'Pendy' recalls 50 years of changes
Published:Saturday | August 4, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
BROWN'S TOWN, St Ann:
GROWING UP in Standfast, Brown's Town, St Ann, Cynthia Reid did not feel special because she shared the same birthday as independent Jamaica - August 6, 1962.
But those around her wouldn't let her forget as she was nicknamed 'Pendy' - a play on 'independence'.
Reid will celebrate her golden year on Monday and planning to take it easy at home. Her only celebration would be when Jamaica strikes gold at the London Olympics, she said. In fact, she got really excited when The Gleaner asked her what she expected from the nation's athletes at the Games.
"I'm looking forward to Jamaica taking up everything. Everything!" she exclaimed. "I want Jamaica to mash it up, bring home gold medals, and let us jump and be merry, and let the world see that something can come out of Jamaica!"
That, she explained, would be a wonderful birthday present for her and Jamaica.
TAKING IT EASY
Reid was in a good mood on Thursday as she spoke with The Gleaner at the company's Ocho Rios office.
"I'm taking it easy. I don't have plans to go anywhere (for my birthday), but I'm feeling fine. I don't feel like I'm 50," she said in good humour.
She was surprised that The Gleaner found her, but was happy for the interview. She reminisced about her days growing up in St Ann and how things have changed over the years. She also spoke about her hopes for the future.
"I was home-delivered by Nurse Hyacinth Murphy. I am the fourth child for my mother, Louise Barrett, and the second for my father, Leslie Reid," she said.
"I remember when I was going to infant school, they used to take me to Addison Park to celebrate my birthday, and I would get lots of gifts. But when I reached 16, all of that stopped."
That hasn't been the only change. Things have changed all around her.
"To tell the truth, everything just change. When I was growing up in Brown's Town, from it touch Independence, you could feel it - street dances, festival songs, stage shows, and so forth. And there was always a big thing at Addison Park - Independence Gala. Now everything just change. You don't see that anymore in Brown's Town."
WALKING TO SCHOOL
School life has also changed, she said. As a child, Pendy used to walk to school.
"I used to walk to school every morning. I attended Brown's Town Infant, then Brown's Town Primary, and then Brown's Town Secondary (now Brown's Town High). I had to leave school, go home for lunch, then make sure I reached back to school on time. When I reached school, I was always so hot and sweaty," Reid shared.
"They used to have some patent shoes. When you wear them in the sun, dem burn you. But I had to wear them to school, I couldn't complain. When the sun burn me, what I did when I reach part way to school, I would take them off. But I had to hide and walk barefoot up to school. When I reached the school, I would put them on back," she recalled fondly.
"I couldn't tell my mother I took them off. But nowadays, your children going to school, they're not walking, they have to take taxi. And they're telling you what type of shoes they want, what type of bag they want … ."
JAMAICA BETTER OFF NOW
Jamaica is better off than it was in 1962, Reid believes. She cited improved educational opportunities as one of the main achievements, and also job opportunities opening up in non-traditional areas -
But Pendy loves her country and has high hopes for the future. She is looking forward to improvements in the area of employment, which she believes would help reduce crime.
For her fellow Jamaicans, she had words of advice: "Walk right, be yourself. Don't try to be what you're not; just be yourself. Be down to earth, treat others nicely, and give a helping hand when you can."