love.