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The Hon. Aston Wesley Powell is without a doubt one of the great Jamaican and Caribbean educators of the twentieth century. His passing marks the end of the era of great entrepreneurs in education. His genius in establishing Excelsior High School, his pioneering efforts in the establishment of Community Colleges in Jamaica through the founding of EXED, his outstanding leadership in the unification of the teaching profession in the creation of the Jamaica Teachers Association, and his community service especially through the YMCA and Rotary Club all stand as monuments of his contribution to the lives of people and the growth of the Jamaican nation in this century.

Mrs. Fay Saunders was a colossus in education. Much will be said and written about her brilliance as a teacher of Mathematics; her perspicacity as the Secretary of the Association of Assistant Masters and Assistant Mistresses; her effective management as the Principal of the St Andrews High School for Girls; her bold leadership as President and astuteness as Secretary General of the Jamaica Teachers Association; her vital inputs in the reform of the education system in the 1970s as Parliamentary Secretary; and her visionary contribution to the establishment of the Caribbean Examinations Council.

Mercurial yet amenable to logic and reason, a stickler for detail but very aware of the big picture, a loyal supporter and fierce defender of his beloved Jamaica Labour Party but not without his personal opinion and the courage to express it, conservative on many issues yet possessed of an inventive imagination which saw possibilities and opportunities where others saw none.

In reflecting upon the life and work of the late Michael Manley the thought struck me that he is best described as a big man. Given the numerous meanings and interpretations that could be put to this characterization, I decided to explore as many of these meanings and interpretations as I could think of, to see to what extent this description was accurate.