In honour of Father’s Day, we asked well-known men in the community for their best memories as either a father and/or a son.
Bryan Darby, veteran journalist for VSB, said: “I married Dinah Williams of Somerset in 1971 and she brought two ginger-haired children with her, a boy called Grant and a girl called Julia, aged seven and five, and they kept their American father’s name.
Pride
“When they were in their late teens they visited their father to sort out their feelings about having two fathers, and upon their return they came to me and asked if they could change their surname by deedpoll to ‘Darby’.
“Until that moment I hadn’t realised how much I loved them, and when their mother died unexpectedly, we three, and my own son Drax, became a family of which I am inordinately proud.
“The word ‘step’ has never been used in our circle, and that deed poll decision, which was notcheap, remains my fondest memory as a father.”
Gavin Smith, founder of Chewstick, said: “As a son, there was a moment in my life that I got into a lot of trouble.
“At the time, everyone kind of abandoned me and I felt very alone and it was scary.
“My father, Sterlin, was one of the few people in my life who had my back and said, ‘This too shall pass’.
“He loved me regardless of my mistakes and he supported me and helped me get past it.
“As a father, my favourite thing is picking Eden up from school.
“Everyday she comes running and says ‘Daddy!’.
“Being around her makes me see how blessed I am as a daddy because she’s an amazing little girl.”
Phil Barnett, president of Island Restaurant Group, said: “As a father, my favourite memory would be being on vacation with my wife and children and having time to decompress from the stresses of work, and just revelling in the pleasures of being a father and re-engaging with my wife and children.
“It could be any activity, such as playing a board game, cooking dinner together, or chasing them down a ski run as they try to show Daddy how fast they can go.
Timeless
“But this is the important thing, it is not the cost or exclusivity of the experience, it is the pleasure derived from the sharing, and the timeless memories made.”
Wayne Furbert, Minister of Tourism and Business Development, said: “The most memorable father moment was when I became a father to Jasmine and J’Von.
“Your whole perspective on life changes when you become a father.
“I love my wife but this love for my children is something that I’m unable to describe, but something I live everyday.
“No matter how old they get, they’ll always be my babies.”
Craig Cannonier, leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, said: “My best memory as a father is my son Trae putting on his shoes backwards when he was three-years-old.
“I said ‘Okay’ and we went outside to play football.
“He couldn’t kick properly and his shoes hurt.
“Another one is when the family decided we were going to eat healthy.
“We went to the supermarket and got all-natural fruit loops.
“When it comes to cereal, I like a big bowl so I put the cereal and the milk in.
“Trae gets his spoon, I take a chomp, he takes a chomp. It was the worst thing ever.
“What I learned was that we can become so addicted to things that aren’t good for us that when the real thing comes along, it’s distasteful at first.”
Wayne Caines, CEO of Digicel, said: “My Dad, Michael, was a quiet man. A man who said very little but when he spoke you listened.
“My dad was politically-minded and had strong political views.
“He inculcated his beliefs in his children. I developed my love of politics from him.
“My dad was a snappy dresser, I used to silently say to myself, ‘I can’t wait to get my job so I can dress like that’.
“My father had three sons and a daughter. He was a consistent, strong and guiding presence in our lives.”
Donte Hunt, One Bermuda Alliance MP, said: “My best memory has to be the time my girls, Annalise and Laylah, were born.
“There’s something that’s unique and surreal when you’re able to see the birthing process from labour, and the cycle there, and then active labour, to when the baby comes out.
“I was really involved as a father.
“My wife Kelly and I did the Bradley Method where it’s a lot of breathing and I actually did the job that the nurse would do.
“And then getting involved in a physical way, cutting the umbilical chord and giving your baby their first bath, I did it for both of them.”
Shane Woodley, producer of Near Future Records, said: “My best memory as a father was having my daughter, Sarai, hold my finger for the first time.
“Her whole hand was around my finger. She was too cute.
“Seeing her 10 fingers and toes and knowing that she was healthy.”
Belcario Thomas, project manager, Upper Crust, said: “Our favourite memories, are of simply being around him.
“Ever full of fierce expressiveness and a charming, surprisingly disarming nature, the Ex-Middleweight Champ gave us 12 rounds of outrageously memorable moments to last lifetimes.
“We’ll cherish them forever, with a toothy Freddie ‘Shifty Kid’ Thomas-like grin.”