How I embraced the past, present and the future

Welcome back to 6.0 minutes. Today’s journey will be a trip across time.

Last Wednesday, I had an unexpected dream come true. 

I walked into The Spot restaurant and caught sight of the legendary labour and political leader, Mr Ottiwell Simmons.  

I asked him if I could have a word with him and he invited me to sit down. He spoke briefly about the current political climate and the labour unrest. He agreed that one day I could sit down and have a longer chat with him to help me understand more about our history.

Moments later, in walked a fellow newspaper columnist, and yet another political legend, Mr John Barritt.  I have gotten to know Mr Barritt better over the last year or two and my respect for him has grown. 

Now picture this, two titans of politics: Ottiwell Simmons PLP/BIU and John Barritt UBP/OBA, sitting across from me. I thought I had died and gone to history-lovers’ heaven.

These legends spoke to me about the politics of today versus the politics of yesterday and shared a few jokes in between. 

Before we parted, I asked them to allow me to take a photo of them. They obliged and history was captured. n

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ith politics reaching an all-time high in tribalistic tensions, I will take a moment today to give credit to some folks who sit on the opposite side of the political fence. 

Whilst I will never hesitate to point out when the OBA fouls up, I am guilty of not speaking about some of their positives.

Top of the list would be my fellow Devonshire dude, and sometimes nemesis, Twitter’s @BDAmilkman himself, the Honourable Michael Dunkley. 

As National Security Minister, he has helped to give some Regiment soldiers a head-start to become firefighters and has allowed Bermuda to make a leap forward in regards to addressing the use of cannabis for medical purposes. 

It is unfortunate that he supports SCC, maybe the Lord will forgive him.

Second on the list would be Works and Engineering Minister Pat Gordon-Pamplin. 

She has ensured that massive attention was focused on the residents of Perimeter Lane and Marsh Folly in the aftermath of the recent heavy rains. As a proud Pond Dog, I salute her for putting politics aside and committing her Ministry to the cleanup and repair. For that, I dedicate a custom-made licence plate:  #PatCares n

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lso last week Wednesday, I had the distinct honour of being invited to my alma mater, The Berkeley Institute, to join approximately 20 other interviewers to conduct mock interviews with S4 students.  

As a one-time high school failure, the honour was even more pronounced for me. 

I had the pleasure of interacting with seven young persons who presented their personal statements and resumes.  Many expressed dreams of owning their own businesses or going into computer-related fields. 

In addition to carrying out mock interviews, interviewers were asked to provide constructive feedback and advice.  

The one thing that I hoped to impart to them is that with the ever-changing job landscape, all Bermudians must be prepared to evolve. 

In exchange, they imparted to me optimism that these faces of the future will carry us through the challenges before us.  

The past, the present and the future — what a journey. 

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