To Troby – Our friend

Ah read dat summary over and over, ah even count de number ah words “twenty-seven!” and ah say to me-self, words can’t bring him back, but my long-standing friend “Trobie” deserves ah noble-ah mention dan dat. And ah speak foh his close friends like Fitz “Bosco” Dowers, Cims Martin, Val Cotter, Dennis Mounsey and many others. {{more}}When ah started to wuk at PWD back in 1961, Trobie was the Clerk-Typist, even back den it was odd foh ah man to be ah Clerk-Typist; but men took pride in being able to type at ah speed ah 120 words ah minute and wid 100 per cent accuracy. Young Henry Gaynes also started as Clerk-Typist at de Prisons. Interestingly, 28 years later when Henry retired from de Public Service, he was Director General of Finance and Planning, de top position in de public service.

 

Ole people say “is not way we start in life, but way we finally reach thru toil or after burning de midnight oil, or both”. Only Grave-diggers begin wuking from de top, and as dey wuk dey way down, dey disappear in de hole. “Trobie” wuk at CDC – now Vinlec – before Public Works (PWD). At Public Works, he soon became ah Supervisor; den transferred to Treasury as Pay Master. He left on ah CIDA scholarship to study Accounts and we caught up in Ottawa in1970. It was ah long hot summer, but we had ah “ball”. On completion of his training, he returned and worked at de Marketing Board wid ah few stalwarts; de name Paddy Sealey comes to mind; dey actually pumped Life and N-ah-G into de “original Marketing Board” dat later became Food City Supermarket and is today: Save-ah-Lot Supermarket. Marketing Board under Trobie catered foh de Farmers who were guaranteed markets foh dey produce before dey even planted ah seed; further, dey were paid money up front foh dey produce.

 

Sadly dat institution is now his-story, but Trobie had long gone before it was abandoned; ah suspect his long distance relationship, accompanied by expensive overseas telephone calls was un-E-con-nah-me-call, so he finally migrated back to Canada to consummate his second marriage. Ah lover ah cricket, but it was his big brother, Ardon de star batsman who opened de innings foh SVG and de Windward Islands, and his kid brother, Harold who had de height and shoulders foh ah fast bowler, was ah (slow) spinner, but Trobie was neither batter nor bowler! Clinton’s best quality was his loyalty to his friends, we however lost contact after he migrated back to Canada, his second home, where he would have spent de last 30 years. But, every time he returned foh vacation, ah will get ah phone call, dah’s to mek sure ah still dey hey, den he would be at my house within minutes, come foh de latest come-mess, his fare-foh-hit pass-time. All de ‘down memory lane’ stuff, from ET Joshua’s pull-it-tek-ill days, de days at PWD, to Ottawa and back, great sessions! He deserves ah peaceful rest wid his Master.

Ley we go to de land ah de living now. Ah not putting de pull-it-tek-all spin to dis years Queen’s Honours list, all six honourees would have made dey contribution. Dr Ambrose is pro-patients pro-SVG, is ah PT dat her invaluable contribution to medicine here is watered down wid polly-tricks. But it was good to see de name Leila Greaves of C.K.Greaves & Co among those deserving recipients. Ah would have said nuff bout Mrs Greaves in previous articles, no doubt her CMG would be foh her contribution to business, both herself and deceased husband, Kenrick and children too.

 

I will honour Mrs Greaves now eighty, foh her compassion foh people, dat wid all her riches, she never forgets de less fortunate, and still channels her donations thru de various organizations of charity. Ah few years ago around September, she was not well and had to rush off to de States foh treatment. Just before Christmas dat year, her daughter, Valerie told me dat she had found some envelopes dat her mother had addressed and sealed before she left. One was for de Salvation Army and she asked me to collect it foh de organization. It was her monetary contribution to de Salvation Army Kettle Appeal, and I am certain dat de other envelopes were foh similar charitable organizations. Dat touched me, to see even in her anxious moments she was not too preoccupied wid her illness, to forget de needs of others. But Lie-Za is ah classic. Wid all de hard wuk de Pry-Minister doing trying to complete de Argyle International Airport, borrowing ah lickle money hey, begging ah lickle money dey, and every-wey, she got ah OBE Awe-ward foh de Pry-Minister. Knowing her well, ah asked her what does her OBE stand foh, she said “Owing Bills Every-wey!” And if he gets de US 75 million to borrow to complete de Airport, she giving him ah MBE, dat’s foh “More Bills Every-wey!” Dat’s my girl. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.