I interrupt my series on Extraordinary People to reflect on the concept of excellence which is involved, one way or another, with any life which is exceptional or exemplary. I once wrote a piece – which I now adapt – as a backdrop to the first awards of the Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence.
So much begins with parents. Their daily persevering, unending love and interest and example teach lessons which reach deep into us; we are nurtured and our minds and souls are formed into shapes and disciplines that last all our lives. I am very old now but the work and love my father and mother devoted to their children, of whom I was the first-born, remain in my memory to this day; I recall vividly the distinction and the joy of my days as their son. They lived the standard we learned to expect of ourselves.
