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Goodbye, Ian Boyne
January 17, 2018
At the funeral held for the late Ian Anthony Boyne Sunday gone, Jamaica said goodbye and paid tribute to an extraordinary human being and an exceptional son.
Trust me, Ian Boyne was special. One of the qualities I had long admired about the veteran journalist was his ability to politely engage persons whose views he didn't share.
He was that uncommon Jamaican man of God who could courteously converse with a strong, strident atheist and maintain conviction without resorting to contempt.
Boyne was that rare Jamaican Christian who could respectfully reason with persons from other religious persuasions without animosity or scorn.
This is a unique characteristic in a country like ours where difference is usually punished and people are often berated, hated, and sometimes annihilated simply for embracing an opposing idea.
BRILLIANT MAN
Another Boyne trait that I truly admired and seek to emulate is the brilliant manner in which he comfortably inhabited the intersection between intelligence and devoutness.
He was that outstanding individual who gave a lie to the idea that intellect and spirituality are mutually exclusive. Yeah peeps, there are folks around who feel they are just too intellectually evolved to even try to appreciate the spirit of God.
And I've encountered some people of faith who think they are so full of the Holy Ghost that they don't need to leave space for earthly wisdom. Boyne was the exemplary exception to those flawed rules.
I'm personally pleased to be able to announce that I was interviewed by Boyne both on his legendary show Profile and on the controversial Religious HardTalk.
Yeah man, mi proud til it buck! And I don't know how Jamaica is going to manage without him. Mi nah lie. Being interviewed by the big man means that me is a significant smaddy!
After all, there was a time when having a hit song was the true mark of whether somebody was really a serious recording artiste, and back in the days, performing in a national pantomime was the ultimate reference point used to indicate that one was a 'proper-proper' professional actor.
Well, in the same way, being interviewed by Boyne was held up as a definite indicator of full achievement of 'smaditisation' in Jamaica.
Yes peeps, he made us feel special, and there is no other like him. Boyne has left an indelible mark on Jamaica, and he will be sorely missed!
