TODAY is my 45th marriage anniversary, and the least I can do for my wife is to leave something in black and white that shows appreciation for her, so one day, when both of us are gone to our final reward, our daughter can look back at the lives of her parents and conclude that her parents were the last of the romantics.

Once more on my anniversary, I repeat about the invisible factor that played a huge part in the eventual shape of my life. That factor was the former President of Guyana, Forbes Burnham.

At age 10, I would leave school and go to the St. Stanislaus sports ground, where my father worked as the head groundsman. I would roam the seawall from Kingston to Kitty. I have never left the seawall since. I belong to the Eve Leary seawall; I want my ashes to be scattered in the ocean there.

I graduated with the President’s Medal at UG and five other awards, but I couldn’t find a job because President Burnham sent to call me. I sent back a cut-down response, and Burnham instituted an employment fatwa against me.

I could not find employment in any section of the government. I went to the commercial banks, and when they asked why I was not teaching and I explained why, they quickly withdrew. I went to the US Information Service to get a job with someone who headed it that I knew, Basil Hinds, the jazz specialist.

Basil politely told me my politics would bring him problems.
So, with no employment and a dim future, I would seek the solace of the seawall, where I roamed all my life. One day I was sitting by the discarded Luckhoo swimming pool, and I saw this young lady going into the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation next to the pool.

I knew her from Wortmanville because I would buy things from the supermarket her parents owned. From that day on, on the seawall, I knew I had found my soulmate for life. I dedicate the two songs below to my wife. I hope you find true love in the one you love.

Bryan Adams – To really love a woman
To really love a woman To understand her, you gotta know her deep inside Hear every thought, see every dream And give her wings when she wants to fly Then when you find yourself lyin’ helpless in her arms You know you really love a woman
When you love a woman, you tell her that she’s really wanted When you love a woman, you tell her that she’s the one ‘Cause she needs somebody, to tell her that it’s gonna last forever So, tell me have you ever really, really, really, ever loved a woman?

To really love a woman Let her hold you, ‘til you know how she needs to be touched You’ve gotta breathe her, really taste her, ‘til you can feel her in your blood And when you can see your unborn children in her eyes You know you really love a woman
You got to give her some faith, hold her tight A little tenderness gotta treat her right She will be there for you, takin’ good care of you You really gotta love your woman, yeah

And when you find yourself lyin’ helpless in her arms You know you really love a woman
When you love a woman, you tell her that she’s really wanted When you love a woman, you tell her that she’s the one ‘Cause she needs somebody to tell her that it’s gonna last forever So, tell me, have you ever really, really, really, ever loved a woman? Just tell me, have you ever really, really, really, ever loved a woman? Just tell me, have you ever really, really, really, ever loved a woman?

Air Supply – Always
I can see hills touch the sky Heaven and earth, you and I A world we will always be Here in the silence we lie Shadows we cast, you and I Speak for eternity
Pressed between pages Flowers will die Stories may end as time passes by You and I will always be
With every word that I hear Whenever whispers are near I can believe in fate Promises made, only one
Yesterday fades from the sun And falls to a new embrace Years overflow As rivers run dry
Here in a moment of time passing by You and I will always be, will always be
Pressed between pages Flowers will die Stories may end as time passes by You and I will always be