Positive vibes make positive lives
Charles attending to customers
Charles attending to customers

-Sage advice for living a happy life

By Naomi Marshall

“I does try to show people every time something negative happen to you, take something positive out of it,” said Oswald Charles, a well-known vendor in the mining town of Linden. Charles better known as “Speedy” uses every opportunity he gets to counsel and encourage young people.

Charles poses for the camera in his early days

But where did his urge of counseling young people come from?
Charles grew up in a single-parent home where his mother was the breadwinner and society played the role of his father, causing him to be certain of society having a huge impact on the generation of today.

“My mother put the food on the table an suh and society use to bring me up. Society is very important because it get [good] society and it get negative, but you still have to know who you choose,” Charles noted.

However, Charles feels fortunate knowing that he had two mothers, his biological mother and a spiritual mother who he did business with.
“[She] teach me business and she was the talking one. My mother wasn’t the talking one but my mother was the one always sharing love and always don’t get no problem with nobody,” Charles explained.

He also stated that his mother’s father played a significant role in his life in which he is grateful for.
Charles can remember performing his responsibilities before attending school in the mornings, such as, selling newspaper and fetching water. He said, “Growing up was a little challenging but so wonderful. I enjoyed my playful days.”

Charles has been doing business since 1993 when he ventured into the interior looking for gold and diamond. After some time, he bought a bus and returned to his hometown. With his new bus, Charles started working public transportation on the Amelia’s Ward/Wismar bus park. He recalls that “children use to pay $10 and adults use to pay $20.” However, due to financial reasons in 2002, he was forced to sell his bus which led him to start ‘touting’ and driving other people’s vehicles.

“After then more vehicle and buses start come so I come up with an idea and I start thinking, okay I can start selling some cane juice,” explained Charles.
On October 10, 2013, Charles began his venture of selling fresh cane juice, orange juice, tamarind syrup, snow cone and plantain chips, just to name a few, under a tent on the Amelia’s Ward/ Wismar park.

Charles (white cap) having a good time with his friends back in the days.

“I like out here cause I does get to speak to more fathers, more delinquents and things like that and I enjoy speaking to them,” he said joyfully.
Charles highlighted that he tries to show people how to turn something negative into something positive.

“If you have to get finance you could work lil more hard. Do something lil more hard and be smart, be wise, respect people, respect every single soul. You might see a madman walking the street. Don’t watch at he as a madman, something is there inside of he…he may say something, would do something to you so show he that respect and respect every person that you come into contact with…and life would be easier for you,” advised Charles.

“There always have a way out,” are Charles’ words of encouragement to men who are struggling with domestic problems. He can recall taking 18 years after being married to end the marriage. “And out of that no children wasn’t coming and look today I start a next relationship and it’s like a brand new relationship, like this woman was just there for me. I had three boys, one pass away and I have two boys right now. The last month or so I have a brand new baby boy,” he noted. Charles also has three foster children.

Aside from work, Charles would spend his spare time playing dominoes, making people laugh and putting on the funniest costumes. “When I could make people laugh I feel that people happy because what I know, it takes 42 bones the good book say to crumble but it takes 17 bones to make people smile. Say things to empower them, stop dem from arguing,” he explained. Charles also thinks that an agreement can always be settled.
Charles describes himself as multi-talented, pointing out that in 2002 he directed his first stage show by the name of ‘Agree to Disagree’, which brought Jumbie Jones, Chowpow, Henry Rodney among others, to Linden.

Despite being optimistic, this 50-year-old is faced with many challenges which he strives to surpass and be happy. “I am just enjoying myself right now. I gon be 50 next year. I enjoying my 50 years and just feeling nice. Whatever happen to life right now I just feeling so great and so many things is happening so good for me that I just breathing the good breath of life and God is just seeing me through,” says Charles.

For the Christmas season, Charles hosted a Softball Cricket competition in collaboration with Esco beer and the Ministry of Social Protection.

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