Dear Editor,
The common saying is that real men do not cry, but this is exactly what I did when I read of the death of my good friend Jim. Popular taxi driver Jim Calender, as I knew him, was a taxi driver that usually plied his trade on the Timehri airport to Georgetown route.
He was a very courteous, good-humoured gentleman who would go the extra mile to help the other person. I came into direct contact with this brother approximately five years ago, when he chauffeured two family members of mine from the United States to a hotel in the city. I vividly remember that trip as if it was yesterday, when this elder statesman politely offered to take us to the city. After assisting us with the many suitcases holidaying West Indians usually bring, this gentleman then took us on the most comfortable ride one can ever hope to experience these days.
It was well after midnight when we arrived in Georgetown, and a check at the first hotel brought a negative response from the front desk that they were full; there was a Caribbean dominoes tournament in Guyana at that time and most of the city hotels were fully booked. Jim in his usual calm, collected, cheerful way told us, “Leave everything to me, I will get you one.” I believe that we checked about two other hotels before we were finally able to gain lodging. He did all of this for the normal fare and not a dollar more – such altruism! This coupled with his responsible driving was a unique blend that all added up to the great personality of this wonderful man. It was at that point our conversation turned to tourism and the general behaviour of taxi drivers and other service providers. I immediately advised him to make such valuable experience available to the rest of the younger drivers for the good of the industry that is yet to see its glory days.
Jim is now gone, brutally mowed down by a crazed user of our roads. We have lost a dear friend and brother and a wonderful human being. To his dear wife, grieving family members and friends, let us not weep as do others but live every coming day in the hope of a life well lived for the glory of God.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Adams
