– For 99-year-old resident of Chance Village

By Michel Outridge
ONE of the friendliest persons you will meet when in Hamlet/Chance Village is Princess Morrison, who has the bubbly personality of a teenager.

The nonagenarian told the Pepperpot Magazine that being humble and earning honestly have been a way of life for her since she was a child.

When asked what the secret to her longevity is, she said, “The Lord wanted me to live so long; you know, I used to work very hard to bring up 11 children. When my husband passed away they were still young and I work on farms with my bare hands.”

Today, she passes time by sitting by the front door peeping out at the main road, or she would venture out in the yard in her wheelchair to take some ‘fresh air.’

Princess said back in the days she used to cut rice, throw cast nets to catch fish and worked alongside men on the farm, so she is enjoying her golden days.

She resides with one of her daughters, Juliet Morrison, in the house she grew up in which was renovated.

“I born and grow here in this same place and house, but the house was very small and old and we renovated it to this,” she said.

At her age, Princess is in charge of all her faculties and is aware of everything that goes on around her and is always up for a chat.

“I took pattern from my parents, the old-fashioned way and I made use of my hands to do things that I earned from; and for you to live a long life, you have to get yourself together and obey your parents to live a life pleasing to God,” she said.

Princess told the Pepperpot Magazine that she used to like going to church and went to Pilgrim Holiness Church for many years; and then she went to Strath Campbell Assembly of God Church, but these days she is immobile and doesn’t go out much, given her condition which confines her to a wheelchair.

“Some days I wake up and I see clearly and others I don’t see too well, so with that said I think my sight is going and my memory, because I don’t remember certain things but I have lived a full life and for that, I am content,” she said.

Princess related that to live that long is quite something out of the ordinary, but it can happen for a lot of people too if they get the care and support from their loved ones.

When the Pepperpot Magazine met Princess at her home, she had three of her daughters there and she was very pleased about their presence, but it is Juliet Morrison who resides with her and takes care of her.

Juliet said she was a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) before she retired and describes her life as very good.

“Around here everybody does look out for each other and I like the quietness and the breeze, where you have a lot of space and things to do,” she said.