So before I delve into politics and relationships in 2017, I must acknowledge the quiet oversize contributions of Edward Alfred Rodgers, who passed away in December.
Charlie’s Bar posted the following announcement mid-month: One of the most famous characters of San Nicolas: Edward Alfred Rodgers, Alhambra’s Genie. Also a Goodwill Ambassador of Aruba, has passed away.
I decided to add a bit to that telegram, after all it is rumored that this man was the holder of the Guinness Book of World Records for most hands shaken, in a lifetime.
True, or False is the question.
A native of San Nicholas, Rodgers started working at Divi Divi Beach Resort in 1974, as the nighttime maintenance man. His job consisted of walking up and down the poorly lit paths with a giant flashlight, showing hotel guests the shortest way from the bar to their rooms. You have to imagine the hotel at the time, a few dozen casitas sprawled out on a dark beach, then you meet the grinning giant, Rodgers and the flashlight, naturally, he immediately became a beacon of friendliness and orientation, a great favorite among the hotel’s repeat guests.
Mid 80s Rodgers was transferred to the Alhambra Casino as the doorman, and befitting the Moorish design theme of the casino he was dressed in a long green velvet vest, his chest festooned with gold buttons, he legs planted in a pair of roomy jodhpurs, tucked into knee-high black boots, topped by a gold trimmed turban. He earned his nickname the Alhambra Genie, that way. As he grew into his job, his title was appropriately changed to Goodwill Ambassador, which he was.
Rodgers who lived with his mother, in San Nicholas, was never married, but enjoyed many friends and acquaintances when he retired due to illness in 2009; he traded the Alhambra Casino in Oranjestad for Charlie’s Bar in St Nicholas, and continued to shake hands and socialize until he passed away this December.
So did he really shake a record of hands in his lifetime? I believe he did. The title was never officially approved by the book organization, but I thought he deserved it, and as the marketing director of that casino, I allowed myself the freedom to say so. You must agree that if he stood at the Alhambra’s entrance every night greeting players in and out the door, with a firm handshake, that would amount to millions of people over THIRTY FIVE years.
