Independence Baby Aston Richards giving thanks, praises

On Saturday, September 10, Aston ‘Heale Dread’ Richards celebrated his 60th birthday, just over a month after Jamaica had observed its own 60th anniversary of Independence by way of a diamond jubilee. Yet, while he believes that he is on a path of independence, he doesn’t believe Jamaica is truly Independent.

“Me independent from doing my own ting, my survival,” he said. However, we are: too committed to The Queen, way behind in expectations, needed to be more developed, and the “head of the House” has no vision. Thus, he is not convinced we are an Independent nation. We have to “deal with our own resources”, “learn to feed ourselves”, “stand up for our country” and “dash way The Queen first”, he continued.

The Queen passed the day after those utterances were made. It was from The Queen’s frock’s tail to The King’s coattail we have perhaps switched, but his sentiments are still the same. The Gleaner chanced upon him as he sat beside his shop near to the entrance of the Bath Hotel and Spa. In fact, we were told to go find him there when we were asking around for some someone who was born in 1962.

“Personally, I feel overwhelming joy in terms of my health. Mi going pretty good in terms of health. Happy to be alive,” he said when he was asked about this significant milestone. And, if he was perhaps looking forward to 20 more, he said he doesn’t have a limit. Only Babylon’s days are numbered, the Rastaman said.

Richards is also counting the number of days it is taking for the road works in the parish to be complete. Thus, he is taking the proposed development of the parish by way of the establishment of a new urban centre near Morant Bay and the rehabilitation of the main road in and out of the parish with a grain of salt. It would be nice he admitted, but he is yet to see any real development right now. His own community of Bath has been going through years of steady decline.

Richards would nonetheless welcome the changes as more visitors would be travelling to the parish, to the Bath Fountains perhaps, where they would patronise him. He sells a variety of things including coconut oil, castor oil, pimento oil and powder, clothes, shoes, wraps, etc. And, for 30 years he has been providing ‘massage services’ for people who go up into the hills to the hot sulphuric water.

As such, he has met people, including celebrities, from all walks of like. One that he readily called to mind was a Keiffer Loraine, who taught him a thing or two about massage therapy. He is practising what he was taught, providing services to the young and old, strong and infirmed, in a place that is steeped in history and heritage.

And while the Government had observed the 60 years of Independence with a float parade on Emancipation Day, and a grand gala on August 6, Richards had no such elaborate plans for his own diamond anniversary. All he wanted to know was that he was alive, and everything else would have followed, because life would have continued after his big day. So, he is giving thanks and praise for every living, breathing hour, not only for another birthday.