By EUGENE PITTER,
Staff Reporter
ONE of Vegas' main memories of primary school is that he was constantly teased by other children because he could not afford shoes.
"Bare-foot govament," was the name that the children used to taunt him with 15 years ago. Embarrassed by their cruel jokes then, the now ace deejay said he was too ashamed to fight back.
"They didn't have to make life so hard for me", he said. But, that did not stop him from attending school.
Vegas continued going to school in spite of the teasing, broken bottles and rusty tins which sometimes sliced his feet.
"A buck mi toe plenty time and a lot of old tin cut mi foot and still I made it to school," he said remembering the two mile walk from his home in Unity to Unity Primary school.
His mother, Lucille, was a domestic helper and could not afford to give him bus fare.
"She just couldn't afford to, and the money I got for lunch could only buy bread and butter and a box drink," he said.
"My mother, Lucille, couldn't afford to give me everything I had wanted but I still respected her," he added.
Box lunch was a luxury for the deejay. While having his poor-man's meal of bread and butter, he would sometimes see others eating chicken and rice and wished he could do the same.
"I had to satisfy with the money I got for my lunch and ignore the scent of the sweet box-food," he added.
After school, Vegas raided the surrounding fruit trees to tide him over until his mother came home.
"I would wait for mother to come home and cook dinner," he said.
Vegas got no presents on his birthdays. There were few toys for Christmas and for Easter there was the usual bun and cheese.
At night, he would dream of a better life outside the board-house which he shared with three brothers and four sisters.
There was no electricity, no television, but his mother taught them to be grateful for the little they had.
"We could not go to bed without saying our prayers. I often asked God to bless me so that I could live to give back something to my mother," Mr. Vegas said.
Since those days, Vegas has achieved much in life and he feels that it was sheer determination to make a better life for himself and his family that led to his success.
He believes in setting goals and working towards them.
