Joseph Fearon: a man on the move
Published:Saturday | March 30, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
SIMON, Clarendon:
ATTENDING CLASSES at the Caribbean Maritime Institute, located in the vicinity of the Norman Manley International Airport, and trying to eke out a living in Simon, Clarendon, Joseph Fearon is a man always on the move.
Monday to Wednesday each week, he makes the trek to classes from his home in Portmore, St Catherine. Then, between Thursday and Saturday, he can be found in Simon, where he operates a small furniture shop with cousin Leon Dawkins.
On the day The Gleaner visited, Fearon was in the process of closing up the shop as his cousin had a job elsewhere and had left with the tools they shared, and until Dawkins returned, there was not much he could do.
Of course, it's an arrangement that has been working for the tradesmen, who have invested in electrical hand tools but lack the heavy-duty appliances which could really make them competitive.
Things are so slow they don't employ anyone, with each getting their own contracts. However, as happens so often, they end up helping each other, since usually, there is not enough work to go around. Plus, they don't have enough tools yet to be truly independent of each other.
Fearon still lives in Simon, but Dawkins, who was also born there, is pursuing a career in engineering while engaging in wood cutting and furniture making in the rural community, where there is still a demand, though limited, for those services.
Hectic pace
Burning the candle at both ends, Fearon makes light of the hectic pace of his life, which sees him spending time in three parishes each week.
On Thursdays, he catches a taxi at his gate, travels to Spanish Town, before taking another to May Pen in Clarendon, then makes the final leg to Simon.
Incredibly, he says that on a good day, if the taxis line up just right, he can complete the trip in one hour and 20 minutes.
Pressed about the physical demands of this weekly sojourn, the youngster admits that there are times when it does catch up with him, however, he laughs it off as a very necessary sacrifice on the road to a better life.