As a kid my mom would tell us all she knew about the Richmonds. ( I promised you guys they were all good things). I remembered once she mentioned our dad had a younger brother - "the baby of the family" same age group as us named Montgomery. At the time the name sounded so weird to me, and out of the ordinary typical Guyanese name. But it made me wonder who he was and with a name such as Montgomery what type of person was he. I assume someone with confidence and strength to have such a strong name. More so it made me wonder what my father side of the family was like. The first time I remember meeting Monty (as an adult), is kind of a funny story. It was in 2007 when I was seventeen, I visited Guyana. I remember the day even now - Shamane was showing me around town, and she said we were going to meet someone. We were standing at the Stabroek bus station when two guys came walking up to us. At first, I thought "these must be Shamane's uni friends". As they got closer, in my head, I was thinking “the one with the nice smile was kinda cute”, but to my disappointment, it turned out he was my uncle along with his friend Yannick. My disappointment quickly went away as I realised I finally got to meet the great Montgomery. After chatting, he suggested that we should go to the mines to meet Granny B. We all agreed to go back home and meet again at the bus stop later that day. The four of us went up to the mines (the longest bus ride I have ever had). That weekend was one of the best times I have spent in Guyana. I got to the opportunity to meet and know a lot of the Richmonds. Over the time we spent together, I gravitated to his spirit. Monty was so down to earth, chill and seem to like a lot of the things I love doing. He was the first person to put a pool stick in my hand and teach me how to play. Now, I consider myself to be a pro at it; wish I had the opportunity to have a few rounds with him. He took us to the river, introduce us to other family members, we had so much fun those couple of days. He made me feel like we were one of his immediate family, even though I was probably a baby when we last saw each other. He welcomed me with open arms. Meeting Monty that day taught me to the great lesson: One - you must get to know who your blood relatives before you somehow begin to fancy them by accident and two - the time spent opened up a relationship I never knew I craved. I was able to see a side of my fathers family that I probably missed out on as a child—coming from my mom's family that was all girls. It was an excellent experience to have an uncle and do things with him. A single conversation with this wise man is worth a month's study of books. Monty's mannerism was so distinct. He was family orientated, and the way he spoke and articulated his words was very inspiring. Our relationship continued as I went back to Montserrat and as he moved to the UK. We would catch up from time to time. When I moved to the UK, he would check up on me regularly and made sure I knew he considered me as family. As I am in my last year of uni even as he battled cancer, he would encourage me in my studies and career every time we spoke. Even in his final days, he was worried about me working at the pharmacy during the epidemic like a true Uncle. I am so happy to have had the chance to get to know him. He lived up to his name, confidence and full of strength, an uncle and a friend I needed. I am forever grateful for his existence. I am inspired by your will to live - gone too soon, but you will always be in the hearts of those you touched. Monty cross the great divide and may God guide your beautiful soul. Shaunna.