Clifton Bodden at his workplace in the Department of Vehicles and Equipment Services. Photo: Aare ToomistGRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands (Cayman Net News),
October 26, 2007:
For anyone who thinks that senior citizens aren’t working in the Cayman Islands, they may need to think again. According to Cayman’s 2006 Labour Force Survey, 860 people – or 2.5 percent of the labour force – are older than 65 years of age.
One of those active seniors is Clifton Bodden (photo), who at 84 years old, is still employed, working at the security gates of the Department of Vehicles and Equipment Services (DVES). The department provides fleet management services to government’s 798 units of vehicles and mobile equipment.
Mr Bodden has been physically active and involved in community affairs all his life, but in 2005 decided to end his 13-year retirement by joining the DVES.
“It is a very honest and important job that keeps me young – I can contribute to the community by assisting with the services that DVES provides,” he explains. “The fleet that we service includes emergency vehicles like the police cars that provide us with protection; waste management trucks that collect our garbage; and ambulances that take us to hospital.”
“Mr Bodden is a very professional person, and he knows the infrastructure of this place better than anyone else,” said Mr Bodden’s supervisor, DVES Director Dale Dacres.
Clifton Bodden was born in 1923 in Isle of Pines, Cuba. In 1947 he married Gladys Marion Henderson from Bodden Town (now deceased), and they had four children – Jewell Bodden, Marie Rivers, Loyce Watler and Floyd Bodden. They also have 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
When he was 17 years old, he obtained his first job on a Cuban citrus farm. In 1942, during World War II, he came to Cayman and served with the Home Guard. When the war ended, he was discharged from the Home Guard as a sergeant-instructor.
Mr Bodden then joined the police service, later worked on ships as an oiler and worked his way up to the position of chief engineer. Before his retirement in 1988, he was a heavy-equipment mechanic for the Public Works Department for 22 years.
Bodden likes swimming and cycling, and every morning, does physical exercises. He believes there is no place for unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking in his life.
“When one retires, one has to be active, do sports and be fit,” he said. “Otherwise, muscles get weak and everything goes wrong.”
Seniors must also stay in shape mentally, keep up communications with relatives, friends and colleagues, and read books and newspapers, he says. Knowledge is wealth; be alert to what is happening in the world now, and in the future, it can make life much easier and happier.
Bodden encourages youth to get a good education, so that they can make Cayman a better place to live and make their country proud.
God, good health and good education are a must for good life. One has to learn to do business and young people should get up and work for themselves, not just sit down and wait for handouts from parents.
“People who have lived their lives to the fullest, in honesty, and who have been blessed in so many ways, can look back and smile at the good things they have done,” he said.
Copyright © 2003 - 2007 Cayman Net Ltd
