Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Remembering Delroy
I saw a WhatsApp message this morning from Anita, who opened it and then it hit me that Delroy Melford Wright, one of my maternal cousins, is indeed dead. The last time I laid my eyes on Delroy was well over twenty years ago when I saw him in Bridgetown, Barbados. If my memory can be trusted, I think we had lunch together where we both discussed our raison d'etre for being in Barbados. After lunch, we parted ways, and to be truthful, I can’t remember ever seeing him again. He wasn’t at his mom’s, Aunt Ann's eightieth birthday celebration, nor was he at Uncle RU's eightieth either. To put it succinctly, Delroy was a strange character, brilliant, and articulate, but nevertheless strange. To be honest, I couldn’t really figure him out, nor did I try as I think he was bright enough to know what life path he should pursue. And, to be fair to him, he chose his life path. Hence, despite our divergent paths, considering that we were pretty close as kids, as only a year separated us at birth, I cannot stand here and judge if his path was the correct one.
I must have been ten and he was nine and I vividly remember a conversation we had as we walked along the narrow sidewalk-less country road from Trout Hall over to our Uncle John’s house in Dam Head. The conversation we had was about our future and our life plans - and I know it is hard to imagine two kids, one, ten, the other nine having such serious conversations about life paths. As we walked and talked he was looking forward to his impending migration to Canada where his mom, my aunt resided and still resides to this day. He was filled with expectations, looking forward to his impending new life in Canada. Within a few months, he migrated to Canada with his other brother and sisters. The next time I saw Delroy after our walk and talk was back in 1982, on my first visit to Toronto. By this time, he was doing well in high school, looking forward to attending University and was also a budding ice-hockey player. He was more determined than ever to be successful in this new metropolis, and from the looks of things he was on his way.
However, for reasons unknown to me, Delroy’s life took a turn where it would seem he shunned his family. No one, not even his mother, would know his whereabouts. I found this rather strange, but then again, Delroy was a strange character. Over the years up until the time we met in Barbados, we would see each other occasionally, enter into small talk, nothing serious, and I made sure I didn’t make any enquiries as to what he was doing with his life. Hence, my shock and disbelief at learning of his sudden passing. It hit me like a meteorite from out of nowhere. Delroy chose to live his life in a mysterious fashion, to the point that I was unaware that he had settled down, married, and had children - that was how out of touch we had become. Finally, as I said before, he lived his life to his own drum beat, and now he has gone home. May our ancestors come to greet him as he journeys to the great beyond, and those of us who are left to mourn his passing, take comfort that Delroy lived his life according to his plans and no one else. To his wife and children, take heart and focus not on his passing, but the remembered joys he gave you.
Courtney - His Cousin
