Well my peeps, Kermit D. Frog here, reporting from the 2005 Cooks N Good Looks backyard lime in Washington, DC. As is usually the case when summer is ending and the fall season is upon us, we Caribbean folk look forward to one last big hooray before the chill breeze blows our merrymaking indoors. Outdoors is the natural party state for us West Indians and this year we were once again fortunate enough to be able to mark the end of summer with one last glorious jump up under the sky.

As I wrote last year, the Cooks N Good Looks Committee have taken it upon themselves to carry on the traditions that us older West Indians inherited when first we moved to the area. I remember back in the early 90's when a group of singularly wotliss students calling themselves the S.H. Massive decided to have a BBQ for no other reason that it was a Saturday in July. This BBQ was conceptualized on Tuesday (over a bottle or four or rum) and the next day notice was spread (by word of mouth) to bring a bottle and come to fete Saturday afternoon. The venue was the now infamous House on Gresham Place, NW and that BBQ was the first in a series of parties. It began that Saturday at 4:00pm with about 30 or so people and ended at 4:00am on Sunday when police came to shut us down because we had filled most of the block with people. Ahhhh, if I only had a camera in those days, but then again, maybe such memories are best preserved in the minds of those who were there.

It appears that Cooks N Good Looks are well on their way to achieving such partying fame (or should I say infamy). This marks the second year I have attended this event and once again, it did not disappoint. I arrived around 6:00pm, bottle in one hand, camera in the other and as I rounded the garage in the back, I could tell that the evening was shaping up nicely. At one end of the yard, the Cooks were there doing their thing on the grill and at the other end, the bartenders were set up nicely waiting to drunk off whoever ventured too close. I immediately hit the bar where they gave me some punch thing from out of a big glass dispenser. They did tell me the name of it, but after a few cups, I didn't really remember (or care). I must admit, it was not bad, but next year I will bring FLEXXX and we will see how they handle that. After being thus fortified with the party spirit(s), I decided to make a spin around the party and venture towards the smoke to see what was cooking. There was food as far as the eye could see, or at least as far as my eye could see considering the party spirit(s) ting I mentioned previously. There was jerk chicken, rice and peas, a salad, rolls and lurking in the back, cooking slowly in a large pot, was a corn soup. Yes peeps, a marvelous corn soup. I was so moved, that a tear almost considered thinking about possibly coming out of the corner of my eye. About 30 minutes and a large pile of bones later, I noticed that the temperature had increased even as the sun had gone down and when I glanced around I immediately realized what happened. It wasn't the torches that were now lit all around the yard that was the cause of the heat. No peeps, it was the multitude of Good Looks that were arriving that caused the temperature surge.

And what a gathering of Good Looks indeed! It was as if a Good Looks bus arrived and started dropping off Looks left, right, and center. There were Tall Good Looks, Short Good Looks, Chinese Good Looks, Indian Good Looks, Ugly Good Looks, Smiling Good Looks, Posing Good Looks, Wining Good Looks, and even Froggy Good Looks. After a while my camera hand just started to shake from the pressure and I had to pass it off to my assistant, D. Bajan Butcher, to take a set behind the lens. My camera has never run out of memory in all my years of phototakeouting but this night, it came really close.

Later on, when the crowd filled the yard, the good vibes got even better as the tunes which were flowing from the DJs filled us with a euphoria that validated the claim that the one good thing about dancehall music is when it hits you, you feel no pain. The DJs were spinning an eclectic mix of sounds which ranged from brand new hot-off-the-burner dancehall to classic reggae and even 80's hits. Massive props to them as they kept us moving and singing nonstop to the vibes they were pushing out of the speakers. No one felt any pain that night. From the dancers, to the watchers, to the gapers, to the players, and to those just plain profiling, everyone was chillin and maxing and simply enjoying the good food, friends and fun.

Sadly though, the night had to end, and a little after midnight, the last tune was played, the last cup of corn soup was served and the last lyric was dropped. The party was done and the masses trickled away still humming tunes and buzzing from a Saturday evening very well spent. Congrats to the entire Cooks 'n Good Looks Committee. You guys put on another excellent bashment and it is good to see that the wotlissness that was present back in the day is definitely alive and kicking still!

Enjoy the pictures, Ribbit.