Carrot Bay resident Evan Francis has been a taxi driver for about 17 years, and he is currently a member of the West End Taxi Association. Before driving a taxi, he worked as a salesman and then a small business owner in the United States. “I also love farming,” he said. “I grew up farming in Carrot Bay. That was all we lived off. We had no money, so we had to farm and fish.”
In the US
I moved to America for a better life in 1959. From 21 to 27 years, I was in St. Thomas in the hotel industry. At that time, you get a one-month [visa]; then they change it to six months if you had someone to sponsor you. I had sponsors in the hotel industry — the Virgin Islands Hilton Hotel. I was a bartender there, and they sent me all the way to New York City to The Statler Hilton, because they moved around the help and I was one of them who spent quite a bit of years in The Statler.
Then I went on my own. I owned a couple of businesses in America. I used to have a little small furniture store. Then I changed it to a small fast food joint. And I had my own moving truck and stuff like that, and I’d paint buildings. I did very well, but I came right back to Tortola, my roots. I love it here. I came back here in about 1999.
I joined the US Navy in 1961, but I didn’t stay there for long: I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I had to. I only stayed six months. It was a hell of an experience. At that time, when you got your citizenship you must register to go in the military. It was compulsory. There were lots of experiences in the Navy. I had never been on a ship before. I had been on boats, but never on a ship. I loved it, but at that time I didn’t want to spend my young life confined. That was my problem. It would have been more beneficial for me if I had stayed. During my stay, I went to Hawaii and then the Philippines. There was peace then, so they asked for those who would like to be discharged: I took the offer. I left and I enjoyed my life as a young man with the girls.
Family
As a young boy then in Tortola, there wasn’t no thoughts of family with me: I wanted to see the world and meet different people. I never really courted a girl from Tortola. I met my wife in St. Thomas in about 1961. She was on vacation from America. Her name was Charlotte. We had two kids. I used to drive a taxi part time, and she was a passenger. She was very attractive. I’m the kind of guy, I don’t hold back anything. When I see somebody I like, I first show him or her respect. All young ladies should look for that, and that was what I did for Charlotte. She acknowledged my attraction to her with respect. We dated for about two years — back and forth. We got married around 1963. She moved and worked in St. Thomas for two years and then we moved back to the States. We were married for 13 years. We were in love with each other and we had kids. That could keep a marriage. [The secret to a happy marriage:] you have to endure each other. You have to give up some of your ways and she also has to give up some of her ways if you want it to work. You can’t always have your way.
Taxi driver
I began driving taxis around 2001. You have to sell yourself as a taxi driver. You have no problem if you present yourself as a businessman. Speak properly so they could understand: That’s my secret. I know who they are, and I know how to present myself to them. Ninety-nine percent of the time when I talk to people, I give them something they can remember me by. I’m Captain Friendly: You can’t forget me. I sell the history of the islands: That’s what I do. Tourism can improve if the people selling it know how to sell it. It has improved, but it needs a lot more.
Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Ngovou Gyang.
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