The Tribune

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

LOCATED 20 miles west of New Providence and spanning 104 miles long by 40 miles wide, Andros is by far the largest island in The Bahamas. Patricia (an alias) was born on that island in 1930 during the great depression and beneath the sceptre of Great Britain, some four decades before The Bahamas gained independence from sovereign rule. By the time she was 15, the world was marked by mass global poverty secondary to the stock market crash that left 34 million Americans near penniless. A staggering 60 million people were killed under the epitaph of the Second World War while another six million Jews were slaughtered during the Holocaust.

Even in Mangrove Cay, Central Andros where Patricia grew up, the world stench of death and despair was apparent. But this readily accessible island offered a reprieve for travellers seeking solace from their woes and an environment far more peaceful than words can adequately express. Swing music was centerstage and the island was frequently visited by legendary crooners like Sammy Davis Jr. Still in her teens, Patricia felt driven to capture life through her eyes in historic images that could neither fade nor buckle under the oppression of time. So, she became a photographer eventually relocating to Nassau to work at a popular night club. There she took pictures of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and entertainers like Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, The Beatles, Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra, among others.

Patricia gave birth to four children and her eldest son, hereafter referred to as Damian, is my patient.

In the late 50s to early 60s, all the neighbours in their small community became a makeshift family looking after each other. It just happened naturally. Children referred to the adults as aunt and uncle. They took turns babysitting, feeding and taking the neighbourhood kids to the beach which, during the summers, was a daily occurrence. After school, all the kids enjoyed swinging on a rope along the river banks until they got so dizzy, they fell off and tried again. They climbed on monkey bars, shot marbles and used a toy arrow made from a rubber band and clothes pins to shoot poinciana seeds, a youthful game taken almost to an art form. On the weekends they skated, flew kites and went to the Capital theatre to watch movies, listen to band music and dance until their feet ached so much, they had to stop.

Despite the friendships and comforts their community provided, Patricia wanted to raise her children in a nicer, bigger home. So, when Damian was ten, they moved to a different part of town, opening the opportunity for him to attend a better school. That’s when he started playing basketball. From there he enrolled in track and field, and participated on the school’s softball and baseball teams. Damian excelled at sports and it felt as if his world had opened up.

His high school basketball team went undefeated from 1969 to 1971. He was selected high school athlete of the year, basketball association rookie of the year and most valuable athlete the following year. Damian accepted a four-year track scholarship to a college in Wisconsin graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social science.

Damian subsequently pursued a Master’s degree in education administration, working in social services during the summer. From there he accepted a job as guidance counsellor at the College of The Bahamas, quickly moving up the ranks to become director of counselling services. During his off-time, he formed a basketball programme and track team for kids in his community while he himself remained active playing on a senior-league basketball team and winning a Division 2 national championship. But, when he hurt his back in the course of a jump and ball tackle, Damian’s pain was excruciating and his recovery was slow. Once he’d finally recovered, Damian reluctantly stopped playing basketball and focused his talents on coaching during his spare time.

Prior to his back injury, Damian’s only other medical ailment was when, as a child, he had a sixth toe (a condition known as polydactyly) on his left foot surgically removed. Testament to the unspoken value of his early childhood settlement, a neighbour took him back and forth to the hospital for dressing changes.

After he left the College of The Bahamas, Damian worked at a pharmaceutical company in Freeport where he helped start a ‘say no to drugs’ programme and oversaw the development of a teen community centre. Then he moved back to Nassau and accepted a position at the Ministry of Tourism as the head of Human Resources and later director of sports. The new chapter in his life also drew Damian to a new sport, tennis. In 1990, during a strong forehand swing, his foot hit the ground so hard his leg muscle made a popping sound reminiscent of a gun being fired. He’d torn his quadriceps muscle completely and had to have emergency surgery in the US. It took six months for him to recover.

Damian eventually left his government job to focus on coaching full time. One of the many highlights in his new role included coaching The Bahamas Special Olympics athletes. He loves children and has three kids of his own. As a tennis coach, Damian has two Central America and Caribbean junior championships under his belt, five junior championship finalist positions, he’s mentored five full-time coaches in The Bahamas, he holds monthly developmental tournaments to grow the game in The Bahamas and he still travels extensively with his junior players throughout America and Europe.

I wanted to share Damian’s story because his message is so universal. He’s an ordinary and humble guy who’s done extraordinary things not merely achievements deserving of plaques on a wall, but for his community. Maybe his giving back stemmed from those early childhood days of neighbors being like family. He specifically wanted readers to know no matter what you do, devote all your passion and energy to succeeding and to giving. Leave everything on the court, he says, because time is too precious to waste. Travel and see as much of the world as you can and always try to do right by others. That’s what his mother and community of neighborhood aunts and uncles taught him and what he instills in his kids. He encourages everyone to open their hand and heart to their neighbor and watch as the blessings unfold.

In 2017, at the age of 82, Patricia’s heart failed and she died peacefully at home shortly after asking Damian to bring her an apple and her bible. As her unconquerable and quiet strength slowly left her and the light in her eyes began to fade, Patricia clutched her bible with one hand as the apple rolled out of the other.

An impressive tapestry of family, neighbors and friends still, to this day, grapples with the exceptional void Patricia’s death left in their lives. Alone, they were singular threads but Patricia had interwoven them together into a beautiful quilt that now had a central patch missing. But in their mourning, they also celebrate her life and the immense impact she had on those she loved. Her stainless legacy lies within them, cultivated over time by the thousands of pictures she took; pictures that documented the colours and spirit of life pulsating throughout the island for decades before her passing.

Whenever Damian has the opportunity, he walks along the banks of Mangrove Cay reminiscing about a bygone era populated by a cast of near forgotten people, during the most idyllic portion of his life. Those memories fortify him as a son, father and coach and he calls upon them habitually as he mentors a new generation of story-tellers poised to achieve life’s greatest successes. A new generation armed with their own cameras and their own spectacular adventures to tell.

This is The KDK Report.

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.