Plight of a Hungry Man - Part Six

I've given up on Kwaku Doe. It's been a whole week and I haven't set eyes on him. He obviously has moved on and I believe so should I. He's either found a more profitable spot or maybe he's got a job. Whatever it is, I guess I'll just leave it to my imagination.

I'm not done though... Today I saw something, well more like someone who totally got my attention. Just at the TUC traffic light, there was this man who I thought to be mentally challenged because he had dreadlocks and though he wasn't too shabbily dressed, he was standing in front of one of the cars and appeared to be talking. Now, I saw his lips move and all but he was looking to the sky. What struck me as odd was the driver of the car didn't make an attempt to move (well, there really was no where for him to go because the traffic light  was red) and he didn't even bother to roll up his windows. Honestly, I was scared for the driver of the car. Any which ways, when the driver paid him no mind, this man moved away and I was just hoping and praying that he wouldn't make his way to my car (but if he did, I was prepared to turn on my hazard lights and honk my way through the red light). Well he didn't come to my car but it was when he moved away that I saw what got my attention.

The dreadlocked (hope that's a word in the English Dictionary), not so shabbily dressed man had a stick which he used to guide himself! Now, for all of y'all that are slow and didn't get that, the man is blind. OMG! The blind man knows what's up. He got swag. He got dreads.

Well of course my ever so suspicious mind started wondering if he really is blind or if that was just an attempt to make a little something something for himself. But if he really is blind, that is something. Maybe he had the dreads before he went blind and decided to keep it or maybe it's the kind of dreads that mentally challenged people on the streets develop because they don't take care of their hair. Whatever it is, that guy totally and completely caught my eye this morning and put a smile on my face (actually, he got me laughing).

So, I'm out. I've put Kwaku Doe to bed and will get at something else next week. I do hope he doesn't decide to turn up next week because I've like seriously lost interest. He should stay where ever he's at and leave me alone (still sounding absurdly crazy).

Plight of a Hungry Man - Part Five

What's up with Kwaku Doe anyways? Ah! He seems to have disappeared. I know I was late today as well (didn't take yesterday's mental note into consideration) but really he got a job to go to at 8am or something? I got there just about 8am and he wasn't there. Where could he possibly have going at that time? I was actually considering giving him some money so  I could see him up close and then maybe determine if he got mental issues or something. He really is messing everything up or maybe I am messing things up with my lateness.

Come to think of it, he just might have moved on and found a better spot. Business wasn't exactly booming at the spot I'm used to seeing him at. I really hope he hasn't. I do want a chance to see him up close though. I will not be late for the rest of this week. If by Friday I still haven't seen him, I'll just give up and move on with my life (ok, now that just sounds crazy but he's really holding things up for me). He better show up real soon or I'm finding a new interest.

Next update: Friday. Hopefully I'll have something to report by then. 

In the mean time, has anyone ever wondered why it is that at the start of most relationships (from what I've heard and experienced and seen) the guy is all smitten doing all the chasing, the girl doing all the running, ignoring, avoiding etc. and then when the two do land together after approximately 3 months everything changes? It's the girl that's smitten and doing all the chasing and the guy doing all the running, ignoring, avoiding etc.

Watch this space. New Series coming up soon! Kwaku Doe is getting tired and old. Besides he's being uncooperative by not showing up at his usual spot.

Plight of a Hungry Man - Part Four

After my pledge to leave the house early every morning for work, I tried to make that “dream” a reality. I woke up early, did all I got to do and then what happened? I had a wardrobe emergency! (Mental note: pick out what you going to wear, try it on to see if it still fits and iron it the night before).

As I drove towards work, I knew I’d miss Kwaku Doe and as if my being late wasn’t enough, the rain comes down. Hmmmmm... yeah, I did miss him. Either I was too late or the rain drove him away or he just didn’t show up. Whatever it was, I’ll just have to wait till tomorrow.

Plight of a Hungry Man - Part Three

I didn`t see Kwaku Doe this morning and I found myself worrying about him. Really don`t know why I`m so affected by him. Maybe it was the look on his face. Well, whatever it was, I`ll just have to wait till Monday. I was late this morning. He probably has a particular time he stands at the traffic light. I probably just missed him.

At least now I got motivation to leave home early for work.

Plight of a Hungry Man - Part Two

So I saw John Doe again this morning (calling him that because I don`t know his name and I hear them do that in American movies, hmmmmmm... maybe I should do my Ghanaian version). In that case, I saw Kwaku Doe this morning still looking so sad and again I didn`t see him get any money from the rounds he made. Looking at him today, I`m beginning to think he might have a mental problem. He is well dressed, his hair is not so well kept but he doesn`t have the dreadlocks (don`t know what else to call it - apologies to my natural hair loving people) I`m used to seeing on mentally challenged people on the streets. Well, even if he is mentally challenged, he still has to eat. Which reminds me of this girl I saw a couple of weeks ago at Banana Inn.

For some reason I can`t get the girl`s face out of my mind. I saw this young girl probably in her late teens or early twenties and I believe she is probably past being mentally challenged. Well if her appearance is anything to go by, I`d say I`m right. The girl, [Jane Doe - Ghanaian version Akua Doe (no offense to Wednesday borns - that`s the first name that came to my head)] was butt naked and singing and dancing on the street. I`m used to seeing naked mentally challenged people on the streets but this girl really caught my attention first because of her age and then her looks. She is so pretty and of course it got me thinking about her, what got her in her current situation considering her age and all that. Well, this is a topic for another discussion.


So back to Kwaku Doe, even if he is mentally challenged like I`m beginning to suspect, he`s still got to eat and survive. Who`s responsibility is it anyway to get mentally challenged people off the streets and into the mental institutions? Can our mental institutions house all the mentally challenged people on the streets anyway? I remember I once saw a news story about lack of space at the mental institutions in the country since patients that have been treated and discharged were not welcome back in their homes and as such had to remain at the institution.


Is this the situation in other countries? I honestly doubt if I would see naked people walking on the streets of London. I guess we as a country are not there yet. I know some countries have homeless shelters for the homeless so even healthy men and women who have fallen on hard times can get a place to lay their head. I even learnt in some countries it is possible to survive on welfare which is paid by the government. I wish we really could do something like that in Ghana too (I know someone will probably say then we will all stop working and survive on welfare - but then I doubt if it`s enough to live comfortably on). And what about the persons with disabilities also begging on the streets? 


I seem to have more questions than answers. Maybe some day, we will be able to take care of the less fortunate in our society without them having to resort to begging. Maybe someday it will be possible to drive around the country without seeing a single naked person on the street. Maybe someday persons with disabilities will not have to beg on the streets. Maybe someday people will not have to hawk on the streets in order to make a living. Maybe someday all our children will have a memorable childhood and not have to weave in between cars selling pure water.


But about Akua Doe... I wonder where she is now. Such a young pretty girl, hmmmm...

Plight of a Hungry Man - Part One

There's this man I see every morning not too far from the British Council. He moves from car to car when the traffic light is red and begs for money. The striking thing about this man is unlike most people I see begging on the streets, he is able-bodied and he doesn't appear to be mentally challenged. The very first time this man approached my car, out of fear I rolled up thinking he might have a mental problem but as I watched him every single day, I realised he didn't or if he did, it wasn't so obvious. Then my next instinct was to judge him as a lazy man. My reasoning? "Even some persons with disabilities hawk on the streets and don't even beg how much more this very able-bodied man". My conclusion? "Never give him money, let him find a job to do".

I saw him this morning and it appears just about everyone had come to the same conclusion I had. Come to think of it, I don't believe I have ever seen anyone give him money before. After making his rounds and ending up empty handed, he moved to his position by the traffic light waiting for it to change so the next set of cars could move up and then he could make his rounds again hoping I guess for something better this time. He stood at his position for quite some time and I had the opportunity to look at him closely (actually I was staring) and he looked so so sad. At that instant, my heart went out to him and it got me thinking. What would make someone like him go beg on the streets instead of looking for a job or at least instead of hawking or something. If his level of education isn't high or if he has no education at all he could look for some manual work to do (I see there's some road work going on on the graphic road, he could look into that and there's all this digging going on from Dansoman through Banana Inn to Laterbiokorshie. I believe some cables are being laid and oh, there's the Dansoman high way that's being constructed) or he could get some money, purchase some items and sell in traffic instead of begging. The thing is even with these road works and construction jobs, I believe the workers have some kind of expertise in that field and if he doesn't have this, he probably can't work there besides knowing how things work in Gh it's probably all about who you know even to get a digging job so if he doesn't know people, he's out of luck. About getting money to start something, where's he going to get that from? I doubt if he makes enough to feed himself in a day through the begging he does much more save some up to start a business. Even if by some stroke of good luck he is able to get capital to start hawking, the AMA will probably clamp down on his hawking business and drive him off the street forcing him to look for a stall in a market which mind you, he might not be able to afford.

What's he to do then? I am sure there are others like him. What are they all to do in order to just get food to eat? Despite me going into pensive mode after seeing this man, I still didn't give him money because that I believe is not the solution to his problem. Even if I make it a point to look him up every morning to sort him out (that's if I can afford to) what happens on days I use a different route or on weekends when I don't go anywhere near that area and what about all the others begging on our streets? I can't possibly take care of all of them. 

What can our dear motherland do for people who either through no fault of theirs or even through their own fault find themselves in such a situation? What are other countries doing to ensure their citizenry enjoy a good life?

GRENADE

I love Bruno Mars. I love his songs, his lyrics, his looks, the dude can siiiiiiiing....
But, "Grenade"? I actually do love the song but there are problems, quite a number of problems.
"shoulda known you was trouble from the first kiss had your eyes wide open why were they open". Now, unless he had a video camera recording the first kiss I really don't see how he could tell the other person's eyes were open unless his were too. So then really, if both eyes were open what's the problem?
He goes on to talk about giving all he had to this woman and she tossed it in the trash and all but really why would you want to catch a grenade for someone that just don't give a s*** about you? Well, of course I do know how hard it is when you love someone and will do just about anything for them but they don't reciprocate and you just can't help still doing stuff for them which brings me to why I'm even writing this.
Came across a friend's status on facebook asking if it was okay to let a guy know how you feel about him or to just hold it back (this was to the ladies that's why I said guy). I couldn't help but comment on it. I really do think that it is so not cool and quite foolish to be with someone and pretend you don't love them or you could do without them when in reality you actually can't. It doesn't make sense to act like you really don't care if you lose the person you with when you actually do. Why do people do this? Because they believe they are saving themselves from potential drama, hurt and pain. True, but then what if the person you with also decides to or just finds someone else willing to treat them like a gem and unafraid to show them how they feel?
I'm not saying y'all should go out there and catch grenades for anybody (mind you, that is just plain crazy and borders on being obsessed) but really don't be afraid to show how you feel in a very sensible way. If you are goo-goo, gaa-gaa about somebody well, you don't exactly have to tell them that because human as we all are, the person would probably take advantage of that knowledge (at least I know I would). I mean if I was with somebody that would throw his hand on a blade, jump in front of a train for me and all that and made it a point to let me know about it, I'd either run as far away as I can from him (because the only way he'd be able to do all those things is if he created those situations and then what if he chickened out? my unrecognisable flattened corpse would be found under a train) or I'll just stay and totally take advantage of him.
So, my point, let the person you are with know how you feel about them. I'm sure they are not psychic or mind readers so if you don't say it, they won't know. However, if you feel like catching grenades for them, do them a favour and keep it to yourself. Any which ways, wouldn't it make more sense to push them out of the way so you can both live and enjoy life together rather than catch the grenade, blow up in front of the person you love and traumatize them for life? Besides if the person doesn't care about you, who says they won't find someone else and forget about you when you blow yourself up?

Nice song though, nice track...