By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 29, 2020 – The death of Dr. Philip “Slimey” Thompson hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. During the 12 years that I lived in Freeport, Grand Bahama, prior to relocating to Washington, D.C. in May of 2013, Slimey and I became very close friends when we were both regular patrons of CHANCES Lounge on Logwood Road, one of the most popular sports lounges in Grand Bahama.
In keeping with his status as one of The Bahamas’ most renowned medical practitioners, he lived in one of the four penthouses at Lucayan Towers South, and we were neighbours for several years after I moved to an apartment on the 10th floor at Lucayan Towers South in the mid-1990s.
CHANCES Lounge routinely attracted some of Freeport’s most rabid sports fans throughout the week, but especially on Sundays during football season, it would be jam-packed with patrons supporting their respective teams while wearing their team’s jersey. Like many football fans in Grand Bahama, Slimey was a Miami Dolphins fan and his loyalty to the Dolphins was conspicuously obvious as he sat at the bar in his green and white Dolphins jersey watching the game – or more accurately, the various games being shown on multiple television screens mounted around the lounge.
Of course, I am a dyed-in-the-wool Washington Redskins fan, and if I arrived at CHANCES after Slimey, in my maroon Redskins jersey, as soon as I sat down, he would instruct the bartender to “give Ossie a half.” He knew that Dewar’s White Label Scotch is my favourite alcoholic drink and the “half” was in reference to a half-pint.
Slimey was a beer drinker, and he particularly liked his Kalik to be very cold. Occasionally, if the bottle of beer he was drinking got a little too warm, he would leave the rest of it and order a new one, which provided me with an opportunity to reciprocate by buying him a drink.
When I first read about his death in a Facebook post by Peter Adderley, a Grand Bahama-based public relations specialist, the floodgates opened and I could not stop crying as I repeatedly lost the battle to control my emotions and had to interrupt writing this on more than one occasion. Indeed, writing is not a difficult task for me, but I started writing this brief shortly after 2 p.m. and it took me more than five hours to complete it. Of course, a deep depression that occasionally engulfs my thoughts as a result of some pressing personal problems I am currently experiencing was also a contributing factor, but reading the report in The Tribune on Slimey’s death also contributed to my temporary writing inertia.
Quoting Peter Adderley, The Tribune’s article described Dr. Thompson as “God’s gift to the medical community” and a “giant artisan.”
In a statement Mr. Adderley said: “Junkanoo and the window of Bahamian culture today lost a giant artisan. Philip Thompson’s creative gifts as a costume designer and builder loomed large. His well-trained and talented hands were God’s gift to the medical community. He was a true professional.”
Mr Adderley said Dr. Thompson gave his services freely to the sick and poor, then added, “His company meant smart heated debates, extra cold beers, and loud laughs…He noted often that a bird don’t fly on one wing. He now takes his Heavenly flight. Our country is better because of his work, brotherhood, and loyal friendship.”
When contacted for a comment, Raymond R.H. Culmer, owner of CHANCES Lounge and CEO of Jarol Investments, Ltd. and CHANCES GAMES, said, “Ossie, this was a big one. Philip was my cousin. His mother Maud Deveaux Thompson was my Grand Aunt. He was one of the nicest persons you will find. He was always there for me. From he arrived in Grand Bahama, he never refused to answer my call. He very seldom goes to people’s houses because of his routine that he outlined to me: He gets up at 2 am to go over his surgery cases for the day, and he arrives at the hospital shortly after that.”
Noting that Dr. Thomson “is usually done with surgery early afternoon,” Mr. Culmer added, “He finds a bar for a few cold Kaliks. Goes home usually by 6 or 7 and goes to bed. So you rarely saw him out at nights. He was a gregarious fella that got along with every one. Rio, Dashy, Sannie, Stuart, Basil and all the boys (regular patrons of CHANCES) are in shock. May GOD grant him rest eternal.”
Indeed, my the soul of my beloved friend rest in peace.
