At 18, I was living in the City of Bristol, built upon The River Avon, and located in Southwestern England. Coincidentally, my location was just a little down the road from The Severn Bridge. Which was constructed over the River Severn to enable commuters to cross that waterway directly into The Island of Wales. Because of the uprising of The Irish Republican Army, in 1969 and their associated criminal and terrorist activities. There were occasional security checks at various junctions, but nothing extraordinary. By and large, the City of Bristol was peaceful and crime-free. I was domiciled with my grandmother who at the time worked in a home for the blind. She routinely ran into a variety of people from all over the world. One such encounter was with an associate employee from Jamaica.
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, England and Monmouthshire, Wales, connecting the two countries. The bridge is the second crossing of the Severn following the Severn Railway Bridge which was opened in 1886 and closed to rail traffic in 1966. The bridge is used by the M48 motorway on the English side and the A466 road on the Welsh side. The crossing is 8 miles (13 km) in length and has a main span of 500 metres (1,640 ft). The bridge was opened by The Queen of England in 1966. (HISTORIC CORNWALL: The Severn Bridge, Connecting England and Wales).
People everywhere have problems. That is a state of affairs that has existed in human society since time immemorial. Predictably, they talk to other people about their perceived difficulties whenever they can find someone with a receptive ear, and with whom they can converse. The people with whom they frequently share such concerns are perceived to be understanding, sympathetic and receptive. My grandmother was one such soul. A practicing Christian woman, and a compassionate person. She was well acquainted with Jesus’s Sermon On The Mount. She fervently adopted those principles and attempted to implement them in her daily life.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV).
My grandmother felt that like the ancient Lot (Abraham’s nephew who lived in Sodom), she had been divinely located in the City of Bristol to help distressed souls. Who providentially crossed her path from time to time. I distinctly remember that during my boyhood and teenage years whenever the Christmas Season came around. There were a number of different people to whom I had to take gifts of turkey. I often asked myself why she invested so much time and effort in being a good Samaritan? Although I didn’t have much education then and very limited insight into human nature. As the years rolled by, I became more mature and developed greater wisdom and a deeper understanding of human needs and frailties. A more comprehensive understanding of my grandmother’s true disposition struck me. Here was a woman suffering from poor self-esteem. with a genuinely deep need for love and appreciation. Which she sought to earn by lavishing good deeds upon others. Hoping earnestly, but sometimes in vain, that they would see her true worth and return her good deeds with deep respect, earnest gratitude, and self-affirmation.
The Hurges (that was their name), needed urgent financial help, and somehow the wife, who was also employed at the home for the blind, had zeroed in on my grandmother’s ‘Saviour complex syndrome,’ and vulnerability. She piled her troubles upon my guardian. Lamenting that she and her husband were going through some very difficult times. That there were some wonderful employment opportunities awaiting them in Canada. All they needed to do was find a buyer for their few worldly goods. So that they could sell them and be on their way. My paternal grandmother (Edith) was sucked into this stranger’s psychic scream for help. Accordingly, she promised to purchase their limited worldly goods for the 1600.00 pounds sterling they requested. I was invited by my relative to take a look at the items to be purchased before any transaction was completed. But after surveying the scene I was far from impressed. In my judgment, it was just a pile of junk. I counseled my grandmother against proceeding any further with her plans. She refused to listen to me because according to her she had already promised to help them.
1. Keep every promise you make and only make promises you can keep. – Anthony Hitt
2. I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you. – Jennifer Donnelly
3. Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep. – Denis Waitley
At present, I can think of several passages of scripture that would have constituted a solemn and sobering warning not only to my grandmother but also to her prospective benefactors. A few of them are as follows:
“The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.” Proverbs 14:15 (NKJV).
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV).
The fact that my grandmother was willing to spend a small fortune on strangers. Merely to facilitate their trip to a distant land, in my opinion, was foolish. The fact that these two strangers had made no investigation, or previous preparation to ensure that when they arrived in Canada they were landing on solid financial ground was childish, irresponsible, and naive. I couldn’t see it then but it’s abundantly clear to me now. The Hurges were two dreamers. Two children searching for Utopia but determined to do so at someone else’s expense. Just like my friend Andrew who made a trip to Pondi Cherry, India. After mesmerizing himself into believing that there would be peace and tranquility there. He was bitterly disappointed. After arriving in Canada my grandmother’s newly adopted dependents were given a bitter dose of brutal reality.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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