Sandy Meisner and Jimmy Carville were two people who contributed greatly to the Island and I admired them tremendously. Sandy (Sanford) was an actor and director but became famous due to his teaching abilities. Many actors under his tutelage went on to become stars, such as Steve McQueen, Tom Cruise, Diane Keaton and many more. In the ‘80s Jimmy and Sandy would build a school on their property, and twenty aspiring actors would spend the summer months on Bequia learning Sandy’s “Meisner Technique”.
The two men worked with the students at the High School and they were much loved. Music and theater came alive because of them, and the school put on productions such as “Jesus Christ Super Star” and “The Messiah” with great success. Watching Jimmy lead the choreography while Sandy pounded away on the school’s old piano was a treat, and I loved watching the students blossom under their leadership.
Sandy and Jimmy had built their house on a hillside at Friendship, and in those days it seemed like a huge mansion. There was even a grand piano in the living room! Jimmy was (and still is) a jolly man with a big white beard and sparkling eyes, making him look just like Santa Claus, and Santa Claus he was! Each year Jimmy and Sandy got donations with which to buy toys, introducing Bequia to the joys of gift-giving at Christmas. Just before Christmas Jimmy would go from one end of the Island to the other, where children would be waiting at specified locations. With a “Ho Ho Ho” each child would get a gift from Santa’s bag.
This was not as jolly as it might sound, as I learned when I was asked to be one of Santa’s Elves. I was new to the Island, therefore an easy target for Jimmy. I was placed at the Paget Farm location, where the children would be given cake and juice while they waited for Santa’s arrival. The little boys and girls were as good as gold as I passed out the refreshments, singing Christmas carols as we waited. The trouble started when Santa’s bell could be heard ringing ……..the children behaved but the mothers gathered outside the building went nuts! They wanted to be included in the gift-giving and mobbed Santa, pouring into the community hall in such a wave that I had to creep out of a second-story window to avoid being trampled.
Just before Christmas the following year Jimmy appeared on my door-step, and before he could open his mouth I said, “No!” I knew he wanted me to be an Elf again and I had not enjoyed the experience of the year before. He assured me that this time I would be at the Catholic Church Hall, and that measures would be taken to keep the mothers out. After a lot of cajoling on his part I reluctantly agreed to be an Elf, and was in place at the Catholic Church in Hamilton a few days later.
Once again, the children were little angels. They ate their cake, drank their juice and were singing carols when Santa arrived. The shuttered windows had been closed tight so that the mothers waiting outside would not be able to enter the hall. It made the room hot and stuffy, but at least there would not be a repeat of last year’s fiasco! A little girl was sitting on my lap when Santa entered the Hall, ringing his bell and crying “Ho Ho Ho!” As he uttered his last “Ho” the women somehow got the shutters open and poured through the windows. Santa’s “Ho Ho Ho” turned into a scream of, “What the “F..K are all these women doing in here!!?? Get them the F..K out!! “ Yeah, nice! Santa busted the “F” word in front of all the children!
The little girl peed on me in fright and I adamantly refused to be an Elf the following Christmas.