Jarrett says The Gleaner’s part of his everyday routine
Published:Wednesday | June 14, 2023 | 1:23 AM
A LIFE-LONG subscriber to The Gleaner, Norman Beresford Jarrett anticipates the delivery of his morning newspaper, which is an essential part of his morning routine.
“I want to get my Gleaner to know what’s going on,” said Jarrett, who is 99 years old.
“I have breakfast at around eight o’clock to 8:30 and then I go to the Gleaner. Having already checked the headlines, now after breakfast there is time to go into a little detail, to see what’s inside the paper but still we have the television and radio going at the same (time). So we get all the information,” he explained.
As he begins to sweat and make a point about the heat, one could not help but ask about climate change. His response is succinct.
“I have heard of it and seen the conditions.”
So are you feeling the effects?
“Yes.”
We next ask about Jamaica’s decision to forgo the Westminster style of government which it inherited from its colonial masters.
REMOVING THE KING
“Removing the king, that is a good move and I am in full agreement for the time has come for us to ditch the monarchical system. It’s time really for us to take over and run our country changing from the monarchical system,” he said. “We have our own government and have been having elections and our own prime ministers and so on. Election time will be coming up shortly (local government).”
With being a music teacher among his many qualifications, it is no surprise that a lot of Norman’s time has been spent in church and school and involved with being the organist at Stella Maris and Barbican Baptist Church and he was still driving to the latter to perform, until COVID-19 restrictions put a crimp in his operations.
“He drove to Barbican in 2020, up to the Sunday before the COVID-19 restrictions were announced the Thursday,” explains Cecile, his wife of 62 years.
Again, her husband starts with a laugh before taking charge of the conversation.
“On that date, August 27, I’ll be 100 years, God willing and it expires on the very day,” he pointed out.
For her part, Cecile, now 81 years old, stopped driving after an especially interesting episode while making a trip to St Catherine.
“I don’t drive any more, the people on the road are vicious. I drove to Spanish Town and they told me bad words long like me hand, to get off the road and I said ‘thank you son. I will come off, I won’t drive any more. With people like you on the road it’s not nice to drive’ and he said, ‘Sorry mammy’. That was about 2019 and I stopped driving that year,” she admitted.
The Jarretts have shared a life dedicated to education but things could have been much different if Norman had taken up a scholarship to Saint Simons College, at just about the time they were courting. He opted not to take this opportunity, choosing instead to pursue a course to become a teacher at Mico College (now The Mico College University), which last year celebrated its 100th year.
As the subject changed, Norman laughs long and hard before responding to a question about his drink of choice these days.
“I drink anything but my favourite drink is Red Stripe, what you call it?”
“Sorrel beer,” Cecile answers.
Norman pays tribute to the woman and companion with whom he has spent more than six decades.
“My wife, she is very intelligent you know and lovely. When I forget, she remembers.”