When he was about 12 years old, Johnny Barnes' mother gave him a serious telling off for not speaking to people he met while out running an errand.

It's fair to say young Johnny took her message to heart.

In dedicating his life to making amends for his childhood impoliteness, Mr. Barnes has earned the title of one of the Island's most famous and favourite sons, putting smiles on the faces of thousands of people heading into Hamilton for another shift at work in the morning.

Yesterday, the icon was rewarded for 67 years of waving and shouting "I love you" at commuters and pedestrians when he was granted a place in CableVision's Hall of Fame of community servants.

And none of the people who pass his roundabout every day would have been surprised at Mr. Barnes' remarks to the audience as he collected his trophy in a ceremony at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institution.

"For one thing, I love you. I love you — I really do love you," the 84-year-old former bus driver told the crowd.

"I can live without food for a while, I can live without clothes for a while, I can live without water for a while, I can live without money for a while.

"But there's one thing I could never live without, and that's God's divine love, because God is love. He tells us right in his words: 'Love one another.'

"Once we recognise that, this world will be better. When we learn to love one another in Bermuda, we will have a better Bermuda."

Mr. Barnes — real name John James Adolphus Mills but also known as Mr. Feel Good and Happy Man — later told The Royal Gazette what prompts him to get up at 1.30 a.m. every day so he can eat breakfast and get down to the Foot of the Lane roundabout for 3.40 a.m.

He recalled that, as a youngster, his mother Christine Mills had sent him to take a message to an elderly lady. Young Johnny duly delivered the message and returned home thinking it was a job well done. He was wrong.

"I delivered it but I didn't speak to her," explained Mr. Barnes.

"My mother said never, never, let no one come to her and say that I didn't speak to them. She said I must speak to everyone.

"She made me go outside and get an Oleander stick. Then she gave me a good whipping."

Mr. Barnes has been a permanent fixture at the roundabout since 1941, when he was still a teenager, and has no plans to give it up until God tells him enough is enough.

He believes everyone has been given a talent, and that his is waving to people and saying good morning.

Asked if sometimes he'd just rather roll over and go back to sleep at and let the people go to work without their daily greeting, he replied: "No. Never. I always want to come."

Asked if his wife Belbina thinks he's mad, he laughed: "She's cool. She doesn't think I'm mad. I put too much love on her. I put a lot of honey on her. I keep her sweet."

Government Ministers Dale Butler and Terry Lister were among those paying tribute.

Culture Minister Mr. Butler said: "We are here to honour a man who stood at Crow Lane during Hurricane Fabian while the rest of the Island was home securing their blinds and their furniture.

"Johnny Barnes represents everything that we tell our children every day ... what it means to have a Bermudaful day and have respect for everyone."

Energy Minister Mr. Lister said: "Johnny Barnes has done tremendous work for us as an ambassador. We were always raised to say hello, good morning, thank you.

"When we drive in, so many of us, we are thinking about the challenges of the day ahead. We hit the corner, there's Johnny Barnes waving at us, telling us he loves us."

He added to laughs from the audience: "I sometimes wonder what Johnny Barnes means when he tells me he loves me, man to man."

CableVision general manager Terry Roberson said: "Johnny Barnes is a very well-recognised Bermudian who gained his fame by simply showing his love for others. He has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth II and even has a six-foot tall bronze statue positioned just outside BUEI."

Hall of Fame nominations are encouraged for people who have shown outstanding community service through school, church of charities, or on their own.

To nominate, e-mail rnathan@cablevision.bm or post to Rollin Nathan, Bermuda CableVision, PO Box 1642, Hamilton, HM GX.