Wynter
Roxanna Harriott, Contributor
IT IS sad, the time we choose to remember bravery, the moments in which we admire nobility and the passion with which we speak of heroic acts.
Today, Jamaicans at home and abroad mourn the passing of a true son of Jamaica, a Jamaican in every sense of the word. The one of whom I speak is the late Honourable Hector Wynter O.J. There are persons who will contradict my reference to him as a son of Jamaica owing to the fact that he was born in Cuba. However, remember the story of the Good Samaritan, he was the only traveller who proved to be neighbourly to the man that fell among thieves, in this same way Hector Wynter has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he is a Jamaican, OUT OF MANY, ONE PEOPLE.
Admirable, gentle, jovial, loving, kind and patriotic are just a fraction of the myriad of adjectives that could be used to describe the character of Hector. When I think of him these words come to mind: "It only takes a spark to get the fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing" and believe me this songwriter must have met Hector because that's how it was with Hector's spark, once you've experienced it, you'll want to sing, its fresh like spring and you'll definitely want to pass it on.
It is without a doubt that he will be sadly missed by, his wife Diana, his children Astrid, Brian, Colin, Sarah (Nicky), Lincoln and Mark, other family members, the wider community of friends as well as those whose lives he touched without even knowing.
However, as I sit here thinking that only the ink of this pen and the surface of this paper shares and understands the extent of this great loss, I hear Hector's jovial voice saying to all of us, "DEATH is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other that we still are. Call me by my name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well."
Hector is gone from us physically but this event only allows us to reflect on the inner man as a result, I'll leave with you the words of this poem entitled:
"THE MAN IN THE GLASS"
When you get what you want in the struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say
For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Who judgement on you must pass
The fellow whose verdict most count is your life
Is the one looking back from the glass
Some people may think you a straight-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he's with you clear up to the end
And you've passed your most dangerous difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass
Sometimes its hard to understand why some things have to be. But God in his wisdom saw it best and took you home to rest. Hector, you were loving, gentle and kind, no greater friend could anyone find. We thought we had you here to stay but God called his angels and took you away.
Farewell precious soul, gone but not forgotten.
