By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer 
Marisko
WESTERN BUREAU:
FIFTEEN SEEMS to be the backsliding age.
Three of the four young persons who related their 'path' with, away from and back to the Lord at the Cariblue Hotel in Ironshore, Montego Bay, last Friday took the 'path' more travelled at that age.
There was, however, no shame or condemnation from them or the mostly youthful audience which turned out to see them at Socialise Christian Entertainment's month-ending concert.
The audience came for the music from singer Marisko and deejay Prodigal Son, but sat through the talk attentively as the two artistes, flanked by their spouses, spoke about their lives.
In fact, Lynford 'Marisko' McIntosh's wife of one year, Julianne, acted as interviewer, though the microphone was eventually turned on her. Calvin 'Prodigal Son' Whilby was with his wife Mrs. Joan Whilby.
The chemistry between the couples was obvious throughout the interviews, as they individually spoke of their often-complicated lives as well as their unions.
Marisko was baptised at 10, received the Holy Spirit at 15 - and backslid two weeks after. At five Prodigal Son was walking hand in hand with his grandmother to church, but at 15 he strayed as well. Mrs. Whilby was also baptised when she was 10 years old, but five years later she stepped back from the Lord's way.
The childhoods that were revealed were far from picture perfect, leading up to the backsliding at 15. At that age Marisko was his own big man, living on his own, paying rent and all. "One of the reasons (for backsliding) was I was being pressured by the church," he said. "Especially as I was so young, I went to the church and after I got saved they left me alone. There was nothing to do, I wanted excitement, so I left," he said.
Prodigal Son lost his stabilising force, his grandmother, with whom he lived from he was a few months old, at 15. "I was in high school. I rebel," he said. "I was searching for companionship, not just a woman. I wanted to feel loved."
Joan Whilby did not expand on her experiences, suffice to say that "I went on and on and led a very miserable life."
The three also had an all too familiar thing or lack thereof in their lives. Parental guidance.
Joan Whilby was 'given away' at a very early age. Prodigal Son was sent to live with his grandmother in St. Thomas when he was only a few months old. Marisko's father ran out on his mother, the family house went up on auction and "You know how these mothers are, they have a lot of friends and every weekend I had to sleep at a different house."
He could not deal with that and moved out as soon as he could.
"There was another issue," he said. "I look so much like my father. She (his mother) used to say 'You look so much like your father'."
That was not Marisko's idea of a role model.
Prodigal identified his parents as Brenda Campbell and Desmond Whilby, adding 'hopefully' in an undertone after saying his father's name. When the audience chuckled, he said "We have to be realistic."
Marisko was realistic as well, after he moved out. "I wanted to make some extra money, so I started singing in the hotel. You will always find someone to 'help'. The Devil comes in many forms," he said.
This 'Devil' was a man who said he could hook up the singer on some hotel gigs. He gave Marisko 10 songs to practice and said he should go to a particular hotel to a particular person. He did so.
"I used to sing every Sanchez song," Marisko said. "For two weeks I did the 10 songs on every rhythm jazz, reggae, everything," he said.
One cannot, however, equally serve tourists and congregation and one night Marisko was missing in action when he should have been leading a church choir.
There was some backing and forthing between the two interests, "but God lick me again. I am back in the church, stronger," he said. His earthly father is still missing in action, though. "I hope he is alright anywhere he is. I would like to see him still," Marisko said.
He has made efforts, including using the radio and the newspaper. "I saw somebody about a year ago who said they saw my father. Maybe him no read," Marisko said wryly.
A GUN TRIAL
Prodigal Son's search for companionship led him to Kingston, where he went to live with his aunt. "From Matthews Lane to Rema, that is where I found my colleagues, my peers," he said. "I ended up in a gang. I thought it was everything in the world. You have all the girls in the world you want. Straight."
There was an immediate disclaimer. "I don't have any more girls and I am not looking any more,
for I am happily married," he said, as his wife smiled and applauded playfully.
"It is good to have a woman who can stand beside me. She is not behind me, she is standing beside me," Prodigal said and this time the applause was multiplied in the
audience.
"I was in my gang," Mr. Whilby continued. "At that point we had four years of non-stop war.
I left the community and I was in Kingston. I went to Downtown Kingston and I was selling shoes in the arcade. I was coming home at about 1:00 a.m., when I heard 'yow'. I thought 'da man ya no know who him a talk to'. I heard 'yow' again and me sey 'Cho'. I heard 'Yow' again, with expletives this time. By the time I turned around a gun was resting against my head."
"They took me that night amongst 50 or so guns and I was just sitting down. Dem gi mi a trial," Prodigal Son said.
"I decided to run, cause me no have nutten fi defen' my life. And one man said gi 'im a chance, is a good yute. While I was walking the same person said I will follow you home. Me sey mi alright," he said.
He arrived at home only to see some persons removing the windows from his house, to get in and at him.
"I went out of the community for three or four weeks," he said.
During that time, "Two persons came to evangelise to me. They said 'God wants you'. I said 'Yeah, I hear that every day'."
However, he had not experienced something that happened when one of the evangelists came to visit him in his community before, much less every day. The police came out in numbers while they were sitting together and Calvin Whilby got nervous, expecting to be targeted. The Christian said he should relax, the blood of Jesus was present - and the police passed him over.
"I went to church and the preacher was preaching a message, that God can turn a mess into a message. I thought that was designed for me. I went up before the altar call and, when the altar call came, my 10 friends came."
It was not a fairytale ending, though.
"The pastor said 'If you are not ready, go back to your seat'. My friends went back and I was there crying," he said. He also thought that his friends would consider him 'a eediat now'. He did not realise then that most of them would not be alive to think anything of him for very long.
After staying at the altar and accepting the Lord; "I went back to Rema. In less that two weeks I saw two of my friends in the morgue. Within a month six had died and they were all at the altar with me. In September last year we were watching television and we saw one more was killed. I was in New York and heard that one more had been killed," he said.
"It is not easy, because these people were close to me," Prodigal Son said.
He is also very much aware that it could have been him making the news for a brief second.
"It is not because I am a good youth. It is just that if you knock, the door will be open to you," he said.
"For my life, I see everything as a journey. Jesus was strategically placing these things in my way to overcome, so we can become."
"My history is similar to his. So I can be called a 'Prodigal Daughter' myself-- Maybe if I did not go down that road I would not understand where my husband is coming from," Mrs. Whilby said.
