Memories

Now all that's left is a faint memory
Based on the theme of a strange melody
Still, we must think of them and recall their image with pride
Telling people from deep inside ...
This is dedicated to those who died

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that just over five weeks ago I lost a dear friend and coworker in Roger Gibson. May his soul continue to rest in eternal peace.

The lyrics quoted above are from The Mighty Sparrow's Memories, released in his 1974 album Hot And Sweet. The song is a classic bittersweet  ode, exhorting the listener to deeply cherish the memories of the dearly departed, making sure that they are never truly forgotten by those of they have left behind. If you wish to listen to it, please follow this YouTube link.

In the song, Sparrow calls the name of some of his friends, all local carnival icons in their own right, who had shuffled off their mortal coils before he penned this song. That got me to thinking: this song is now 41 years old, meaning that everyone named in it has been dead for over four decades! All of those  memories have been carried in Sparrow's mind -and others - for a really long time (Sparrow turns 80 in July). And all of those persons have been deceased for literally more than half of Sparrow's life.

I have not yet cracked the four-decade mark (that comes next year) but like Sparrow, I too have several memories about the departed ones that I have carried for a long time. My earliest one is a "mere" three decades old. And most of these departed ones that I remember fondly have been struck down in relative youth. And just like the others they left behind, I miss them still.

• "Tuntun" (whose real name I now cannot remember), passed away in the early 80s. I think this was the first time ever I missed school to attend a funeral.
• Terrence Hendy, a schoolmate at Presentation College whose tragic accidental home death his family never truly recovered from. Terrence passed on in early 1990 and was an avid competitive swimmer.
• Ian Cambridge, who took his own life (my sister especially misses him and keeps in touch with his family).
• Kern Fourniller, another suicide victim whose school yearbook description I still remember offhand: "dressed like a nerd but built like a prize-fighter …" (and no, I wasn't responsible for that witticism).
• Wayde "Muffy" Callendar, with whom I had attended the same primary, secondary and tertiary level schools and whose fatal motor accident led to the formation of the Cyber Fatigue football club.
• Shiva "Slashos" Ramlakhan, an avid rugby enthusiast who died from complications from colon cancer and was also from Pres and in Cyber Fatigue. Had a memorial game for him too.
• Michael Forgenie, an ex-national youth football player (and captain) and good friend from my village who drowned tragically from spasms while swimming.
• Khiron Rahaman, whose battle with leukemia meant that in his last year alive I hardly got to see him (for risk of catching any infections from me)
• Mala and Yolande, both coworkers with me in my KFC days (1994-1996) who lost their battles with chronic illnesses well before reaching 40.
• Denise "Goose" Cyrus, my ex-sister-in-law (I dated one of her sisters more than ten years ago and that moniker "ex-brother-in-law" is what one of her sisters still calls me to this day) who died from HIV complications. I am still in touch with my ex in-laws after all this time.
• Yvonne Friday-Tenia, who battled her chronic condition for years before eventually losing the fight (because of her there are some people with whom I am better friends now than when she was still alive). 
• Ijah Williamson, whom during my last months at KFC was literally the youngest employee ever (just barely 16). Didn't hear from or about him until more than ten years later when a news report indicated that he and a friend were gunned down in Port-of-Spain
• Heidi Vieira, who teased me when we traveled to school together and died from lupus. Heidi was someone I appreciated more when we became adults and outgrew the entertaining but juvenile insults.
• Taan Maraj, a brilliant Pres man who I used to sometimes go out of my way to antagonize at school (even though he was older, taller, my senior and a respected prefect to boot). In later life, despite his brilliance (national scholarship winner), Taan suffered from severe depression and committed suicide some years back.
• Roxanne Morris, a former flame of mine in the mid-90s who suffered from and succumbed to an inoperable brain tumor a few years ago. I still have a scar on my left forearm from a soldering iron burn I received while hustling to meet up with her an afternoon in early 1995. 
• Marlene Morris, one of Roxanne's cousins whose funeral I nearly missed due my first ever bout with red-eye (acute conjunctivitis). Went to that funeral on a gloomy Friday afternoon in shades.
• Suren Bissoon, a childhood neighbor with whom I had been trying to reconnect with for years, only to find out that he had perished in a building fire last year just as i was about to make contact. Suren was the first person I knew who had an extremely adverse reaction to the caffeine in Coca Cola.
• Peter Rigsby, another Presentation alumnus who, like Roger, died last month from complications due to his diabetes.
• O'brien "OBJ" Joseph, who passed away from sickle cell anemia two years ago and whose gravesite I still visit for brief chats and whose family I remain in contact with very regularly. I still miss hearing from that Red Monkey, OBJ...

The list above is not necessarily in chronological order nor is it exhaustive. However, I do miss them all and recall their memories with pride from time to time. I don't wish to be morbid here or seem to be dwelling too much on mortality but I felt the need to express this here. Hope that it stirs up some good memories for you while you read it.