BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - RICHARD LLEWELLYN CAINES, local political icon, was surrounded by family, friends and colleagues at Sprat Net on Thursday 4th October. They came to celebrate with him the passing of yet another milestone in his extremely active and successful life.
‘Aged to Perfection’ is what the signs around the tastefully decorated restaurant proclaimed and the attendees nodded in agreement on reading it as all could agree that age had made this champion of causes better, more mellow, but just as passionate about the standards which he felt this our Federation needed to uphold to make it a strong and thriving democracy.
“Longevity is not a right, it is a blessing, for which you have to be thankful,” declared Dr the Rt. Hon Sir Kennedy Simmonds, long-time friend and political colleague of the celebrant.
Sir Kennedy spoke with gusto of the long and trusted friendship he shared with Richard – a relationship which, he said “exemplifies what friendship is about” and he was moved to quote a relevant Shakespeare verse:
“Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Clutch them unto thy breast with hoops of steel.”
In a spirit of joviality and camaraderie which marked the tone of the evening, Sir Kennedy regaled the audience with tales of their younger days and experiences (some offbeat) through which they had passed.
As speaker after speaker from different periods and aspects of this octogenarian’ s life rose to pay tribute to his remarkable ‘innings’, a picture unfolded of a man who had made a notable difference in the lives of the people with whom he came into contact.
He was described as a successful entrepreneur, a pioneer, an A1 mechanic, an activist, a generous person, a person of integrity, a dear and trusted friend, an exemplary public servant, a diligent Minister of Finance (a tek-way key minister), one with ‘gutsability’, strong willed, hard working, a sportsman for physical fitness, ‘a role model in most things’, someone with a ‘big mouth and soft heart’ and even as a “sweet smelling vapour”!
His granddaughter described him as “first and foremost a family man” and his sister, Dr Ismay Taylor admitted that she “deeply cherished having a brother like you (him)”. His son, Scott Caines felt that he had earned the right to enjoy himself at this stage of his life in whatever way he saw fit and that he would have excelled in whatever field he chose ... at that time it only happened to be ‘cars’.
Cars dominated the life of Richard Caines. He became a first class mechanic, ran an automotive parts business, was the agent for Honda, Land Rover and BMW vehicles and pioneered the rental car business in St. Kitts.
Appropriately therefore, the Car Theme predominated at the celebration. Little toy cars stood atop the rosettes that were pinned on guests as they entered and the decorated tables were named after automotive parts. There was much hilarity when tables such as the Clutch table, the Brakes table, Spark Plug, Distributer Table were called to approach the buffet line-up. The birthday cake was also in the shape of a car.
The evening flowed on effectively co-chaired by long time friend Oliver Spencer and nephew Tony Hendrickson, and when eventually they called on the man of the hour to respond, all perked up to hear this multiple political-platform speaker and talk show regular give his take on his life and times.
In his response Mr. ‘Maza’ Caines gave priority to the many workers who served in his business over the years and many of them were present at the celebration - “They have contributed to my life,” he said, “as I have to theirs” and he singled them out for praise and gratitude.
He then went on to survey his life – his acquisition of a Seven Standard Certificate, his three years of teaching, his entry into the world of being a mechanic and his training as a mechanic at the Sugar Factory.
He revealed that mechanics in those times had the reputation of being ‘drunkards’ whereupon he decided he would not touch alcohol. He amazed his listeners when he revealed that he never drank alcohol and that up to now, didn’t even know how a beer tastes! This obviously made him stand out among his ‘drunken’ fellow-mechanics!
He chaffed at the unfairness of being suspended for eight weeks for being two minutes late at the Factory, and this prompted him to start his own business which is still functioning on Princess Street.
Earlier, his colleague in Operation Rescue, Dwyer Astaphan, suggested that Princess Street ought to be named after him.
He was proud of the activist role in played marching against the rise of Electricity rates which led to the formation of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) of which he was a founder member.
He opined that PAM had changed the direction of St. Kitts and boasted that in their years in office (he was Minister of Finance then), they were able to balance the budget or register a surplus for every year they were in office hence they never accumulated a public debt to choke them.
On a lighter note, he reflected on his two failed marriages but said that he was again accepting applications for a third wife. He even went as far as listing the criteria – each applicant was asked to bring three testimonials: one from an older person, one from a schoolmate and one from a pastor! Since then, just three days after he said that applications were already coming in!
Dad and Grandad thanked his daughter Inez and the family who organised the Party which was to be a “surprise”. It did not work out that way, however!
In the end, this eight-decade stalwart gave thanks to God in two statements he made at the end of his talk: Said he:
“God has been good to me, and I will be good to PAM,” and “Whatever Puppa Jesus decide to give me now, I am thankful.”
All marvelled at the strength of purpose and dynamism that still existed in this national stalwart and naturally wished him many, many happy returns.
