Ping! Pong! The sound of the steel pan is the sound of our lives

First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at tgam.ca/essayguide. Open this photo in gallery: Illustration by Rania Abdallah I can't remember how it was spoken, but I know that, to me, it sounded like a fairy tale. The people celebrated with drums and sticks but the kings and queens were cruel. They banned the instruments. They didn't want the people to laugh or feel joy. They wanted them to work day and night. But the people didn't give up. They discovered empty oil drums rusting in ocean-salted air. They…