After my Dad was considered the job for the Executive Secretary of the English Speaking Caribbean in December of 1961, CLASC and Emilio Maspero, his boss sent him to work in the Caribbean. Our destination in August 1964 was Trinidad and Tobago. Life swung around to a zone zero for political attacks and bias. I was free at last! However, at age 14, I had to live with the fact that our Dad belonged to CLASC and we enjoyed him once in a while. I did the shopping for groceries and his case of Carib Beer of course. I attended St Joseph High School and lived nearby in Doctor Jagdeo's house. I made a vegetable garden as part of my Biology classes, I enjoyed boxing, built sailing boats and had fund roller skating down the hills to Curepe. My most thrilling pass time was traveling with Mr Sherattan who at the time was our neighbour's Dad; he was a salesman for Ever Ready Batteries and he took me for some very adventurous drives. One great example was a trip to the Asphalt Lake in San Fernando. But soon I met a friend in my small town of St Joseph. We both had this crazy idea to make spear guns and go diving in the river up the hill where a small hydro-electric plant existed.

We soon had spear guns made of wood and surgical tubing. Off we went to the river and I found myself spearing small river fish. I didn't like it as I watch them wiggle and die when the galvanized spear went through their small bodies. So I gave up spearfishing. I was an acolyte at the St Joseph Parish and the Parish Priest who lived nearby was Father Devertille. He learned of my spearfishing trips and one day invited me to a long drive. We were going to a far coastal end of Trinidad to a place known back then as Cukurit. I remember the huge waves washing in from the North Atlantic Ocean. They would surge in and slam against the huge cliffs and hills then die and create a peaceful area for snorkeling. Indeed I was very excited and ready to enjoy the thrilling underwater scenes. Father Devertille showed me how to use a knife to pry the oysters off the side of the underwater hills, pack them in my pockets and swim to the shoal. He taught me how to pry them open and eat them raw! Now this was the life I had been waiting for. We must have been there for a few hours until it was time to head back home. I think my Dad was in Venezuela but my Mom she was all excited to eat fresh oysters with pepper sauce. I had entered a new world that I would one day pursue as a spear fisher in the early 1970s.

Father Devertille was a great friend of the family; he engaged me in playing Cricket which I soon gave up after a big thumb injury. Then I joined the high school's football team and traveled to Port of Spain to play St Mary's High and later Mount St Benedict. We had a great team. He opened up a great space for me to further my education at St Mary's and later at St Augustine University to to study Law. But my Dad had begun to cultivate enemies in the Water Front Cement Union so Dad was nervous about returning to Belize in 1966 and leaving me behind. The rest is my history is in the "Jaws of Politics".

Fast forwarding to the year 2000; I visited Trinidad in 2000 and stayed at the Kapak Hotel; I remember checking in and the Trinidadian girl spoke in Triny and I broke into Triny same time. She saw from my passport that I was Belizean and asked how come I spoke her language. Of course I told her I lived in Trinidad from 1964 to 66. So I asked her coincidentally, "So how is the train doing? I used to enjoy the free rides out of Curepe when it passed through the Valley." She steered at me...."What train?" Then I knew that some of the young Trinidadians didn't know their history of the Commercial Train business back in the sixties.

Another great story shared in a to be released book "Jaws of Politics"

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This was the house where my family resided from 1964 to 1965. The owner was a dentist Dr. Jagdeo whose son got married and his father gave him the house so we vacated. His son Jr was my Biology teacher; when I arrived in 2000 he was still living there. I knocked on the door and he came out alarmed and curious. I asked him how the Sapodilla and Avocado trees were doing. He said, "You Nicky Pollard?!" And we embraced. For me that was a very special moment. Imagine I hadn't seen him for 34 years! No doubt it is a beautiful house sitting right on top of a hill adjacent to the St Joseph High School. In Front is the St Joseph Primary School and further down the street - not the hill is a famous St Joseph Convent for girls. The house has a beautiful polished wooden floor, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large parlour and a big kitchen, utility room and a garden section in the front. It had a gas water heater outside of the kitchen area. I once almost burned up my hands and face! The huge yard is so precious; it has a large Sapodilla tree, an Avocado and a Cherry tree. The Avocados were big butter! Perhaps the most historic moment was the visit of CLASC Gen Secretary Emilio Maspero and his French Territories Executive Sec, Romano Tcshimule - both close trade union allies of my Dad. Oh, how could I forget, next door is the Sherattans - most of the family migrated to Canada. I met one daughter who was very nice and invited me in her home. We chat and she reminded me how I used to steal their Julie mango. Julie is similar to Hofius but juicy and sweeter.