Heavy hearts

August 15, 2011

Today was a heavy heart felt day at the Mahogany mas camp. Today people cried, hugged and shared memories at the mas camp. Today people remembered the life of Mr. Mike Caribon, a well-respected and valued family member of the camp. Mike made his transition from this world last evening from a long illness. Out of pure respect and fond memories of meeting Mike on previous visits, I found this picture to represent the feeling of the day…reflections of days gone by…images of past parades, carnival events, special projects and various design assignments that the studio has created over its many years as a preeminent Carnival Design studio. Mike was the valued shopper of the camp. His valuable contribution as a securer of goods, networking of the manufacturing of specific product vendors and the locals…deliverers and maintenance of such items is an intricate part of the mas camps operation… hundreds of yards of fabric, barrels of beads and sequins, tons and rolls of foam, cases of adhesives, mountains of various sundries….all the source of the creative booty that keep the studio alive… His services, talents and pure love for the people of the camp will truly be missed. I had the wonderful pleasure of always speaking with him for moments at a time when I was last here. I remember fondly laughing and sharing a grand conversation about the upcoming United State Presidential election…..he was tickled to no end that a black man was running for office…..I could sense from his interest and attention to our conversation, that he, being an elder having seen the devastation , upheaval and ultimately sacrifices of the civil rights movement was truly moved by this revelation…..a black man as the President of the United States…… go figure…..I am sorry that I was not able to get the chance to share a welcoming hug with Mike and commensurate that conversation with the reality of “yes Virginia….there is a Santa Claus!”