IT WAS called the Look An C Tyre Shop but these days all that is visible to the naked eye are burnt-out metal, charred wood and a shell – the remnants of a once-thriving family business.
That is the view that Anthony Cummins of Ashby Land No. 1, Oistins, sees each time he steps out of his home.
The tyre repair shop on the opposite side that he operated for several years went up in smoke last year shortly after he handed over the reins of the business to his son Daniel.
It is a heartbreaking situation for father and son even as residents in the neighbourhood call for the land to be cleared of the unsightly remains.
“It is harbouring mosquitoes and it is not good to look at,” said one resident. “All of that old metal and old galvanised sheets can be dangerous.”
Called SSA
The resident said that he had called the Sanitation Service Authority to ask for assistance but none had been forthcoming.
Cummins, 72, said he was very aware of the situation but pointed out that neither he nor his son had any money to remove the items. Furthermore, he said there was no place to dump the metal.
“Since Bynoe (B’s Recycling) shut down there ain’t no place to dump metal,” he said.
There was, he said, still money to be made from the material.
As for the tyre shop he is hoping that his son could rebuild “before I close my eyes”.
“I take all my money and spend and build that tyre shop to leave for him,” the elder Cummins said.
“This is two years now that I turn it over to him, but he lost everything; $135 000 in equipment destroyed and it wasn’t insured.”
Anthony Cummins, who handed over his tyre repair shop to his son, only has memories of what it was in picture form and what it could have been in drawings he made of the business for the future.
Daniel, 21, revealed that he too was devastated over the loss.
“I was excited when my father handed it over to me. I used to watch him from a boy repairing tyres; I just watch and learn. I don’t feel good about what happen.”
He also explained that at the time of the blaze last April he was also living on the spot with his girlfriend and his baby daughter.
“We lost everything: fridge, stove, beds,” he said, shaking his head.
Both father and son are hoping that they can get assistance in not only clearing the land, but restarting the business.
“I feel happy to know that I have done my best, but I am all sad and sorry to know that he was set to do the business and then this happen,” dad said.
“I put him in full control and I told all my customers Danny in charge.”
Looking at the drawings of a plan which his father had designed for himto expand the business, Daniel said he was hoping that one day it could rise from the ashes and give him the opportunity to show that he could be a good businessman.