A Man of Many Talents.

An interesting feature in my daily life is a man named Jeffers, who is first and foremost a painter. He comes to scrape and rub down, and repaint walls, windows and doors in the house that I rent.

His other side, when he is out of his work clothes, and is dark for being so bright, is that he is also a ballroom dancer. I have seen him show off his moves at my house, with my housekeeper. You can imagine him waltzing with his ladder and paintbrush? Bad weather here over many months, and travel on my part have stopped me seeing him strut his stuff with the ladies of Barbados at dancing clubs in Bridgetown.

He is truly "Chalk" and "Cheese".

My day does not usually go on for very long before I hear "Dennis. Morning." Though he's older than me, he seems like my son. He's always asking permission for something, whether it's a glass of iced water, or he needs to walk through the house. That said, I get concerned when I don't see him for a day or so, either at my house or my landlord's, which is just a few doors away, because he is also occupied painting there, too.

He has other "gifts", including a line in herbal remedies, similar to those my mother used to give me, and by which he swears.

But his main gift is a simple sincerity that I really appreciate. He came to me yesterday and asked how much it would cost to print the pictures that I had taken of him. I told him that there would be no cost because the images were digital and I could print them on glossy photo paper myself. I could see that he had no understanding of what I had said, as he asked me again how much it would cost to print the pictures. For him, I printed his pictures just a while ago, and will give them as a surprise later in the day. I hope that they will make his day.