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The Book
"At three o'clock, we'd walk home from school," writes author Vincent Beach in describing his childhood in rural Jamaica in the late 1920s. "I'd bring my slate with a piece of chalk and hope that my homework didn't wash away from the rain or humidity by the time I got home."
With a gentle father he referred to as Mas T and strict mother he called Miss Rosa, Vincent's childhood prepared him for the rigors of life he was about to face. He knew if he stayed in Jamaica that he'd be denied the future he envisioned for himself. So he enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1944. Following World War II, he aspired to become a jazz musician. With no music background, he bought an old clarinet and began to practice. Emigrating to the United States he immediately encountered the ugliness of racism and segregation. He retreated to England for a time, but once more decided he must try for the "American dream." Armed with more wisdom and resolve, he returned to America in 1955 and joined the United States Air Force serving as a military bandsman for 22 years. Becoming an educator and counselor, he spent the next 23 years sharing his wisdom and knowledge with children on the Navajo Reservation and finally as a community college instructor in political science and psychology in Chandler, Arizona.
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Over the past 82 years, Vincent has seen and experienced a lot-from war, to racism, to love found and lost and rediscovered, to the birth of his children, and the tragic deaths of two of them from Lupus. Each event was a river to be crossed. The old adage of his mother Miss Rosa has given him the perseverance and dedication to pursue life to its fullest despite setbacks, pitfalls, and tragedy.
In his storied autobiography-Don't Throw Away Your Stick Till You Cross the River-written with the help of his wife Anni, Vincent shares the intimate details of his inspiring life. An ordinary man by his own description, Vincent says he has shared his story because he believes life stories provide an opportunity to better understand the complexities of human beings and the realities of every day living.
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© 2006 - 2008 Five Star Publications
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