By Drew
It was 2018, living on Prince Charles and I’m in love with a Pisces. Of all the women on this island I seem to attract them and scorpios for some reason. Funny how we put emotional stock in the stars. In the end it’s probably all bullshit but it can’t be a coincidence that all scorpio women I know are demons…
…or that all the pisces women I’ve loved are emotional terrorists that are almost impossible to leave…
Often times we put stock in these things because we need to believe there’s more to this game of life. We pray there’s a deeper level or another layer. No one peeled back those layers and made us pay attention and believe in his bullshit more than Rodney Moncur.
I hated that man’s show. I don’t know how one can be an informed or even slightly educated millennial and not have, on the front end, thought Moncur was a disruptive lunatic. Always with the yelling and spitting and attacking politicians. To me he had the demeanor of a once educated jonser that avoided coke but enjoyed a 40 of hog head twice a day.
Moncur and I worked in the same building but in the early years he would record his show in another location of the studio. It wasn’t until he transitioned to working one door down from me that I was able to finally meet the man and honestly….that made my opinion of him worse. He treated me and others like we were HIS staff: Like we worked for HIM. One day this nigga ran up on me like…
…which left me like…
While I was making his copies (because respect for your elders and what not) Moncur got a phone call. The man didn’t fully understand technology so he would hold his phone away from his ear on full volume so I was able to eavesdrop on his conversation. What transpired during that call changed my mind.
In that moment I understood him.
On the phone was a lady begging for his help. The details are fuzzy because I drink a lot but I remember him telling her to come to the station so they could talk. He then had another call come through and another lady was thanking him for grocery he had helped her obtain for her and the grandchildren she was raising at the time. Interestingly enough he never had an air of superiority in his tone in talking to the ladies. It wasn’t even an air of concern if I’m being honest. It was as if he was carrying out his God given duty or some secret mission on behalf of a higher power known only to him and him alone.
That’s when I stopped judging him and started paying attention. I started watching how he planned for his show and how he moved. While his work ethic and attention to detail was meticulous I was more impressed with the humanity of the man. He was not hovering above us feigning superiority. He was down to earth in the mud just like the rest of us. He just did it with a microphone and a camera….oftentimes to his detriment.
The man studied his craft. He wasn’t a mad man ranting into a microphone he was a charismatic scholar and historian that spent hours in the newsroom checking his sources and making sure his information was factual. He was quiet off mic. Calculated. Even his jokes were carefully planned out.
He was prepared. The days he would spend barking orders at Butler (his first producer) concerning the show could appear dismissive and mean but he wanted to do right by Bahamians. He knew he was a necessary voice in the darkness. He understood something very few in Bahamian media could comprehend: We don’t want to be preached to. I got threatened via Bahamian pastors as a youth for 18yrs: I’ve had my fill.
Every joke had meaning. Every accusation carried truth. Every stunt was a demonstration. He gave us palatable but uncomfortable facts while informing us of what was going on while we were busy surviving in this country. Moncur presided over the church of whats happening now. The difference between him and an actual Bahamian church was he gave back to the people and didn’t require 10% of your money: Just 10% of your time. Also, unlike these Bahamian pastors, he let us know whenever he could that he was imperfect and made human mistakes. Unlike some of these ministers who’ll be laid up behind closed doors like….
At the risk of sounding morbid, I know there are a few powerful men including politicians who will not mourn Rodney Moncur. Quite the opposite actually. They will celebrate his departure from this world because he was their nemesis. I’m positive it’s not personal. He just shed light on ugly things they wished people would forget and Moncur was an episodic reminder of their failures and corruption. His absence forces us to beg the question: Who is next?
Do not misunderstand me: I meant every word of the title of this article. The Bahamas does not need another Rodney Moncur. We don’t. We need someone better to fill the void his death has created. Not better because I thought his work was lacking. Better because thats what its going to take to get the people to listen now that he’s no longer with us. No one in the world can mimic let alone recreate what that man did. His mannerisms, his cadence, his knowledge, his charisma.
But to allow this country to be without a truth/story teller is to doom this country more than it already is. To allow these politicians and powerful people to carry on with wanton disregard for the livelihood of the rest of us will lead to anarchy and chaos. Have y’all been paying attention to the world?
So, who?
Who is next?
Who fills that void?
I’m looking at Ricardo Wells, Joey Gaskins, Darron Turnquest, Loretta Butler-Turner, Schin Nyugen….shit, any other names y’all can think of throw them in the pot. I think we’ve had our fill of old men from Government High lying on microphones. And God forbid we get another SAC graduate on a mic cause what does that broadcast sound like?
When you think about it we wouldn’t have gotten very far in this country if people didn’t hate corruption equally as much as they love to be informed. The truth forces them to choose one or the other. Highborn or low, no one goes into their craft to sew misery. I don’t think that was ever Moncurs intent. When our backs are against the walls the best of us see things in black and white. He saw the gray. He was the balance. I’ve never put much stock into changing this country. But alas I have to admit: Things can’t continue the way they are. If apathy, measured words and or silence are our only choices then it’s time to expand our options. So far I’ve spared myself the pain of taking a good hard look beyond the veil of this country. But if pain and bitter truth is what’s needed to reshape this archipelago then so be it.
I judged Moncur unfairly initially. But I should have known to look to the stars before I decided who he was. Had I contemplated the stars I would have known that Moncur was a Scorpio….a November one at that. The very people I tend to hate until I love them. Well, sir, take your rest and know that you are loved by the “woman dem” and the negro men.
You did a masterful job.
It was powerful.
Sleep well
