It Was November, 1932, and I was nine years old. That was when a great wind came and the brightest lightning ever. My father made the home as safe as he could, telling my mother and us children to remain inside. Father was troubled knowing that a couple nearby were old and alone, so he went out and helped them to higher ground. You must understand that we were not related to these folks, but behaved like good Christians should, just helping each other. The night of that storm I was in a hammock looking after my one-year old brother , and holding him tight. One wall was blown in and the thatch roof blowing away. Birds could be seen through it, yes, I remember that. Prayers were being said all night, as the family kept together. We couldn’t pray God to take the storm away. It was already upon us! So we just prayed for strength to carry on.
You wouldn’t believe what met our eyes when we came outside. There were fish all around and lobsters in bushes. Our main water cistern had split, and a big drum full of water had clear blown away. All the trees were down. The hardest part was putting ourselves together after the storm. It seemed beyond all power of man. But we believed in our prayers, and somehow we got through. Clear and plant, clear and plant: that’s all we could do. But the soil is good in Cayman and things soon became established once more, thanks to God. Who does ‘dem young people think they is, not believing in God? Who them think put all these beautiful plants and everything here?
The storm of 1945 was hard, too. By then we had a tin roof and father had to tie it down with rope we made ourselves from thatch. Then there was Gilbert who came close. What I recall of Gilbert is that the ground was covered with grapefruit everywhere you looked.
I still plant and plait, a skill I learned from my father. I make baskets, hats and brushes, whatever people want. My garden holds all the plants and trees that God has given to Cayman. I have to tell people: life is hard, too hard to live without God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One