MONTEGO BAY, St James — For over 30 years Glen Campbell has sold countless boxes of ice cream to children in Pitfour and surrounding communities of this western Jamaica parish.

Stocks and all is stored in an igloo attached to the reliable motor bike of the man better known as Skibbo. This, he said, has brought him immense joy as he has been able to watch hundreds of children grow up over the years, some even bearing their own offspring.

“Mi basically get fi see people grow up, you know? Like this girl that mi used to serve ice cream to, [as] a likkle girl, come up and have baby. That child now buys ice cream from me too, so you know say a long time mi a do this,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.

“Mi always happy fi see that,” he added with a chuckle.

While sharing that he is a product of this parish, Campbell recounted the unfortunate accident of a “fellow creamie” that first led him to these communities to provide the frozen treat.

“A guy used to ride a bicycle, Chazam, you know him? So, Chazam used to sell in Pitfour and Retirement, but he [met] in an accident, so him did inna hospital. Mi never used to go Pitfour, mi used to go like outta town – out by Hopewell and up inna the hills – but the people dem know mi and ask why mi nuh come run Chazam’s ends until him come back,” he said.

“So mi say, ‘Alright’, since it’s [closer] to me because I live in town, I just go and that’s how mi end up a Pitfour and Retirement. Now, mi go right back to Friendship and John’s Hall till mi end up all a Hurlock now. Hurlock a the [furthest] mi go though,” he continued.

Though his original plan was to provide ice cream to the children in these areas for a short period, at least until his friend was back on his feet, he told the Sunday Observer that, between the love he received from customers and encouragements from this friend, he decided to make this his new route.

This decision, the 66-year-old said, has been rewarding as he is now a household favourite across the communities he serves.

“When mi come mi just did a fill in for Chazam and him say mi mustn’t lef. Mi show him the ropes say the people say I must run the ends till him come, and him say, ‘No man, gwan work’, so mi just work with him. The people dem alright. Me and dem never inna nothing yet. Mi just deal with them straight up, you know? Mi deal with the youth dem with respect so the people dem like my service,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Campbell, a father of six, shared that, though his chosen profession has brought him happiness over the years, as he “now has a money can spend and pay bills”, he, too, has experienced an unfortunate accident which led to him be admitted at hospital in 2019.

“A car lick mi down a Tucker, down by the hardware [store] deh suh. I was coming from over the plaza and a car coming down from Gutters just hoist me up inna the air enuh. About two years ago. Mi toe dem did bruk up,” he said.

“It wasn’t a hit-and-run though, [the driver] carry mi go a hospital. Him all lick out his windscreen, too, enuh. Yes, man. Him lick mi [with the car] from backway. Him just come down a speed and one hoist him hoist mi up. Boy, mi a tell you. Mi coulda dead man,” Campbell added.

The onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, he told the Sunday Observer, which came a mere four months after this accident, has brought on additional stress. The ice cream man shared that his sales have dropped considerably over the last 18 months, between the Government-mandated no-movement days and fear being experienced by customers.

“It has been hard because mi nah mek no sale more than suh. Before the COVID, on Sundays, I used to sell like six [boxes] of ice cream, that is like two trips [to and from] these communities. Now, not even two [boxes] mi a sell. It really gone down man! The right day when mi can mek a money is a Sunday and right now, Sunday is a [no-movement] day,” Campbell said.

“So, when I go out ya now, like how dem say it’s 8:00 pm curfew, mi try come in at the Crazy Jim depot before 5:00 pm. You know how sometimes you go to a likkle hot spot and the people dem will crowd round and buy? That nah happen again. And some of them nuh have no money to buy either. See the other day when we did have the [three-day] lockdown? It never pretty at all; bills a climb up and no money nah run, you understand? But dem say a fi wi own good,” he continued.

Nevertheless, Campbell said, though the pandemic has taken away some of the human aspects of his job, he is extremely grateful for small mercies, and is doing all that he can to stay safe amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Mi always have on my mask and mi have my [hand] sanitiser dem still. Mi nuh really carry whole heap of water but mi go inna people yard go wash mi hands and dem sumn deh. Sometimes mi hands kinda get sweaty so mi go wash dem off and use the sanitiser,” he told the Sunday Observer.