Since I am not Michelle Obama, I feel safe in saying that on Monday evening of this week, Anguilla made me proud at the honouring of one of her illustrious sons, Rodney McArthur Rey. Many of us present at the delightful event put on to name the ALHCS Campus B auditorium in his honour, have our own special memories of relationship with Mr. Rey, in one of his many offices.

Following the heaping of accolades came the forming of the queue, which I joined, teasing him by holding on to the hem of his jacket to see if he would feel the power go out of him. It was really a moment of sheer joy at sharing in Mr. Rey’s moment.

I first met Rodney Rey in Guyana in 1978 when we were both young and enrolled in the Commonwealth Youth Programme. The progamme required us to spend three months of two consecutive years at Kuru Kuru College off the Linden Highway, so there we were, isolated in what seemed like the middle of Guyana’s hinterland. Strong bonds were inevitable. I had registered from the island of St. Kitts and I do not remember how it was that I knew Rodney’s name before I met him but I can recall feeling proud of him way back then because he was obviously brilliant. I think something prevented him from completing the course, yet he performed with distinction. In those days, I also thought of him as “a catch” and pitied the fact that my catching was, and still is, so poor. Good thing I asked my mother about him early as we shared the Rey surname. She confirmed that he was indeed a cousin but not on the Rey side. I was present when he met his wife Indira, and with hindsight, or maybe just imagination, I thought I could see the chemistry but I really did not know that there would be a relationship leading to a walk down the aisle. I forgot to ask their son Shridath what his middle name is because back then, possibly helped by Burnham’s Guyana, we all seemed to have leanings from which some of us straightened out, while others became more bent. I think Rodney may have been one who straightened out because in his musings about what he would name a son if he ever had one, were a few names that were definitely left of centre.

Even then Rodney was a staunch Methodist – one who wouldn’t even buy a raffle ticket but if dancing was not a Methodist habit that was too bad because, whatever were the calypsos of the day, Rodney Rey could not get his body to keep still. He is a good dancer too and I know that because when I danced with him, it made me feel as though I could dance. I never saw him drink or smoke though, so we’ll think of the dancing as exercise and laud the fact that decades later, as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development, he stood out in his ability to appreciate the need for youth services needed to be delivered differently.

When I returned to Anguilla in 1984, old ties were quickly re-established at the Valley Secondary School. And then came Comprehensive Education, which impacted so strongly that I was moved to write a poem called Comprehensive Education in Anguilla is a Killa. I am relying on memory here and it seems as though Mr. Rey left for further studies early in the life of the Killa. He was, however, one of those teachers who ultimately demonstrated the flexibility required for the new school to be shaped – to take on its own identity. Later on, when you saw him rooting for Purple House, you couldn’t believe that there was ever any other house. The real biographers will know what year it was when Mr. Rey returned from his studies in Nipissing University impressing us all with his zeal to transform ALHCS into a green and friendly place. Before that, it was easy to compare certain parts of the school yard with the Corito dump. It was during those years, under his leadership, that I became an active executive member of the Anguilla Teachers’ Union – an experience that I still value. Rodney Rey’s love for and involvement in the world of cricket also deserves special mention but someone who knows that chapter better than me should write it.

I am not sure who gave Mr. Rey his middle name but it was probably someone who admired General Douglas MacArthur. Despite his sins (or heroic deeds, depending on where you stand), in the name of US foreign policy, MacArthur’s name is associated with far-reaching reforms in the realms of democracy. The far-reaching reform legacy is one which I am sure Rodney McArthur would be proud to share. However, Mr. Rey could not reasonably be thought of as a warmonger. In fact, it was he who pointed out to me that there was a movement within Methodism to change the lyrics of the more militant sounding hymns like Onward Christian Soldiers.

During the naming ceremony on Monday, Mrs. Rita Celestine Carty mentioned Mr. Rey’s stubborn streak and I can tell you that he and I have had a few clashes along the way but never anything that could impair our relationship. In the first instance there was some discussion about one of my children and dreadlocks in school. I don’t even think I heard him out as I was seeing red, especially as I did not think the educational needs of that child were being met. I soon realised that what he was saying was uncharacteristic and that I was receiving the brunt of Mr. Rey’s frustration. We were on the phone and I think he wanted to hang up on me, but didn’t want me to be arrested on that day. By the time we came face to face again, longstanding relationship took over and all was forgiven. We fought again many years later when I thought he could have done a bit better with the CARIFESTA IX budgetary contribution from the Ministry. By then I had become smarter so I let my good friend Willie Vanterpool do the fighting. We got the money, still not enough, and did Anguilla proud in Trinidad and Tobago.

Unfortunately, I am not a regular reader of Don Mitchell’s Blog but I Googled Mr. Rey and it led me there. I don’t think anyone will be sued by the following, lifted straight from the blog dated 14 March, 2007. Don wrote:

“I challenged you, my readers, to come up with persons in public life who demonstrate in everything they say and do a commitment to ethics and integrity. We now have the first of what, I hope, will be many submissions. It concerns our own Rodney Rey. This is what my contributor had to say:

‘Ahh, Rodney Rey! - As Principal of ALHCS, he was in my opinion the Principal with the most integrity and of high moral standard. He was the one Principal who could be relied upon. His word was true. His language was cordial. He did not avoid conflict. He once sent me home because my skirt was too short to teach. And he was right.

Now he's back in my corner as PS Education and he has that aura of integrity still. He is always friendly, cordial, reasonable and straight. He makes me want to perform up to his high standard. Isn't that just what a superior should do, inspire you to go just that extra mile because you know he does the same?’ “

There really isn’t anything more for me to say except that I wish that the rumour that ‘Rodney running’, which surfaced last election, would surface again and be true.

Warmest Congratulations Rodney McArthur Rey.

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