Tmitt Years Ago there was a brother in the Kilcoy ecclesia in Guyana called Bill Naidu. For some reason, he was also known as “Lord.” He was massive in body and strength, and great of soul. His strength was no doubt sustained by his correspondingly massive meals of fiery Creole cuisine, which we used to call “fireballs.” One day he was one of a team sent to demolish a dangerous, derelict section of an abandoned sugar factory. Most of these hardened men were scared of the assignment, and left the most hazardous aspects of the job to Bill. He considered this attitude very selfish, so he called everyone together, took off his hard hat, and asked them to join him in a special prayer. Although only a minority were Christian, they all not only took off their hats but joined Bill fully in the work afterwards. It was a meaningful moment for me, for I was one of that team.
BY FAR THE RICHEST Caymanian is Captain Mabry Kirkconnell. A multimillionaire, he is owner of Kirk Shipping, a chain of supermarkets, specialty stores, in-bond shops, tourist attractions, and many other prosperous businesses. He is also Speaker of the Assembly (lower house of Parliament). One day I saw Mabry come into one of his own supermarkets where I was shopping. He picked up one bottle of soft drink and joined the check-in line behind me. A mere housemaid and a social nobody, I made way for him to go ahead of me. He modestly shook his head, smiled at me, then quietly waited his turn in the line to pay his sixty cents for the drink. I learned from that meaningful moment the lesson of genuine humility.
MY MEANINGFUL MOMENT may be very different from others you have published. It is a reminiscence of a very old man. I was 18 when England, then viewed by us in the West Indies as the “mother country,” a.k.a. the colonial master, played Germany in World Cup football. There was no TV then, of course, and only a few of us even had wireless. The German national anthem sung at the game included the words, Everything is twice as good when Jewish blood is spurting from the knife. The entire England team promptly cried, Heil Hitler! and gave the Nazi salute. Heil is a word implying worship. We had been led to believe that Britain viewed with favour the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, not their extermination. It was a great shock, since in Barbados we have a beautiful 300-year old synagogue built for Jewish refugees from persecution to worship, which is a national treasure visited by tourists, including brothers and sisters coming to the Caribbean.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One