To 78-year-old Yvonne Trim, age is just a number. A resident of Roden Rust, East Bank Essequibo, Trim is about to complete her first year of studies in mechanics, but for her this is just to give her the papers to match her skills as she is already a whiz at vehicle repairs.
Trim, a mother blessed with 11 children, 42 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, is always on the go. She weeds her yard with a grass cutter, drives a tractor and cars, rides her motorcycle and looks after her pets and livestock without any complaints. She is also a committed student at the Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre.
Trim moved to Roden Rust with her parents when she was eight years old along with her four siblings.
She attended Blake Primary School and she completed at standard six, she said, as she recalled that there wasn’t any higher education at the time in the area.
Comparing her former school days to her latter, Trim said that she found that the mathematics offered in school formerly is somewhat different and better than the contemporary.
She recalled doing long and short division, subtraction, multiplication and shilling arithmetic, while the grandmother noted that children nowadays can’t count or operate without a calculator.
After she completed her education she was introduced to her husband who passed away some thirteen years ago.
“I did not have a choice, because my mother never like to see boys come on the road or by the door,” Trim recalled as she explained that her marriage was arranged by her parents.
Her husband, who came from Enmore, East Coast Demerara, settled with his wife at Roden Rust, and the couple started their union doing farming.
Most of her life, Trim said, was spent tending her crops and selling in the market. In the initial stages, the produce was sold to persons who came on a boat from Trinidad.
After the boat stopped coming to Guyana, Trim ventured to the Bourda Market where she remained a permanent vendor, until she stopped vending a few years ago.
Living her dream
Trim no longer does commercial farming. Today, most of her days are occupied living her dreams and doing what she loves, fixing vehicles, doing chores in the yard and taking care of her pets and livestock, which include creole fowls, ducks and cattle.
One of her pets, a macaw, is close to 20 years old and would begin to dance upon her prompting.
Trim’s love for cars motivated her to recover two cars which she said are over 20 years old and she is hoping to hit the streets with her ‘pimped’ rides very soon. One of them is a Morris 1000, manufactured since 1956, which was abandoned by its owner. The car, caught the attention of the curious grandmother who approached the owner and offered him a deal.
She paid $15,000 and secured the vehicle. Trim, captivated by her passion, began to work on transforming the car, tirelessly exploring avenues of invention to make the outmoded car complete.
The other car, a Wolseley 60/60, was given to her by a friend, a gift Trim treasured and although many would have rejected it as scrap, she saw many possibilities others could not.
Trim said that she used the parts from three different cars to repair the two cars. When asked where she finds parts to fix the cars which are over 20 years old, she said “Once I put on a flat shoe and I go to town, I coming back with what I want.” She explained that she would walk all over Georgetown and compare the prices at different spare parts’ stores until she finds the part that she needs, even if she has to do some adjustments of her own to make it work.
The lights on her Morris 1000 were broken and when she went to purchase new ones for replacement, she said, she changed her mind after considering the price.
Trim then worked on an invention of her own and created the lights by shaping plastic bottles and affixing them with glue on the car.
Musician
The well-rounded Trim is also a lover of music and plays her own musical instruments. She has a keyboard, a guitar and drum set, along with her ‘shak-shak’ and timbrel which many times will be utilized in family gathering and devotions.
The grandmother said she is very grateful to God for her talents and she noted that the Bible plays an important in her life and that of her family. She said that she always organized family devotions where the Bible would normally be taught.
She attributed her strength also to eating healthy and not allowing domestic problems to infiltrate her mind. “Eat plenty organic foods, stay out of the night dew and drink a cup of porridge every morning,” is Trim’s secret to good health.
One of Trim’s lecturers, Rondell, said that she is a very committed student who always strives for the best and would often times make use of the library. The grandmother said that sometimes when her lecturer would leave the class she would pick up his text book and read.
Asked what prompted her to join the class, she recalled that she was fixing one of her cars and could not get it done so she opted to take it to a mechanic. However, she had a bad experience as it turned out that she was fleeced. Trim said that she didn’t believe the mechanic’s story, so she decided to question other mechanics about what she was told and then she realized that she was robbed.
“A lot of these young girls buying cars now and driving and some of them don’t even know how to turn a screw,” Trim asserted, as she noted that the mechanics will use the opportunity and charge excessive sums for minor problems.
But she said going to school is not just to learn about mechanics but to keep her mind active and to stay active.
Trim urged women and girls not to become complacent in life but to think proactively and find something worthwhile to do. “They should come out and do something, energize themselves…because education is almost free. Is just a small amount of money you have to invest,” Trim said.
If you’re at home and doing nothing, you will either get “crotchety or you gon talk too much,” Trim added.
