ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

Ask anyone in Mile Gully, Manchester, about Sydney 'Mr Speedy' Whyte, and they will instantly start smiling and sharing experiences they've had with him.

The happy-go-lucky 91-year-old always seems to have a story or a joke to tell, and he captivated THE STAR team with a few, from his prowess as a quadrille and rumba dancer to his expertise on the cricket field, where his bowling skills earned the nickname 'Speedy', to his eccentric home remedies, including corn hair and honey, which he said he has used to cure his asthma.

Despite the light-heartedness with which he approaches life, Mr Speedy has many struggles. He lives in a room a little bit bigger than a storeroom behind a house in which his son's aunt lives.

"A mi tek care of myself - wash mi clothes dem, cook, everything," he said.

Up to two years ago, his source of income was farming. Mr Speedy said he planted everything, including yams, potatoes and corn.

However, he got discouraged when he became a victim of praedial larceny.

"Mi nah work again. Mi did have mi yam outta waah lease land. When mi get a call fi go up a Bethany, mi leave mi hoe and machete inna mi grung. The morning when mi come back, dem cut off mi yam, and mi neva get one piece a yam outta it," he said.

Mr Speedy has never been married, but he said that he has five children who live overseas. He said that they send him money, but not very often.

"Sometime dem send a $4,000 come give mi, and then a next three or four months and mi will get something more," he said.

So it is often concerned residents in the community who lend a helping hand.

"Bwoy, mi nuh know how him survive. He has never been in a government work to get a pension. The lady that him live with is not a family to him," one resident said.

But Mr Speedy is not distressed. He is confident that help will come.

"Mi nuh fret pon nothing, man. A October mi born. Sometime mi a go over yard and mi have $100. Before mi beg a man a penny, mi go inna shop and mi buy two cakes and one likkle drinks and gone a yard. Mi cyaan dead fi hungry, enuh," he said, laughing.

Persons willing to assist Sydney 'Mr Speedy' Whyte can contact him at 876-406-7701.