Gladstone D. Meyler

The Twisted Metal Gladstone D. Meyler

The Twisted Metal is about Cudjoe Boko, a man of steel, with a heart that thunders in the wall of his chest, yet a personality gentle as the petals of a rose bud. He is born in a remote village in the mountainous cockpit country of Jamaica. His two non-literate, but loving parents are Sara and Quesse Boko, descendants of a people brought to Jamaica by the Spaniards as slaves from the West African country of Ghana. They are called Maroons. They derive the name because of their incredible fighting ability, refusing to be slaves of the British, after a naval battle led by Admiral Penn and General Venerable of the British fleet, capture the island from the Spanish in 1655. Cudjoe Boko is a Maroon by his very nature. As a child he has an inquisitive mind, and is never satisfied with the ordinary things offered by his village enclave. At the early age of sixteen, with only a minimal education, he is expected to learn a trade at a tailor's shop in his village. Cudjoe believes his destiny is greater than this and decides to run away to the big city. Knowing no one, he is fortunately taken in by a stranger, who loves him as her own child. On her job, her employer takes a liking to young Cudjoe, and grooms him over the years to be a manager over his business. Among his many escapades he selects a devoted wife, and raises a family. His career turns to politics, where he becomes a successful politician. He often lends a helping hand to those less fortunate, in the society, and remembers a lesson taught to him by his father: "Boy if you don't know where you come from, like hell you will not know where you are going." He lives by that saying and personifies its meaning. He is spiritually inquisitive and sometimes self critical, but always focused. He leaves politics and lives to a ripe old age, satisfied with his accomplishments, and proud to have been an outstanding family man, and father to his three children.