AFTER JOINING THE exclusive club of New York’s centenarians, Pearl Elaine Newton, a Bajan with a robust memory bank and a strong voice to match, was philosophical about life and death.
“You live it according to God’s wishes but you should enjoy yourself, knowing that you can pass away any time when you reach my age,” she said after celebrating her 100th birthday on March 6 at a sprawling Brooklyn nursing home where she lives.
“I am fortunate to have my daughter, Magla, grandson (George) and others who are interested in my welfare. God and my family have been good to me.”
This positive reflection has since given way to sadness.
“I don’t know what I am going to do now,” she said a few days ago. “I can’t explain it, except to say that it’s God’s will. I never expected Magla to go before me. I never thought it would happen like this. After all, children are expected to bury their parents not the other way around’.”
Newton, a resident of St Michael before relocating to New York from Barbados in the 1980s to enjoy a short vacation with Magla, has remained in the US ever since.
“My grandmother left New York once since coming here and that was to attend a funeral” in Barbados, said George Newton, an actor who does bit parts as a stand-in for the main actors in movies and television. “She came to have a vacation with my mother but never left.”
The centenarian’s 69-year old daughter Magla, a nurse at a large Brooklyn medical centre died several days ago, not long after being diagnosed with cancer.
“My mother was a caring, loving woman who looked after us,” George, 41, said, speaking of his mother, Magla. “Her death came as a shock to all of us.”
Interestingly, the centenarian who has lost a leg to diabetes and uses a wheelchair, enjoys reflecting on the ups and downs of life in Barbados.
Begin a conversation about politics and the centenarian would give you chapter and verse about yesteryear.
“Sir Grantley Adams was a fighter who did a lot for Barbados and the poor. I could never forget him and what he did to improve the lot of people like me, those with little or nothing to spare.”
Now, mention the name of Ernest Deighton Mottley, grandfather of Opposition Leader Mia Mottley, and Newton’s face would light up like a Christmas tree and her voice would be as strong as that of a person half her age.
“He was a giant. I loved him and he cared deeply for me and my children especially Magla. He would send things, including money for us to put food on the table and to keep a roof over our heads,” she recalled. “As Mayor of Bridgetown he would send things for me and my children. There would always be a special spot in my heart for Mr Mottley,” she said.
And how about Errol Barrow, Barbados’ first Prime Minister?
“Mr Barrow was a good man too, very good for the country. He introduced a number of programmes that improved lives in Barbados. But I would never forget Sir Grantley and Mr Mottley,” she said.
Newton, who grew up in Lightfoot Lane and later lived for decades in the Pine housing area, loves Barbados, but doesn’t plan to return to her homeland.
Tony Best is the NATION’s North American Correspondent. email: Bestra@aol.com