Beekeeper recalls his friendship with Arthur

Even though former Prime Minister Owen Arthur passed away in the wee hours of Monday, one of his closest friends, Rudolph Rudy Gibson, is still hoping that the death of his ‘buddy’ is a dream.

When Barbados TODAY visited Gibson’s Jemmott’s Lane, St Michael home, he was sitting on his patio longing to see Arthur parking his vehicle in the limited space available in front of his house, before heading inside to enjoy some quality time, at least one more time.

The two shared a friendship for almost 20 years and Gibson describes him as a “true friend”.

“Barbados has lost a magnificent Prime Minister and I have lost a dear friend. He is one man I can trust and one man I will miss. I don’t think there is a next man in Barbados like him. A man who come to your house to see if you are alright, is what you call a friend.

“He was more of a brother to me than my brother, believe what I tell you. I mean me and my brother lived nicely, but not as good as me and Owen Arthur. And it wasn’t like I was a millionaire and I could help with money to help the country. I had nothing. That is a friend that I lost and a friend that I will never get back again in my lifetime,” said a saddened Gibson.

The 87-year-old said not only did he go on cruises with Arthur, and travelled the length and breadth of the island with him, but he noted that many people knew that when looking for the former Prime Minister, one of the places to look was usually at the beekeeper’s home in Jemmott’s Lane.

“One of the Prime Minister’s that gone had some meeting somewhere about the place and he said ‘when Owen Arthur should be doing the people work, he always at the bee man house in Jemmott’s Lane’. But that is the type of friendship me and Owen Arthur had.”

He reminisced that on numerous occasions, when Arthur was Prime Minister, he opted to leave his official residence at Ilaro Court, Two Mile Hill, or Government Headquarters on Bay Street, to head to Jemmott’s Lane to enjoy “my wife’s home-cooked meals” and then take a nap before going back to work.

“When he was Prime Minister he would come at least three times a week to my house. He called my wife and told her he wanted lunch. And then he would leave there and come. Or sometimes I used to fix his lunch and carry it to the public building. My wife knew exactly what he liked so she would fix his lunch and I would carry it and give him his lunch on his desk,” he recalled.

Gibson believes it is important for Barbados and the rest of the world to know that it is because of encouragement and a major push from Arthur, that he became the most established beekeeper in Barbados.

He recalled that when other government officials turned down his requests for lands to operate his bee farms on, Arthur told him he would help him once he is able to produce at least one bottle of honey per year. However, Gibson said his business has produced hundreds of bottles of honey over the years because Arthur told him to follow his dreams.

“He went to the estate manager and I told him I want so and so land to keep bees for the country, and I had it the next day. It isn’t that he gave me government money or a house or a car, or anything to make me like him. It is just that I liked the man.

“The bee farms I have all over Barbados is because of him. He encouraged me. If I needed advice he would give me a good answer, he never gave me a bad answer yet. These days everybody believe you are a friend because you could give them something, but I never get anything from Owen Arthur. He gave me friendship and that is more than money.”

During general elections, whenever Arthur went to speak at a political meeting, Gibson made sure he was there to listen to his friend’s “phenomenal speeches” even if it meant journeying for miles to various constituencies.

Gibson noted that he and Arthur also shared many jokes and laughter.

“Recently, I made a joke with him and told him ‘now that you are the Chairman of LIAT, could you give me a free ticket?’ and he said ‘you would have to pay for that, I am not giving you nothing. You are my friend but you have to pay.’ I laughed because I know he didn’t mean it,” he said.

And while he reflects on their precious bond and the memories they created together, Gibson said he regrets that he was not allowed to see his close friend before he died.

He said he visited the hospital asking to see Arthur but was not allowed.

“I went and a gentleman told me he is not allowed to be seen. He said he is in the ICU [Intensive Care Unit] and only if I am his family I would be able to see him. That wasn’t good to me. My good friend in hospital and they wouldn’t allow me to see him. It is hard to have a friend and can’t see him. No, that ain’t good enough. I really wanted to see him.

“Last time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago after he came back from Guyana and he made sure he come to see me on the way from the airport. And when he was in Guyana he phoned from Guyana to ask me if I am alright. That is my friend,” Gibson said.

Joan, Gibson’s wife of 64 years who prepared the special meals Arthur once enjoyed, indicated that she was touched by his humility. She said she always assured him that their humble abode was his home away from home.

“His humility was great. And he was naturally a wonderful person. Cricket is one of my husband’s past times which was one of his, and dominoes too. Many times he would come over and they would play dominoes right there on that table.

“Sometimes he would come and prop the cushions how he want them, or I would give him two pillows, and he would lie down and sleep and we would turn on the fan to keep him cool.

“He would say ‘Joan what are you cooking today?’ And I would tell him and he would say ‘alright, I’m coming over for lunch’. We will miss him dearly as a personal friend. I want to extend condolences to his wife Julie, daughters Sabrina and Leah, and other family members.

“Mr A was really naturally a wonderful person,” Joan added.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb