Fate or Providence: A Journey of a Country Lad

By Stevel Beckford PhD

Fate or Providence: A Journey of a Country Lad summarizes the experiences of Dr. Stevel Beckford, who, although hailed from a low socioeconomic background, managed to face extreme difficulties, financial needs, and challenges and overcome them. This book introduces some important individuals in his life; some have passed on, but their memories still linger with Stevel. They have all helped to motivate and provide guidance toward his upward mobility and have affirmed him in society.

This book is written primarily with the teenagers and young adults in mind to encourage them. Some of them are facing many different types of challenges that are serving as barriers to their success. The book should stimulate them into thinking that although the odds are evident, if they forge ahead with perseverance, they can achieve the success they desire or deserve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503586048

Stevel Beckford PhD

Stevel Beckford (Stivel) was born in Duanvale, Jamaica, West Indies. He is the second of seven siblings of which two are girls. He left elementary school at fourteen and began working to support himself among many odds and severe financial challenges. He had very little financial support, and he had to work his way through high school, college, and university. After graduating from West Indies College (Now NCU) with bachelor’s degree and a major in mathematics/physics, he secured employments as a teacher, school principal, real estate’s sales and insurance agaent, and manager. Stevel, in addition, is a graduate of Andrews University MA, Brooklyn College, with an advanced degree in administration and supervision; California Coast University, EdD ;and Capella University, PhD. He currently works at Argosy University as adjunct professor.

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Copyright © 2015 by Stevel Beckford, PhD.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5035-8605-5

                 eBook         978-1-5035-8604-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 01/13/2016

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Contents

Acknowledgment

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Adventures In St. Mary

Chapter 3 Back To Trelawny

Chapter 4 Spanish Town: Bitter And Sweet?

Chapter 5 Ncu Mandeville

Chapter 6 The Nice Feelings

Chapter 7 Andrews Episode

Chapter 8 The Return To The Usa

Chapter 9 Mentors And Friends

Chapter 10 Georgia Is On My Mind

Acknowledgment

Special thank you goes to Shirla who supplied the support and encouragement throughout the writing and preparation of this book. A special thank you is extended to the following individuals: Dr. Elaine Bryan, Dr. Dahlia Pottinger, and Mr. Verrol Jackson who was very instrumental and stimulated the energy and will of the writer with a view to having this book published. Mr. Lambert, Jason and my brother Anthony have worked on the typing and editing of this book. The writer commends them wholeheartedly. Without their assistances, this book would not have begun let alone finished.

Preface

The chapters of this book portray the life and experiences of a man who was born in a family of low socio-economic status and reared from the age of 1 ½ years with an old man in Manchester, Jamaica until he was 10 years old. The first 10 years of his life were fraught with tremendous hardships and incredible difficulties. At 10 years of age he joined his mother who was a single parent and his sister. He learned to read and write when he was 12 years old. At 14 years old he started to work and supported himself throughout his high school, college, and university career. He has earned a bachelor’s degree, two masters, the Doctor of Education (Ed. D) and the Ph.D.

Life experiences are sometimes filled with sorrows and with gains and happiness at other times. Without parental and financial support, the writer had to develop and maintain a positive philosophy of life.

Chapter 1

One modern philosopher and thinker once said, Some were born great, some achieved greatness and some have had greatness thrust upon them. While this may seem very appealing, it has its drawbacks in that there are some significant others that do not fit the profile indicated above. We are not responsible for how, where, and why we were born. We do not have the resources to control what race, ethnicity, and social domains that engage our life experiences.

As we enter the real world of experience we have to develop the skills that will enable us to forge a fundamentally good, profitable, and productive life. The notion of our having equal opportunity to succeed in life looms in front of us daily and many become captive to this without recognizing that while we may have equal opportunity as it relates to 24 hours in a day or 86,400 seconds, we do not have equal chances. Our race, ethnicity, and socio-economic origin play a vital role in terms of how far we ascend the ladder of success.

To really make a success in life, one has to know how to create wealth, be vested with real property or endowed with a certain source of money. Some believe firmly that the way to success is a good education. A good education without enhance to utilize it does not offer much hope for success. Knowledge is power but knowledge without an opportunity to utilize or share it is no good.

Our parents no doubt play a role in the outcome of their children. Training children is synonymous to building a house. To build a house, we must have a plan, know the plan and work the plan. Likewise to introduce children into this cold and callous world without proper planning is to court disaster for our children. Regrettably, the writer is one of such children who were thrust into this cosmos and left to find for him a place in society.

The Journey

Don’t take him away. Where are you going with him? Without any response to any of these questions, the young lad now one year and six months old was snatched away from his mother who never saw him again until the age of ten (10 years old). This was the work of a father who presumably did not value the dignity and worth of a child. With one act, he took away his 3½ and 1½ years of age boys and left them with strangers at a distance of sixty (60) miles away. Needless to say, he did not return to see them; neither did he inform their mother of the boys’ whereabouts. Grandparents do better at loving their grandchildren sometimes. It was their grandfather (mother’s father) who vowed that he would search for his grandchildren. To his delight, he found the older boy but although the younger boy was close by he did not find him.

The younger boy was left to Fate or Providence in a strange land among strangers at a tender age of 1½ years. He was left with an elderly man who was required to nurture and care for him as he sees it best. The journey with the old man, Mr. Edward, lasted for 8½ years.

Mr. Edward was a farmer who was good at it and he made sure to have the young lad go with him daily to the farm until he was seven years old. The lad entered into a public school at 7 years old for the first time. School was just a mere fashion for him and very little learning took place. The boy learned to work on the farm, to plant potatoes, vegetables, and cut bananas. His job was that of selling the bananas at the wharf and to make sure that Mr. Edward gets every cent. The sale was delayed on a certain day and the boy bought his lunch from the banana money. The resultant effect was unbearable lashes.

Child abuse was unknown in those days and parents or guardians exercised their free will in administering lashes on the backs and back sides as if they had the last day on Earth to do so. Abuse became the order of the day for this boy. They originated from sources such as wetting the bed, coming late from school, failing to put out the hogs and goats, forgetting items when sent to the grocery store and failing to eat enough food. The only remedy for a task undone was the lash on the boy’s back.

Born in Duanvale, Trelawney Jamaica and coming to Craighead in Manchester, needless to say was fatal. The routine was never ending. It consisted of going to the Baptist Church that was less than five minutes away, going to elementary school at Craighead about three (3) miles away and working in the field or farm. Many days, the farm was substituted for school. Heavy showers of rain did not in any way matter.

One good thing of memory came out of Craighead School; that of falling in love with Ms. Cook, the teacher. The boy known as Stivel was sure he was going to marry Ms. Cook who was so charming, pretty and sexy. Stivel’s only setback was his age. Some boys today love and admire their female teachers with marvelous fascinations. Stivel was 7 years old and for him beauty was in the eyes of the beholder.

Mr. Edward had one son and no daughters. His son was married but there was no child born to the wedlock. Mr. Edward was not married but he and his female lover took turns in visiting each other at nights. Stivel accompanied him religiously on these trips to his lover until the age of 8½ when he was left to stay by himself at home. There was no radio, television, telephone, music, clocks or any form of electronics at home; there were not many friends either. The stillness