Dear Trish and Josephine:

I visited the Newsletter, and think I still have time to contribute with a little article about a very fine man... my father-in-law, for the upcoming Newsletter. I just wanted to do some justice to an ordinary man who was an extraordinary human being. My best to you both,

Carolina

A fine man

It happens sometimes that a very special person is born, sort of an angel, I must say, that influences us,  and, in some instances, changes the way we look at things. I had the luck of meeting one of those special beings: his name was Christian Greaves, and he was my father-in-law. He passed away a month and a half ago. He was born on the West Indies, and after graduating as an agronomist from the Tropical Imperial College of Agriculture, Trinidad, late in the thirties, he came to work in Venezuela hired by the government. Here, he met my mother-in-law, and formed his family. But it isnot of his curriculum I want to write about, but of his extreme kindness and decency, that made him a truly remarkable man. I never heard Daddy saying nasty things about anybody, - not even when he was asked about it- although we knew from other sources that there were people who had cheated badly on him. I never heard him either complaining about the ordeals he had to undergo in order to make a living out of agriculture. Instead, he talked about them with his extraordinary sense of humor. Once he told me: "Men have three ways of losing money: the quickest is gambling; the most pleasant is with women, and the surest is agriculture". With this simple statement he briefed all the hardships he had to endure in order to support his family. I never heard him complaining about being ill, and even in his worst moments he had a smile and a word of encouragement for those around him. He was very kind, affectionate and good-natured. Once, he tried to tell me a joke (he was very funny), but he forgot the words. "Say it in English", I told him. He thought for a while, and said: "the problem is, baby, that I forgot the words in English too", he said with a broad smile. That was his special way of coping with an upcoming lose of memory.

To his children and to those who loved him, he left an example of honesty - all proof, hardwork and modesty. I feel lucky and proud of having met such a fine man, and certainly, I will miss him terribly.

Carolina Jaimes Branger

National President

Venezuela