Farewell to "Mr Happy Man"

Johnny Barnes with his statue on East Broadway.

Bermuda awoke on Saturday to the news that Johnny Barnes, "Mr Happy Man", had died at the age of 93.

For the last 30 years Mr Barnes has wished commuters a happy day, waving, blowing kisses and saying "I love you" as he stood next to the main roundabout junction leading into the capital city of Hamilton.

Since retiring from work, he has spent the last three decades getting up in the middle of the night to make his way to the roundabout by foot, in time to spread greetings of unconditional love to commuters.

It mattered not who you were, for Johnny the message was "one love". He'd wave, blow kisses and call out "I love you" continuously from 4am to 10am every weekday. He never missed a day, unless a hurricane was blowing or he was ill.

In fact, shortly after I arrived in Bermuda I saw the panic that gripped the community when Mr Barnes was not seen at his usual perch for three consecutive days. The radio chat shows were full of it, the phones at our newspaper office were ringing with concerned callers wanting to know where was Johnny.  As it turned out, it was one of the rare occasions when an illness prevented him performing his daily ritual. But he was back in place a few days later. Panic over!

It was in 1986 that Mr Barnes began his astonishing, virtually unbroken 30 years as an ambassador for love and happiness. However, he had been making occasional roadside gestures of goodwill to all-comers for many decades before, even as far back as the late 1940s when he worked on the now long-vanished Bermuda Railway.

In 1998 a bronze statue of Mr Barnes was created by artist Desmond Fountain and for the past almost 20 years has stood about 100 metres further along the East Broadway approach road. The statue wonderfully captures his open embrace for all.

With Mr Barnes at his greeting spot in 2009

When I first saw the statue I thought how unique, but remarkably fitting it was to have such an honor for a man who was very much still around and continuing to have an uplifting impact on people's lives. Of all the quirks of life in Bermuda, Johnny Barnes and his morning greetings was one that has always deeply resonated with me. And though the East Broadway roundabout has never been on my usual commute route, it always felt special when I did happen to pass through that way and received a fleeting greeting from Johnny.

I twice stopped to chat with Mr Barnes. His friendly, effervescence was infectious. On one of those occasions he handed me a postcard, featuring a photo of himself with the Desmond Fountain-created statue (pictured above), and a simple message on the back. It was a greeting card he handed to many people - islanders and visitors alike. The message read "Johnny Barnes. I love you. God bless you."

In 2011, American filmmaker Matt Morris made an award-winning 10-minute documentary about Mr Barnes, fittingly titled Mr Happy Man.

The following year, Mr Barnes fell at his regular spot. At almost 90, he struggled to get back on to his feet, and this incident led to calls from the public for a seat to be installed for the local legend. A tiny wooden bench, big enough for one, along with a wooden handrail were duly put in place for Mr Barnes.

As an example of the deep affection with which Mr Barnes was held by many a newspaper article in The Royal Gazette reporting the passing of Mr Barnes and featuring tributes, published on Saturday morning, had been "liked' almost 6,000 times on Facebook by Saturday evening.

Bermuda's Premier, Michael Dunkley, was quoted as saying Johnny Barnes was "a remarkable, original man whose life gave life to the love we all have in our hearts, and who, from his roundabout perch each morning, expressed that love to all who passed by — friend, acquaintance, stranger, it did not matter, because Johnny Barnes embraced the human race".

That loving embrace that Mr Barnes showed the world lives on. It is reflected in the statue on East Broadway, and in his own words as he explained to movie maker Mr Morris his reasons for engaging with people in the manner that he did. (see video below).

Farewell, Mr Happy Man.