Yep know him fine & the story ...I know him as Anthony of course...forgot about his nickname Long Tony. Whispering Hope brings to mind my school days in Lourdes Convent. Rico, perhaps you & others were around when a few of us as a group were trained to sing (seconds also) this same song by the late Ms. Margaret... she used to play the Piano but her gimlet eye wandered over us all too. Strict but good lady. May her soul rest in peace. Happy Feast for tomorrow...or rather today, as it is after midnight here. Annette
From: [email protected] Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2010 02:06:10 +0530 Subject: [SALIGAONET] WHISPERING HOPE … Tony Fernandes in http://goasudharop.org/docs/ebook/23whispering.htm To: [email protected] Another Saligao-linked article I came across. Sure many of you would know Long Tony! FN WHISPERING HOPE … by A. Anthony (Tony) Fernandes [email protected] When a banyan tree is uprooted somewhere deep in the heart of the forest, do the echoes reverberate through the ghats, or do they just fade away into the hoary gloaming? Cynthia Largo Afonso never stood for public office, nor won a Nobel Prize for Peace, but she was an exponent of the art of looking possibility and opportunity straight in the eye. Someone who made us understand that, if ever we needed a helping hand, the first place to look was at the end of our own arms. Wife, mother, my godmother and an inspiration to countless others, she was the patent glue that held a clan together, in her own quiet, intuitive way. Yet, most of all, she had that golden touch which allowed her to establish seemingly effortless rapport with captains of industry and the local "vadi / vaddo" women alike. Despite her declining health in later years due to genetic polycystic renal disease, she never ever let anything stop her. In between hospital dialysis sessions, she thought nothing of hopping onto a Mumbai-Goa bound plane - or bus, with her trusty moped atop - to travel from her Mahim home (where she'd lived for 40+ years) to visit her beloved ancestral hamlet of Paetona, Salvador do Mundo. She, along with her husband Olaf, were pretty much surrogate parents to my brother Leonard and me, after her sister (my mother, Joyce Francesca) passed on some 31 years ago of the same condition, aged just 39. They were role models by extension, to us and probably at some stage or other, to so many others, irrespective of whether they were family or not. Many will remember her years with the Choir of the Church of Our Lady of Victory, Mahim, Mumbai, to which her husband was also affiliated. Others will probably also recall her time as a backup singer in what is now popularly known as Bollywood, as well as her recordings with Konkani music greats like Oslando. Mental tapestry etchings of her remain .. amongst many others, of sepia yesteryears .. of the sisters as a duo or sometimes a trio, harmonizing the strains of their favourite "Whispering Hope" often accompanied by our Uncle Olaf on his guitar, in the then lamp-lit evenings of seemingly endless summer vacations at Grandmother's house! Were it not for her, I might not be around to write this today…. My first thoughts at the time she urged me to have an ultrasound scan, were "I'm too busy running a resort in Bermuda" and "What do I need a scan for anyway ??!!" Years later, in distant London I watched, in gnawing raging helplessness, as she slowly deteriorated, while I, for whatever reason the Gods of Celestial Roulette ordain, and whilst on nightly home-based dialysis, received a 3:00 a.m. phone call, offering me the chance of a potential donor kidney. How's that for searing survivor guilt? The cold-gutting truth is that, in the world of life on a transplant list, many are called, but few are chosen. In her passing, as in her lifetime, she was and always will be, an enduring icon of "can do" positivity, with the art of truly connecting with people! In the e-mailed words of Cousin Desiree, "Tony, you said it right! She was indeed a role model and the personification of courage, endurance and life itself! Her cheerful disposition, her bursts of laughter, her endearing mannerisms, her wonderful persona will be sorely missed." It's to people like her and to my mother that we dedicate this, and the 'Carpe Diem' life that I laser-focus on nowadays. This, because there are no more dress rehearsals and second acts in this ‘Renaissance of Life’ gift, that naught but a fortunate few have bestowed upon them! She did not leave a parting message. She did not need to. Her life and love of all humanity was her message. It is our unique privilege to have known and been blessed by her presence in our lives. This, no one can ever take away. The voice of an angel has been stilled, but her song can never be silenced. She passed away on 19th July, 2006. On 22nd August, 2006 she would have been all of 67 years young. >From all those whose lives you touched and made a difference to, Aunt Cynthia >… WE SALUTE YOU! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kenya born and Goa raised, Tony Fernandes is a scion of the "Fogoti" clan of Paetona, Salvador do Mundo and the "Ushellantlem Colle" of Saligao, Goa. Previously Bermuda based, Tony is an apprentice writer and eco-heritage tourism entrepreneur. During the 2005 Christmas season, he received the priceless gift of a cadaveric kidney transplant from an anonymous donor in the U.K. where he currently lives. Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490 -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active! -- This message comes via the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net?hl=en Please post regularly to keep the e-village active!
