A canvassing we will go

A canvassing we will go

Hi Ho the merry o

A canvassing we will go.

During the course of the past month, we have spent countless hours and days out on the canvassing trail, knocking on doors and speaking to Bermudians about their opinions and concerns.

As each canvassing session passes, the list of colourful interactions grows. Some stories are heartbreaking while others have served to become valuable life lessons.

Interacting with our seniors always provides the richest stories and lessons, with many bearing need to be written down and repeated. Today I will do my best to put forth some of the life lessons learnt on the canvassing trail.

Book over looks

On Saturday the seductive aroma of breakfast led us to be invited into the home of Mr and Mrs Alma Hunt, of Chaingate Hill.

Mr Hunt, who is a skilled tradesman and fisherman, spoke about his constant desire to teach our young Bermudians the skills of construction and carpentry.

He spoke about how vitally important it should be for parents to have their children read books pertaining to Bermudian history, which will instil a greater sense of national pride among our young people.

So engaging was he that we found ourselves almost not wishing to leave his presence.

Sharing is caring

At another home, upon introducing ourselves, an elderly gentleman asked what my relation to Charlie Famous was.

When I told him that he was my grandfather, he laughed out loud and recalled that he had “liberated” some sugar cane from my grandfather’s garden some 70 years ago. He vividly recalled having to outrun my grandfather and his pigs to enjoy the “fruits of his labour”.

The motto of his story was that even when we had no money, Pond Dogs always shared with each other.

Generational sacrifice

Perhaps the most poignant visit was at a home where a young man answered the door.

We asked him if he was registered to vote. His reply was that he had no interest whatsoever in voting. As we were about to leave, his grandfather came into the kitchen and asked what was going on.

The young man explained that we were asking if he was registered to vote, and he repeated his non-interest in voting.

The grandfather then asked his son and us to sit down at the kitchen table. He went into the living room and took two pictures off of the wall and brought them to the table and asked the young man if he knew who these people were. The young man replied that they were his great-grandparents.

For about 30 minutes the grandfather spoke passionately about how his parents were denied the basic right to vote in their own country for their entire lives. He spoke about how his father saved every dime he could to purchase the very piece of land we were on. This was to allow his son the ability to vote when the law was that only landowners of a certain property value could vote. So he was deeply hurt that his grandson would be refusing to vote.

With near tears in his eyes, the young man stated that he never knew this was what Bermudians had to go through to vote, and in the presence of his grandfather registered to vote online.

We left almost speechless at what we had witnessed, yet knowing that it is these human interactions that truly bring democracy to life. With these life-changing experiences, we were inspired to continue to canvass in the rain.

Hi ho, hi ho.