CRUCIANOMICS: Regular Crucians ‘hustlin’ by setting up shop on the side of Centerline Road (Queen Mary Highway) or the Melvin H. Evans Highway and selling a variety of items, including fruits, provision, drinks, cooked food and more. Welcome to Crucianomics! A new, weekly series on VI Consortium that highlights everyday people doing out-of-the-box ‘entrepreneurial tings’.
We start with ‘Sun Man’. Pictured above, he sells genip and homemade genip wine across from the United Shopping Plaza in Peter’s Rest, next to his silver raga truck. You’ll find him with a piece of rope dangling from his mouth, steadily tying bunches of genip together as motorists stop, open their windows, and hand Sun Man $2 for a bunch of genip. The genip wine, which Sun Man claims will get you drunk if too much is consumed, is also a natural aphrodisiac, according to the jay salesman. And while I chatted with him, it had not sold a single bottle, but Sun Man was not deterred. Before the day was out, he would leave with an empty tray and a pocket full of singles.
“You need to taste it to know it,” Sun Man said of his genip wine. As for how the drink is made, Sun Man said, “You ferment and then distill it, [and] the wine keeps fermenting once the cap is tight.” It’s a simple, no-fuss operation. He went on to describe genip wine as a “natural Viagra and a natural Cialis — for women and men.”
The one-and-only, Sun Man.
Sun Man told me that he’s been selling genip since the 1980s and while he remains content with making the extra money, he wouldn’t mind an investment of $5,000 to extend his efforts. He would like to build a website for the genip wine, with payments, according to him, coming through PayPal. Sun Man also would like to patent his new drink, a move that would be cushioned by the $5,000 investment the roadside businessman dreams about.
And so Sun Man fantasizes, hoping for a miracle. If it never comes, then so be it. The cheerful, middle-aged fellow will be across from the United Shopping Plaza, right next to his raga, calling out to motorists making their way to and fro.
If you happen to be passing through the Peter’s Rest area — right across from the new Ashley Furniture HomeStore, look left if you’re heading west, and right if you’re heading east, and believe me, you’ll see Sun Man right there doing what he does best.
“If you ever see a fifty dollar or a hundred dollar bill with the amount written on it, then just know Sun Man had it,” he bragged.
I left Sun Man, but not without first purchasing my own $2 worth of genip, most of which I ate while writing this piece. As for the genip wine, maybe next time, Sun Man.
Stay tuned for next week’s Crucianomics…a VI Consortium exclusive.
Tags: crucianomics
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