A Few Words from the Editor
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Glen Laman |
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T his month we mourn the passing of two members of the Fortis family whose lives are sterling examples of selfless devotion to country.
Douglas Chambers, chairman of Jamaica's Urban Transit Company (JUTC), according to printed reports, was killed by gunmen because of his attempts to root out corruption at the agency.
George Thompson, beloved coach and humanitarian passed on after a long illness. He touched many lives with his attitude of service.
May their legacies continue long into the future and their examples shine a light for many others to follow.
Last month, Jamaica again was confronted with the machinations of its degenerate culture with the assassination of a valiant public servant, chairman of the JUTC, Douglas Chambers.
While I didn’t attend Kingston College with Mr. Chambers, one nevertheless could not ignore his successes in varied areas of business and academics. Many like me possess a tremendous amount of admiration for a patriot of such luminous distinction. Although just 42 years old, he was a tried and true brave. More>>
T
he following tribute was published in the Gleaner on Thursday, July 10, 2008.
When I heard of the passing of George Thompson, affectionately called by all and sundry 'George T', tears came to my eyes. Although the entire Kingston College family and others knew that George 'T' had been ailing for some time, his death still came as a shock.
As so many of us can attest, our sojourn through Kingston College as students was strengthened and influenced by the calm and serene but firm and purposeful voice of George 'T'. He gave up his well-paid job to be at KC. He spent countless hours doing what he did best - coaching the football team. But his influence went beyond the football field. He saw to the welfare of many youngsters, often providing money for lunch, bus fare, sportswear, books and other academic requirements for boys who simply could not afford those things.
I am prepared to contribute to an annual George Thompson
Scholarship which would be awarded to the most disciplined member of the Kingston College football team.
May his soul rest in peace. Fortis.
B
arrington Salmon (class of 1976) is a journalist and writer who recently moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after living for more than three decades in the United States.
He was born in London, but spent the best years of his early life in Kingston. One of Barrington’s most cherished moments at Kingston College was being a member of KC’s team that won the 1975 School’s Challenge Quiz.
A long-held dream of Barrington's is to write the great Jamaican novel while relaxing on a beach, under a coconut tree, fueled by buckets of Red Stripe beer, fried fish and festival.
Here is a sample of his poems:
reggae madness
the dub changes gear,
downbeat reaching low,
before clambering into the
womb of
the heat’s curvy waves
rhythm tangles with melody
merging into
new alchemies of sound.
all the while, unruly
bass notes chase
each other
up and down the hillside,
as a rising tide of tempos
spit out
insistent tunes,
lacing moon and stars
together
with spools of reggae thread
II.
soft words mask
oceans of
rage,
refusing to make
peace
with the insanity that
hammers
the madman’s
purgatory
into a shimmering weapon
unable to
tear himself away
from
the sound,
he plugs thick fingers
inside each ear
but the rass notes
persist, brash and
bold,
rattling jagged nerves,
tightening around his
anguish,
tunneling deep into
the mind’s
dark corners
before bouncing off
the madman’s head
in a frenzy
of dub-drenched
fury….
