This is the final in the three-part series on Errol Samuel's interesting life as told in his book, The Triangle Route.

After spending two years in Birmingham, England, with his parents, Errol and a younger brother were brought back to Jamaica by his mother because of regular ill-health. It was a most devastating moment for him when the SS Ascania pulled out of port, leaving his beloved papa behind.

"I wept bitterly as the ocean liner slipped her moorings in Southampton, England, beginning the long voyage back to Jamaica ... My father stood on the dockside, sadly waving his handkerchief."

Another phase in his triangular route had begun. And, it was to be an eventful journey on the ship back to sunshine, replete with incidents that would be forever etched in his brain, and he nearly never made it back to the land of his birth alive.

One day, Errol and a female playmate took turns at locking each other in a small storage safe in his cabin. She eventually ran upstairs, leaving him in the locked safe. He began to sweat as the oxygen in his body diminished. In horror, he banged and kicked, but his friend didn't respond. He got weaker and weaker, and was certain the end was near.

But, he says, "As the dark clouds of unconsciousness began to envelop me, the door to the safe was suddenly flung open and I rolled out on to the cabin floor gasping for breath, at the feet of my mother. The Almighty had guided her footsteps down to the cabin from the deck upstairs in search of me and her motherly instincts had saved my life."

His run-in with the "tall, beautiful black woman", who was whispered to be mad, was not as life-threatening, but scary, nonetheless. He met her by her cabin door one day while he was exploring the ship, but as he was about to retreat, she grabbed him and pulled him into the cabin, slamming the door behind them, and the strangest thing happened after that.

"She reached into the closet, pulled out a jacket, turned to me and said, "How do I look?" I stammered something complimentary, I forget exactly what. She put on her lipstick and other make-up paraphernalia, staring at me as she did. Then, without warning, she flung the door open and ordered me to leave. I scampered through to freedom, heaving a sigh of relief," he recalls.

Well-directed kick

There were several more scenes that the woman created on the ship, and, in one such, she "placed a well-directed kick to the groin of the ship's steward, who fell to the ground, writhing in agony". She was removed in a straightjacket from her cabin and put in protective custody, and was never seen again by Errol.

Back home in Jamaica, his mother spent some time before returning to England, leaving Errol and his brother to live with his grandmother and a female cousin in a side of a house in Vineyard Town. From then on, his young life was consumed by depression and longing. His thoughts were on his parents in England, despite the good treatment from his grandmother and the trappings that were coming from abroad.

Errol: "As a barrel child, I was well looked after. My parents send adequate amounts of money for rent, food and clothes. I also received gifts that made me the envy of my classmates."

Deep down within, though, he was suffering, and only when he was engaged in boyish pursuits with his friends was he able to lighten the load. Inside his grandmother's house he pined away, and soon the bed-wetting started.

The loneliness intensified when his cousin got married and moved out. Yet, his childhood was that of a typical boy, full of mischief, games and pranks. Unbeknownst to his grandmother, he was regularly flogged at school. What perhaps was even more painful was when the "pretty half-Indian" girl ditched him and his slight British accent for a more athletic schoolmate.

At age 10, he got a scholarship to Excelsior High School, another colourful stage of his many journeys. The transition to adolescence was rough, not knowing whether he was a boy or man. He had a negative self-image, and as such he didn't socialise much.

Errol: "I considered myself ugly, I had loose lips and buck teeth that needed braces, but which my mother could not afford. My hair was considered 'bad' and was referred to in those days as 'black pepper grains'."

Self-confidence grew

By third form his performance had fallen off, but his self-confidence grew. His mother had then returned from England with a brother and a sister. He resented her trying to control him, made some close friends, got involved in track and field, and swimming, hanging out at the renowned Bournemouth Bath pool in east Kingston. He fell prey to peer pressure, hitting the party scenes and got caught up in the latest fashion crazes. In sixth form he moved in with a married brother in an upscale section of Kingston, and discovered a new social circle.

Errol left high school at age 17 with grades that were less than what was expected of him, and was tossed into a new life, the threshold of adulthood, with a job at the Air Traffic Department, first in Kingston and then in Montego Bay, St James, which was to become the place where his rites of passage took place. It was all about the girls, the liquor, the clubbing and drunkenness.

Yet, he was also intoxicated with the thought of continuing his education. So, he applied and got accepted to a United States university. But Errol in his exuberance counted the proverbial chicken before it was hatched, and resigned his job before obtaining a student visa.

Saying that he had not demonstrated the ability to fund [his] studies, the United States Embassy flatly denied him that vital document. Embarrassed and dejected, the hapless Errol fell into a bout of depression - no job, no school. His survival was now centred on scrounging on the money he had saved for his education.

In desperation he sought work, but to no avail. His ex-boss offered him his job back, but Errol, not wanting to be perceived a failure, let his 'pride' prevent him from accepting the offer. On the advice of a 'family friend', he applied for and got a job at Radio Jamaica, in the capacity as reporter/newswriter grade three. He particularly enjoyed the job, and loved being sent on assignments. Higher education was still paramount in his mind, so he saved some more money and secured an affidavit of support from a relative in the US.

Again, he ventured to the US Embassy. Nervously he sat before the interviewer, who promptly reminded him he was turned down the last time. It was happening again he thought and, just when he was expecting his world to come crashing for the second time, the immigration officer stamped his papers and told him to return the following day for his visa.

Provide opportunities

Errol was ecstatic, to say the least. Now, in retrospect, he said, "I realise that setbacks in life can provide opportunities, if properly handled ... every mishap should be treated as merely a bump on the hill-and-gully ride we call life."

He left Jamaica in January 1970 for studies at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey, and that is another story in itself.

He eventually obtained a bachelor's degree in accounting, and an MBA before returning to Jamaica at age 27. He has since worked in executive financial positions, left Jamaica again in 2002, and is now lecturing at the university level in the United States.

Errol is a married father of two, who recently visited his father, who still lives in England, and who is separated from Errol's mother. Last year he received a PhD in business, and was here in October to see his ailing mother.

paul.williams@gleanerjm.com