The Farewell Tour
Today would’ve been my biological father’s 88th birthday.
After a brief illness that began with him falling and hitting his head, he passed away in early March last year.
I, 10 of my brothers and sisters from the same Mister, plus other close family and friends, gathered in Long Island, NY, about a week later for his Celebration of Life service.
It is said it’s mostly at events like these where people assemble who haven’t seen each other in a long time. And it’s really a shame that, too often, this is the reality.
Our Father’s request upon his passing was for his ashes to be taken back to his birthplace (Guyana, South America) and scattered into the Essequibo River.
Two of my older siblings fulfilled this undertaking last August.
Having made the decision to honour his memory in my own unique way, I chose to scatter my portion of his ashes at an appropriate spot in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
The first place he resided was after immigrating to North America.
Being the social creature that he was, one of several terms of endearment bestowed upon him was ‘The Mayor of Ottawa’. But his main nickname was ‘Garvey’ after the late political activist Marcus Garvey because when he was ignited, he became quite the animated orator.
