Now and then in life we become blessed with a singular development that both surprises and delights us. This week, one of those came for me, propelled by my wife, Annette, on the occasion of my 85th birthday. Ten years ago, I met her at a tourism event, where her stunning photos of the interior were on display, and we subsequently celebrated our one-year anniversary with the production of Guyana’s first coffee-table book on our indigenous people aptly titled “The Amerindian Way” as she is passionate about her indigenous antecedence. After our marriage, she continued her photography and started videography. These were continuously uploaded to a 3 terabyte hard drive and when she started her personal Facebook page in 2015 it was for the pure purpose of sharing her knowledge of Guyana with the rest of the world. This came crashing down in late 2018, when, during a GPL surge, her laptop and hard drive were burnt and her decades of documentation and photographs of her work at Shell Beach, and our memories, disappeared as even though she sent it to the US she was told it was irretrievable.
Fortunately, her starting another Facebook page, aptly titled “Is We Own”, had allowed her to post some of our personal photos and later this expanded to include the endorsement of local producers, whom she felt needed the exposure as they did not have the reach that she did. This week, because of those photos being on Facebook, she was able to retrieve them to produce a most touching birthday present for me in a Facebook post. While the present was a total surprise, the bigger surprise was the reaction to Annette’s post because while it contained a song “Shining” which I had written for our relationship, the online reaction was over 5,000 hits and over 500 “Happy Birthdays” for me. Clearly, more than the one-song posted was involved. I’m not really a big online person, but I was astounded by the reaction. To be receiving very heartfelt wishes and comments from persons, most of whom I did not know, was truly humbling. It was a virtual tsunami that kept coming just when I thought it had ended. Five thousand and counting… wow!
Given that I was unable to connect with all those persons, I am using this format to express my sincere gratitude to all of them. I remember clearly, as a young man growing up in Toronto in my musical career, I would often be told by various veteran performers that one should be aware that there is a wide body of persons out there in the public who admire your work and get enjoyment from it, and I should therefore always aim to set the bar high when writing or recording. It was a lesson I took to heart and followed that advice over the years.
That approach came back vividly for me with the reaction, in this case, to Annette’s post, and I am taking this opportunity to express my deeply felt gratitude to all those persons who took time to communicate with me. Music fans may not always be aware of the impact their reaction to a performer’s music has on that person. Particularly in the early years starting out in the highly competitive music world, that individual public response can mean the difference between a performer staying with the grind and one giving up the struggle. Even after one is an established artist, that kind of feedback from persons you have generally not met is crucial encouragement, often coming at a time when it is most needed.
So, one day after my birthday, and still reeling from the extent of the response, I’m taking time to say to all those fans that you have no idea how much of a lift you gave me yesterday, and to similarly express, as well, to others over the years who have been kind to me, my deeply held feelings of gratitude to you for your reactions. In addition, to the many people in Guyana and other places, who stop me on the street, or in a store, to say “thanks for the music”, or similar sentiments, thank you also. Time and again, you make my day with that kind of response and for the scale of it – in this case, over 5,000 persons. I cannot find each of you to express my appreciation, but know that I feel it and appreciate it. Thank you, thank you all.
