: I worked as a bus driver. Before that, I was an electrician on the old railway train.

Yes, taking care of the generators and the starters and the lights and such on the train, you know what I mean? I enjoyed it. I say we should all do something that we really doing; put everything we have into it. I told my employers that I would fall right into my job. I've never had a problem with it I found a good job, and I kept at it. It wasn't always smooth when I started out, but I enjoyed it. Of course. I've been over to New Hampshire a couple of times. I've been to New York, and I enjoyed it over there. America is a beautiful country. But after I leave the island for a while, I tend to get more tired than anything else. You want to go somewhere, then you ought to go there. But I'm quite happy here. I had nothing to do with the statue. When they (The Spirit of Bermuda Trust, who commissioned the statue) told me about it, they said, 'We're going to do this after you've passed on', and I said, 'No way. No way. You want to do anything for me? Do it while I'm alive and can still enjoy it.' That's a silly thing. Let him enjoy it, or let her enjoy it, while the person is still here. So they said to me, 'Johnny Barnes, you're somethin',' and I said, 'That's right.You want to do anything for me, do it while I'm alive.' What good is it when you're dead? I thanked God for it. I thanked the whole world that day, but I also thanked God. Oh yes, it's changed. There's so much more noise now, so many more people, but I'm always there every weekday morning.

When the Good Lord fills my heart and soul with joy and put a smile on my face, I just give it to others. I enjoy every minute. What I'd like to do is have a camera, and take a picture of everyone who comes to visit me, and then maybe once a month I'd show it on TV. (laughs).

That would be something. I enjoy every morning, no matter what anybody says, I just give my happiness away. If there's a song in your heart, you should give it away to others. 'I love you. Have a beautiful day.' You know something? If each individual just tried to make one person happy, what a beautiful world this would be. Think of it.

: Well, you see, the world has forgotten one word: l-o-v-e, love. And that's the real dimension of the world: love. Because when you think of it, God is love. Look at everything around you ? the flowers, the trees, the birds ? that's God's way of telling you, 'I love you, my son. I love you, my daughter.' I say to Him, 'I love you God,' but I've never seen Him. Of course, how can I say, 'I love you God,' when I can't see Him and I can't hear Him? The answer's simple: Because God is in love.

Well, I'll tell you, it all starts at home. If the father loves you, if the mother is kind, it passes on to their boys and girls. That's where it all begins. We're so busy and caught up in this materialistic world, that we sometimes find ourselves in the dark and forget our sons and daughters.

There was a lot about being a bus driver that I enjoyed. It wasn't that different from the roundabout. People would come on board, and I would say, 'Good morning, how are you? God bless you.' And even if they said nothing back, I wouldn't mind. I did my part. (

There was one time when I left Hamilton at quarter to nine, towards St. George's. I met one woman at a bus stop who said to me, 'Oh, my sister isn't here, but she's coming! Will you wait for my sister?' And I said, 'All right. But I can only give her five minutes.' 'Oh, thank you, sir!' she said to me. minutes later, no sign of her. And the woman said to me, 'Oh please, sir, I don't want to go without my sister!' And I said, 'Well, the only thing you should do is get off and wait for your sister. But I'll give you ten more minutes.' Now it's been minutes, and she didn't show up. And I said, 'Young lady, I'm sorry, but I have to move on.' And she was so unpleasant. She was so distraught, because her sister hadn't come.

: This one was given to me. Some people have given them to me as gifts, some of them I've brought for myself . . . I've had so many of them, and they seem to wear out so quickly. This one (points to the hat on top of his head) is getting worn out now. I say to myself, 'Today I'm going to change this one, and get myself another four.' (laughs) I go through them really quickly. I use them mostly when I garden. Keeps your head cool and sweet. I always enjoy what I do. Someone once said to me, 'How long are you going to wave at the roundabout? When are you going to stop?'

When I die, that's when. The Good Lord put me here, and he'll decide when to say to me, 'Now Johnny, that's enough.' Of course, I have no idea when that will be. You'll have to ask the Good Lord that.

Q: When was the moment when you said to yourself, 'I'm going to stand at this roundabout and make people feel good'?

A: Well, my mother once asked me to deliver a message to one of her friends. While I was on the way, I saw Mrs. Stevens, who lived in my same neighbourhood. She looked at me, I looked at her, and that was pretty much it. Then I got back to my mother's home, and she asked, 'Did you deliver my letter?' I said, 'Yes, Mommy.'

And she said, 'And whom did you see on the way over?' I said, 'Mrs. Stevens.' She asked me, 'And did you speak to Mrs. Stevens?' And I said, 'No, Mommy.' And then she said to me, 'From now on, I don't want anyone coming to me and saying they saw you and you didn't speak to them, because .'

Let me tell you a story. There was a lady who drove by every day at the roundabout, but never once waved or said hello.

I didn't know about her until she actually called me one day, and she said, 'Johnny, I'm very sorry I never said anything to you when I drove by each morning.'

I was going to say that was quite all right, but then she told me that she had throat cancer. Which is why she couldn't greet me at the roundabout. I said, 'I'm very sorry. Would you like me to come over?'

She said she would appreciate that. And every other day, I stopped by her house, and she said to me, 'Oh, Johnny, come in, come in!'

Of course, we would talk, and I would ask her how she's feeling. She became less healthy as time went on, but the fact that I would come visit her did her so much good.

: One of the most beautiful things is always to bring the smiles and joy to the children. 'Hi, Johnny, I love you, have a good day!' they'd say to me. Children have no arrogance, or hatred. After all, children are children. The greatest joy that can come to an individual is when you're helping others, and not expecting anything in return. As human beings, we have to learn how to give ourselves away.

Because that's the way we think. Well . . . sometimes it's the food you eat. The Good Lord taught me to enjoy life. Life really is beautiful. Well, as you know, God made us. He made the world, and He told Adam and Eve to take care of Eden. He said to them, 'This garden isn't yours, but I'm lending it to you. Everything in this garden is yours, except this one tree, the one with the apples over here. I don't want you to touch it.'

And, of course, we all know what happened. We went against God's will, and sadly, we've been paying the penalty ever since with our mortality.

People haven't learned either, even after all this time. For instance, we're given a speed limit. What happens? We go the speed limit.

If you go over the speed limit, you're liable to get caught. But we're given this temptation, and we don't resist it. We simply don't learn, and it's so sad. God's lesson is simple; do our duty to our fellow man. Love one another.

: I don't really have anything to say on that. When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, he didn't try to make one any less equal than the other. God gave us the freedom of choice, you see, so we're independent from the moment we're born.

We only take away our independence within our own minds.