Here I often sit and ponder, As the days go by, The rising and setting sun, So quickly passing by, Where yonder shall tomorrow find me? It’s only God in heaven that knows! For that answer my friend is blowing in the wind!
Will I mingle with the free? Will I be among the living? For these answers I do not know my friend, For it is blowing in the wind!
Will I scribble to the delight of others? Putting smiles and streaking hearts with joy? For this I shall strive some more, But the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind!
Shall I rock grand-babies on my bent knees? Singing hush lullabies to darling little ears. This I know not my friend, For the answer is blowing in the wind!
Shall tomorrow meet me, Sipping warm cocoa in my rocking chair, Telling tales of days gone by? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind!
Yesterday is gone! Tomorrow belongs to God! My today is a present gift as I sit here! Let me be happy, and have peace! I shall leave tomorrow’s answer, to the blowing wind.
After hours of journey on bumpy, dusty roads, arriving his village was euphoric for Ikem.
Mama did a little praise dance when she saw him, and did some more praise-singing, showering him with edifying names when he brought out the things that he came back with.
Friends and cousins equally returned, it would be a good time.
He went greeting kith and kin, strategically launching his new clothes and holding his phone conspicuously for all to see. It’s show time for everyone and he has no intention of being the poorest looking cousin.
Christmas Eve’s night service was a hit as usual. A gathering of old, new, returnees and home bound indigenes. It is doubtful that half of the people at the church service came for the prayers.
Sweethearts fell back in the dark shadows of twilight to hold hands and whisper sweet nothings.
Young rascally boys scared the maidens by tossing penny banger’sin their direction, their squeals of fright an entertainment for them.
It’s a dreamy time of the year, lavishly spent relaxing, binge eating, showing off, going to look at and running from the masquerades, attending a lot of social events….
Eligible young men returned seeking handpicked brides from their villages.
Marriageable girls strut their stuff at Obodo Ukwu, Obodo Ububo and everywhere the opportunity rose, to attract proposals from the city boys.
Hi-Life music blares into the air till the wee hours of the night. Nuptial introductions and lots of traditional marriages are constantly taking place in one clan or the other.
Mama wants to know when Ikem would choose a wife. In fact, her heart and eyes were set on one of Ifemeka’s daughters Kanyinulia.
From Mama’s assessment, the girl is quite sturdy, with nice child-bearing hips, very industrious and pretty too! She makes her thoughts known to Ikem.
”Nna, have you seen Ozo Ifemeka’s daughter Kanyinulia?” ”That girl will make a good wife for you.” ”It is my thought that we should express our interest in her to her family.” ”Her mother is a good friend too you know..”
”Ha! Mama, please not now.” ”Maybe in a few years time.” ”Let me get to Onitsha first and see how things go over there.”
”Hei! My son, if we waste time, another family can pick her out for their son o.” ”That girl is a good catch.”
”Mama, let us pray that things go well, then next year, okay?”
He is happy he visited home. His cousin has agreed to accommodate him at Onitsha while he seeks his future.
He joins his age-grade in their outing masquerade dance.
His satisfaction is soul deep. He knows that his future holds brighter times ahead.
Links to earlier parts of the series are at the top of the page.
Quick Glossary:
Banger: small cheap fireworks that make a lot of noise.
Ifemeka: Igbo name which means ‘things have happened.’
Kanyinulia: An Igbo name for a girl which means ‘let us be happy.’
Nna: An Igbo word for ‘father’. Mothers at times fondly call their sons by such pet name.
Obodo Ukwu: ‘The big square’ A social gathering ground where people go to be seen, to see and mingle.
Obodo Ububo: ‘The sweet/fun square’ A social gathering ground where people go to be seen, to see and mingle.
Onitsha: A city with one of the largest commercial markets in West Africa. It is situated on the river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria.
Ozo: A highly respected title to a worthy male indigene of a village. Not a cheap process.
Its fun to dig in my neighbours gardens and I never come up empty. Links for you to enjoy.
The quote above is my third quote in the 3 quote series and it speaks for itself.
In my quest for positive transformation, I try to base a lot of my actions and reactions on this guiding principle which also applies to everyone else.
This quote is simply not a biblical tenet or any religious balderdash!
It relates to everything that pertains to our lives, even this blogging exercise that we are engaged in. For instance, when you stretch out a hand of fellowship and engage others, 99% of the time, it is reciprocated and vice-versa! Keep your circle as positive as possible.
Our actions revolve around us as surely as the Earth revolves around the Sun.
When we are in search of happiness, the first question we should ask ourselves, is what seeds we are sowing?
Happiness is not something that we get from other people. The happiness we feel is in direct proportion to the love that we are able to give.
Take a peek at those embittered people who expend so much energy pulling others down; they forever remain miserable.
They fail to realize that in the attempt to keep someone else down, they hinder themselves from rising to their optimum potentials.
Be loving to yourself and others and you see that love reciprocated.
It is the law of Karma which works every time, whether we are aware of it or not. It occurs in the small things and in the big things that surround us.
It is also wise to remember that treating others right does not imply being blind to their shortcomings or giving them permission to treat you poorly.
Leannenz, I sincerely thank you for inviting me to participate in this quote series. It is a good opportunity to reflect on those things that matter and I think I am going to continue the quote beyond this stage 🙂
I would like to invite 5 awesome bloggers to share their favorite quotes in the series of 3.
Collecting his accumulated Isusu from the thrift collector Mama Nchekwube was like a dream come true for Ikem. His skepticism had prevented him from participating in one before, until his friend Ifeanyishowed him the dividends of his own effort.
He had never held such an amount of money put together as his own. It felt good. All the ideas of what he planned to do ran around in his head.
Now, he would buy a nice Ankarawrapper, vegetable oil and share a bag of Abakaliki rice with his neighbour to take home to Mama for Christmas. She prefers the local rice to the foreign ones that have been de-husked. They seemed to loose the real taste of Osikapa, but the art of cleaning the Abakaliki rice which was known to contain stones, was only perfected by old hands like Mama.
There was a hurried excitement of Christmas in the air. Wheel-barrow boys were pushing around cassettes of Christmas songs by ABBA and also blaring them from their cassette players from one end of the market to the other.
You could hear the exchanges of customers and vendors over the noisy din:
“Ha!Nwanyi Bacha, biko, I need to travel with this blouse o.” ”When can I come and collect it?”
”Nne, you should have brought this material earlier than now.” ”You know that this is the season for us eh!” ”I will try my best but maybe on 22nd, you can come and collect it.”
”Hei!Mbanu! ”Please 22nd is too far.” ”I am traveling on 23rd to the village.” ”Please try for 20th.” ”Biko!”
Indeed, it is the season of harvest for the tailors. They are turning brisk business churning out Christmas and New year attires as expediently as possible for all the holiday galore.
Ikem was gripped with nervousness. The money in his pocket felt hot that he could almost feel it burning through the lining of his trouser. Every brush of another human in the buzzing, cramped market made the butterflies in his stomach flutter some more. He felt as if eyes were watching him and he decided there and then to go and open a First Bank account.
He had never owned an account before and this time of the year is known for spikes in highway robberies and pick-pocketing. He had no plans of falling victim of such nefarious activities and losing his hard-earned money.
The remaining days fly past in a flurry of activities. As he excitedly packs his meager belongings to take back to the village. He knows that he will miss this place and pangs of melancholy occupy his thoughts, but he has to journey forth to pursue brighter tomorrow’s at Onitsha.
****
The motor-park is a commotion of human traffic and vehicles. Wagons are filled with families all loaded down to the teeth with their luggage for the forth-coming days of merriment. Conductors are shouting their destinations on top of their voices to draw passengers attention. Hawkers of all sorts of items, bread, boiled egg, chin-chin, kuli, kuli, soft drinks are doing their best to entice the traveling customers to patronize them..
Quick bargains are struck, last minute purchases are made, buses loaded to the last perimeter takes off with passengers, to Enugu, Ozubulu, Awka, Okigwe, Orlu, Owerri, Aba etc.
The Igbosare well known to sojourn home en-mass during this festive period. It is almost like a general return of indigenes. Some would travel for days on top of lorries all the way from the northernmost part of Nigeria to be with their families for the holidays.
Ikem boards a bus going to Oji, he cannot wait to eat Mama’s authentic Okpa and Abacha Ncha. These are some of the delicacies of his people.
Quick Glossary for words that you may not know:
Abakiliki: Abakaliki is the capital city of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria. The inhabitants are primarily members of the Igbo nation. Abakaliki, as in the past, is a center of agricultural trade including such products as yams, cassava, rice,
Abacha Ncha/aka African salad: Native snack/meal peculiar to the Igbos but has become a well-known delicacy all over Nigeria. Made from cassava flakes, with palm-oil, oil-bean seeds, dry fish, garden egg etc
Ankara: African print known to symbolize African fashion.
Biko: Igbo word for saying ‘please.’
Chin-chin: A fried snack popular in West Africa. It is a sweet, crunchy, doughnut-like baked or fried dough of wheat flour, and other customary baking items.
Hei!/Ha!: An exclamation which could mean, you don’t say, indeed, what, really and a myriad of other meanings.
Ifeanyi: A popular Igbo name shortened from Ifeanyichukwu which means, nothing is bigger than God.
Igbos/Ibo: The Igbo people, historically spelled “Ibo”, are an ethnic group of southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects. Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. They arerenowned for their tough, resilient adaptability as business people, tradersandfortheirart. The largest migrating tribe in Nigeria.
Ikem: An Igbo name for boys shortened from Ikemefuna, meaning may my power/strength never be lost/or founding.
Isusu: An informal means of collecting and saving money through a savings for the enablement of kith and kin ventures.
Kuli-Kuli: Hausa food that is primarily made from peanuts. It is a popular snack in Nigeria. It is often eaten alone or with a mixture of garri, sugar and water popularly called “garri soakings”
Mama Nchekwube: Nchekwube is shortened from Nchekwubechukwu which means to have hope on God.
Mbanu: An expanded NO with a bit of cajoling added to it.
Nwanyi Bacha: A nickname given to the female tailor occupying the prefabricated shed where she sews. It’s like saying ”the lady at the shed” or nicknaming someone after their trade e.g. egg seller, truck pusher, driver etc.
Oji: A Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria to the south bordering Anambra State and Abia State
Okpa: A traditional Eastern Nigerian delicacy, made with ground Bambara beans.
Onitsha: A city with one of the largest commercial markets in West Africa. It is situated on the river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria.
Osikapa: A local Igbo name given to cooked rice.
Enugu, Ozubulu, Awka, Okigwe, Orlu, Owerri, Aba etc. Some of the towns and villages found in the Eastern Region of Nigeria inhabited by the Igbos.
This post is inspired by my yesterdays observation as a social voyeur and I came away with a good number of lessons even though the young baby had no idea that his display was teaching me some of life’s simple lessons.
The weather in Dubai had cooled sufficiently that you could go down to the pool and relax without turning into burnt offering, so when the kids came back from school and raced through their homework, I agreed to take them to the poolside.
They swam whilst I lounged with my fave read of the moment ‘My Vision – Challenges in the race ofExcellence‘ The book of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates.
I was quite engrossed in the glossy pictures of the Sheikh and his Falcon when an insistent shrilling cry of a child roused my attention.
I watched this tiny young fella; just about a year old by my estimate, wrestle and put up a squiggly fight with his parents as they tried to squeeze him into a floater.
He wailed. He tried to tuck his legs under his butt. He squirmed and wriggled and did his very best to escape the inevitable, but alas, he lost the battle.
His Mama managed to persuade his cute plump legs with those gorgeous baby folds into the float openings – I have something about babies. I adore them 🙂 and if nature had not decided I would have had a family of 7 children!
Well, back to our story. When mama had the young fella secured in, into the water he went with his father.
A baby bellow, squawk and shriek all followed his affront from being put in the pool! I gathered that it was his first experience.
By this time my entire attention had diverted from my read to watch the child and I unfortunately missed capturing on camera the initial bloody battle moments and his attempted maneuvers.
His dad held him and they made their way from one end of the pool to the other a couple of times and in no time at all the young chap was chortling happily and was all smiles. I was smiling too! 🙂
This went on for a little bit and before you could say ‘hey presto’ he got right into the groove of things.
After a worthwhile half an hour paddle and it appeared he was getting cold, his dad decided to get him out of the water and another loud protest ensued.
To my amazement the little fella did not want to come out! Here was a young thing screaming like the sky was about to fall a few minutes ago before he was persuaded albeit reluctantly to get into the water, now doing an about face and exhibiting his reluctance to come out!
They bundled him into a towel eventually and:
An ordinary, mundane experience left me with a good number of reflections:
How we always tend to draw a conclusion about an experience without even trying it out first.
How a new start of everything is filled with nervous trepidation and yet when we do apply ourselves, we conquer.
How fear and not faith always seems to be the first primal reaction to change in the human life.
His dad’s steering hand figuratively resembled the hands of God to me. When God wants to steer us in the right direction knowing that he is taking us to a good place but we stubbornly assert our independence until he lets go and allows us our free will.
How little encouragement and motivation (though forced in this case) can help us get on higher grounds. Growing pains in anything may be difficult but they are always surmountable.
How we are always reluctant to stop doing something (good or bad) when we have started it.
That we should be floats for others as many as we can encourage and motivate.
In this little application, not only did he conquer, but his joy resembles self-actualization.
So there it is, I bet the young fella will not forget the good experience from his first dunking and would be happier next time around.
If you gleaned anymore hidden message in this little story. Please do share.
You have been transformed into a mystical being who has the ability to do magic. Describe your new abilities in detail. How will you use your new skills?
The Sun sets, leaving wisps of orange and lavender ribbons across the blue tinted sky.
Anastasia leans on the rail of the promenade deck of the cruise-liner, her soft floral dress blowing in the breeze. Alastair’s muscular arms wrap around her, sharing his warmth in the gentle breeze.
It’s a beautiful day. Their wedding day.
A clear Autumn sky without a gloomy cloud in sight. The aisle and pews decorated with hues of Autumn, in orange gold, red and faded green; her best season of all.
She felt like a fairy princess floating down the aisle to a wedding march of soft tinkle of waterfall and chirping sounds of birds, accompanied by the choristers well modulated sweet rendition of their song. The wedding party was sublime. Everything! Picture perfect!
As the ocean-liner cuts through the waters to a blissful honeymoon, Alastair nuzzles and plants a soft kiss behind her ears. She wants the moments to last forever.
It was a pleasure to sit and watch my youngest and his team mates work together during their field day in school to eventually come out tops in their little unit with several points ahead.
The previous night, he had been sniffling with a touch of cold and like a mother hen, I had fretted that it might get worse and that he may not be able to participate in his field day and he kept asking for my assurance that he would be fine, so that he can support his team to do well. Well, thankfully, mummy the magician did her best, and here we are.
Amongst that cell of small human bodies, I saw excitement, I saw camaraderie, I saw joy, I saw teamwork and cooperation, but with my jaundiced eye as an adult I also saw black, white, olive and everything in between.
A lot of shrieks and squeals were associated with each score or loss, tugs of war were won and lost, a tear or two shone in bright eyes, but above all things I saw love.
No dissension of voices did I hear, no untoward discrimination did I perceive nor segregation did I observe amongst these young ones. They all supported each other to achieve common goals. I saw bonding and friendship built possibly to last a life time, who knows?
If only we, the adults will hold our peace and not pollute the minds of these little ones, who in their simple-minded innocence are accepting of each other as equals without differentiation.
I remember back in the days when I was growing up as a young lady in the Eastern region of Nigeria, a community of fiercely traditional but hardworking people, I had dared to deviate from the norm to date a non-black gentleman.
I can still recall the askance attitude of supposedly concerned citizens, the gradual sidelining of some so- called friends who had felt that association with me would automatically taint them, the furore that had been associated with my boldness and the rottenness of my behavior for having the audacity to publicly date a white man and the pretentious support of two-faced friends who helped to stoke the fire of my dare-devil reputation; but in all that, what mattered most to me was how I was treated by whoever I chose to date.
It was more important to me to be cared for and respected by the man I chose to date than to fit into a miserable relationship for political correctness, so as not to rock the boat.
I came to realize that those who sought to mold me into their idea of where I should fit in, did not in any way contribute an iota of positivity to my life, nor was their effort done because they sought my happiness.
I got to understand that most time’s, achieving greatness and living your life to the fullness of its capacity, meant ignoring some naysayers, pushing boundaries and adamantly refusing to fit into the round holes created by the limitations of other people’s expectations and simply remaining a square, but happy peg.
I look back in wry amusement and ask myself if I would I do the same today, assuming the clock was rewound? Oh yes! In a heartbeat! I have not changed much in the broadness of my thinking but have matured enough to cut off any foolishness and distracting noise that drains my energy. I choose to live generously and my generosity starts with me.
Life has taught me that the best people in life are not based on their race or otherwise. They are just humans who seek to give their best, changing the World around them in their own little way positively, one day at a time. They are not occupied in segregating their World in little batches of color for reasons better known by them.
Now for my progeny, I will encourage them to see and treat all men as equals. I will encourage them not to see in absolute colors or to be color blind, but to look for the fine shades of gray and pastels in between because that is the way the creator chose it to be; the beauty is in the variety.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 