The Cecil Cyrus I knew

As I look back on the reviews I wrote on his books, the notes I took and the many conversations we had I realize more than ever the many sides of the man that obviously cannot be captured
in two newspaper columns. He was a celebrated surgeon, but he was much more. He was a Renaissance man, but even more the epitome of class and humility, not ashamed to speak about his background. His autobiography A DREAM COME TRUE- was dedicated to his mother, a poor Layou woman who picked cotton on Mr A .M Fraser’s plantation and to his father who invited him to come to live in Kingstown and his efforts at supporting his education. But in the end what prevailed and made him the man he was, was his discipline and dedication and commitment to fulfilling his dream of becoming a Surgeon.

His 2017 publication was filled with humour and polished with philosophy, history, and literature. Cecil was initially an arts student but had on his own to master the sciences in order to qualify for admittance to his medical studies. In 18 months, he was able with the help of Archbishop Maxwell to pass the three science exams. Then there was the major issue of financing his education. He decided with his father to save his full salary as a member of staff of the Grammar School, with his father supplementing it monthly. In two and a half years he had enough to cover four years of study and left on September 11, 1950, by the Gruman Goose.

I referred before to his photographic memory which remained with him almost to the end. But what stands out were his painstaking recording of his experiences and practices through photographs and detailed notes. His Botanic Museum was testimony to his dedication and commitment and is probably unparalleled in the region. There is so much of our history and culture that is found in his works that the Community College and National Library and the Archives should hold dearly copies of all of them. How many of us today know about “bull de mash” and “maljo string” and the men in the country who used to do “nointing”, which he regards as the early version of the Chiropractor. He remembers the early years when patients who came to him would have contacted the Obeah man before visiting him. There are classic accounts of the beliefs and sayings of patients. There was the belief that “Clap”/gonorrhoea was caused from sitting on a hot stone. There was the patient who came to him with a complaint unrelated to her sight but who said when she came into the office she couldn’t see. Someone phoned him to ask if she could get pregnant if she had sex in her underwear. One patient phoned aThe Cecil Cyrus I knewt about 7:00 a.m while he was in his garden to say that she was soon going to have a shower so she could be there for her 10:30 appointment. One marri(continued from last week)ed man who had engaged in sex outside of his marriage told the goodly doctor that he had been engaged in private practice.

Doctor Cyrus was able to recall over 400 nicknames and to give the reasons for the nicknames. A watchman at the Grammar School was known as Red Fowl Cock because persons considered him a ‘mako man’. A man from Layou was named Bat Romeo because he returned from his mountain lands at the dark of night. Old stories and sayings are recorded- “Yo Like Miss Howard’s cat; Like Yo see Star Pitch!” “The devil and his wife fighting for a piece of ham bone.” Moskito one, Moskito two, Moskito jump in de old man shoe!”

Among the many stories was that of Mr X whose daughter was friendly with a man called Shot. He accosted her, “We have no gun, what you doing with shot!”. Fondly remembered are some of the speeches given when persons were serenading during the Christmas season. “I want to remind you of the biblical history; I hope I am not discommoding you from your peaceful rest or hesitating you or kicking the shallow plate any further. I will now turn to my band to sound me the antecorum part of music.”

Cyrus’ autobiography is a gem in recapturing memories of the past, particularly where he grew up until he left Layou to join his father in Kingstown. What applied to Layou applied to most other villages although Layou was described as a town. It was indeed a rural village. The story of Dr Cyrus’s life as a poor boy living with his mother in Layou to his move to Kingstown to his father and then off to the Queen’s University of Belfast, where he went, saw, and conquered is a story well worth telling. There is so much of his practice as a medical doctor in a developing country and a lot more about St. Vincent from the 1930s and beyond that provide a rich history of our society that even though he has passed on his many lectures and books will live on and provide a rich account of St. Vincent and the Grenadines through those years. His Botanic Museum captures aspects of his work as a medical doctor and his contribution to medicine over the years. His books recapture important aspects of our past, many of which might have been forgotten. Sir Cecil Cyrus has passed on but not forgotten. You have served your country and its people. You were not a perfect person, but who is? Many would have had different experiences with you but that is life, and this is to be expected.

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian