Mondays are special days for me whenever I am in Healing House mode. Las Vegas was where I decided that Mondays would be my special “Sabbath”. When everyone else was going back to work, I would be celebrating on Mondays as if it were a Saturday or Sunday. Kojo means Monday born, so I said, hey, why not? Then there was the time when I was in Las Vegas at a major career crossroads in my life, I shut down and went inside myself to find my answer. It was 1993 and I took one week off from the world, including work and social interactions. I only came out of my room when I needed something to drink or had to use the bathroom. I fasted, prayed, listened to Stevie Wonder’s “Innervision” over and over and over for days. When I ‘came out’ of my ‘Innervision fast’, I channeled a vision of this Healing House that was hovering off of the ground on top of a mountain and it was surrounded by Divine Warriors. Yes indeed, I found my answer. Oh, the question?! Corporate or Self Employment? It became clear to me. There is a healing house somewhere inside of me waiting to be born. And it will be on a mountain or hill protected by Divine Warriors. Yes family, that in fact was the vision of Ocean Breeze.
So today is Monday and I am a bit annoyed that I actually scheduled meetings today. But it’s turning out to be easier than I thought. Esther went back to Accra and was too tired to travel to Brenu with the baby. Kofi was not able to reach our Surveyor to come and meet. And it was getting towards noon before our KEEA office Representative showed up with Kofi’s Father, Mr. Eghan. I was making my rounds at the different Chalets and making notes of tasks to be delegated when they found me. We met and I found out that this is another Government resource that will be very helpful for any and all of our endeavors. Mr. Kwamena Kwofi. Literally, his name means Saturday born Friday born. We had a good laugh about that, because he didn’t know I knew the meaning of the names. And then we laughed about him carrying two surnames. He is a childhood friend of Mr. Eghan’s and has taken Kofi and the brothers as his Nephews. He has worked with KEEA for over 25 years and is in a position where he links businesses together to create Cooperatives. KEEA by the way is our Regional Government Office. The acronym is a combination of the different districts in the Region. By the time we finished the meeting and he directed us in the proper direction, I asked if he would be interested in joining our Board of Directors of OBey Foundation (Most likely the Ghana Chapter ). He accepted and will give me his CV tomorrow. He moves fast and told Kofi that as soon as we finish this meeting he wants them to run to the next village called Ayensudo to speak with the Chief about negotiations for land to build the OYC Youth Complex. I Love this Guy! Anyway, he listened to all that I had to say and gave some very good insight and took plenty of notes. I could see that he was a bit surprised at all that came out of the ‘Rastas’ mouth. Yes family, it is virtually impossible to escape being called or thought of as a Rasta. Locs and beard…RASTA! Anyway, if he follows through with all that we have to get done this week, then he is going to be a VERY valuable resource for years to come. He is also a Certified Accountant, so he offered to lead the training of the individuals that we decide to offer micro loans to.
So off to Ayensudo they went; Mr. Kwofi, Kofi, and Mr. Eghan. I will wait behind for the reports. In the meantime, Kohain called me to tell me that Yuhanna had arrived at his house in Elmina. NICE. I spoke with Yuhanna and he was even more thankful for the efforts after dealing with Accra traffic and the long ride to the Coast. I told him that we are family and that I am very happy that he and the Queen made it safely to Elmina. I told him that we will pick him up on Wednesday to include him in the OYC meeting. He’s in the hands of the Kohain. LOL!
As I am eating lunch today, I went to my calendar in my Outlook and discovered that my Outlook was downloading my emails. I first thought it was just old emails that were just sitting and just showed up in my inbox. But NO, more just came in. So, I replied and WHAT?! They ‘sent’ and I received ‘replies’…WHAT?!!! My OUTLOOK IS ALIVE!!!! I live in Outlook and did not realize that I could use my outlook with this space modem in Ghana. But I get it and can’t believe that I didn’t realize it sooner. So, please excuse my excitement, those of you that kept getting my “WHAT?! My OUTLOOK IS ON!” messages. LOL!!
Anyway, I went to Outlook to plot our runnings on my calendar. As I plotted obligation after obligation, my month was looking shorter and shorter. In fact, it made me a bit anxious about possibly not getting everything done. So, I started making calls to set appointments up and made strong decisions about my travel plans. Next week is looking serious, but will be filled with adventure if we can pull it off. No need to talk about the miles that we will cover until we are IN IT next week. So stay tuned.
Kofi returned and gave me a good report that the Chief is interested and invited us back on Wednesday to meet with his Brother that handles most of the business and land dealings in the village. It looks good that we may get the 20 acres or more for the Youth Complex in Ayensudo. This is different from the 40 acres of farm land from another neighboring village. With the help of our new Board Member, we will have a Representative from the Agriculture District Office go out to take samples of the farm land to see if it is feasible for us to grow Mangos there. They grow everything out there but in order for us to be part of the future game of farming in Ghana; we have to get into the Mango business. This bit of advice came directly from our friend, Mr. Appiah , Minister of Trade and Industry for Ghana. Who himself has invested in a Mango plantation to live off of once he retires. So samples and testing it is. If the land and environment is good, then we’re good because the numbers look good. If not, then we have one or two villages to travel to take a look at their land. These are sites where we KNOW there are mango plantations around.
As I am typing this, I am thinking about Kohain inviting me the other day to a social gathering in Dutch Komenda where there is a community of Returning African Descendants living there. Anytime they invite me out to these social gatherings, I always feel like “am I becoming anti- social?” Because family, I have never gone to these things unless someone is doing something and I drum there. Then I snap back to myself when I think, “I don’t do social gatherings in the States!” Unless I am DRUMMING. PLUS, DO YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I HAVE ON MY PLATE?! LOL!
I’m laughing right now because I am bored with stringing today’s event in ‘story like format’. I am going take a page out of my family’s books. They always have a lot to tell me when I have been running around, so they write down bullets of ideas and events. I laugh, but it is effective. So here are mine:
My Voltic water has a bit of an after taste now. I’m not feeling that since you all know that is MY WATER. I will travel to the market tomorrow to test out some other bottled water. I think they changed the bottles, which may have changed the taste.
Kofi, my Son, is wearing so many hats here for me. He was overjoyed when I told him of our new plan for OYC and Ocean Breeze. He is going to start going to school at the University soon for a distance learning course. He is in pursuit of a diploma in Business per the advice of Mr. Kwofi. I think it is a good idea and will help to stimulate his life. He is doing it all to better himself for the family business. Good Job Son!
Kohain has stepped it up with the Yuhanna stuff as he has been following through with reaching out to me to give me updates. He even gave me some insight on his movements this week and invited me to move with him. Maybe Yuhanna has something here with the “Can’t We All Just Get Along” philosophy. LOL!! Anyway, it’s good to be in touch with Kohain.
Esi and I started preparing a list of dishes for the Ocean Breeze menu. We were working on the concept of the Continental Breakfast today. We will go shopping tomorrow to pick everything up to put it into practice.
Papa Mensah called me from Kumasi and told me that he has a buyer for the laptop and they will pay 300 Cedis. Cool. That will pay for the repair of Kofi’s laptop and give us a little more money to play with.
Yes family, we have invested well here in Ghana. We invested in GOOD PEOPLE. You make SELFLESS investments in Good People and your returns will be Divine. Did you happen to get your OYC solicitation yet? We need an automobile out here…LOL!!
“I’m awake, I have worked, and I’ve been blessed. It’s Time to Take Me Home!”
Love Family
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Home
In 1997, I can remember waking up one of my first mornings in Ghana and sitting in the backyard of Kohain’s house watching the waves through the coconut trees crash against the rocks. I hadn’t even met Kofi yet. I remember wondering if I could ever own a property like this ANYWHERE, never mind Africa. Today, during one of my brief visits to the veranda, I looked out to Mommy waters and watched the waves through the coconut trees gently settle on the shore. The way that water looks against the blue sky can make you feel as though you are dreaming. I guess in a way, it is a dream, huh? A 13 year old dream.
So, today I chilled at home in Chalet 1 to get myself fortified for the upcoming week. I ate all day, so that means I spent a lot of time with Esi, who we hired as our cook. Esi is one of our OYC youth from at least 6 years ago. She was one of the students that we supported each year in school. She is preparing to go to cooking school in Takoradi soon. Esi’s sponsor is Isis, but still she is nervous that she will not be able to meet her school fees once she has started. I told her to focus on finishing up everything to get in so that we can know the exact fees. I think she feels better today about her opportunity.
I started off with fresh pineapples and oranges. Then moved on to soy beef chunks and brown gravy, rice, and carrots for lunch. Kofi was out getting gas to fill the tank for the stove, so she prepared everything in one pot on the small charcoal grill. It wasn’t the quickest meal, but it was very good. By the time Kofi returned in the evening, it was time for her to prepare dinner. She did curry potatoes, fried soy chx strips, carrots, and oranges. I had to coach her a bit, but for the most part, she remembered most of her steps and ingredients today.
My memory brings me back to a famous scene that only 3 people share from 13 years ago on the back veranda of Kohain’s house. It was to be my last meal in Ghana after 29 days of paying for each and every meal. And each meal was not that good. You see Kohain’s home had a restaurant at that time called Mabel’s Table, named after his Queen. It was a small and modest establishment with limited Vegetarian items on the menu. So we had to help them to create different meals for us. His property is called Mabel’s Table today and it has grown from that modest restaurant to a full scale guest house and motel with a two level restaurant. So, after a month of paying for each meal, I asked if we could get a complimentary “Welcome Home to Africa’ meal. They agreed and then went to prepare it for us. What that woman Suzie came back with folks… was the greasiest plate of fried rice I had ever seen. And when I tasted it, it tasted like FISH. Now family, you know I am not a violent person, but I can be dramatic at times when I feel like someone has disrespected me and/or my family.
The scene was me sitting, facing the ocean and eating. Suzie the cook was standing in between Kofi and Franchone facing me with their backs to the ocean. After tasting that fried rice, I saw myself, so CLEARLY, picking up that plate as if I was going to mash a pie in someone’s face and hurling it in between the cook and Kofi. Just clearing her that pie face of hers. I kept telling myself to exercise restraint Kojo and DO NOT THROW THIS PLATE. I asked myself, “Do you know what the family will say about you once they hear what you did to Kohain’s Cook?” Then I would think about the bill that we would get after EVERY meal and I would see me throwing that plate all over again.
I would calm myself down again and then taste that nasty fishy taste in my mouth again and the vision of the ‘flying plate’ would reappear. Now this all happened in a matter of about 2 minutes but it seemed like an hour of contemplation. I finally allowed for some wisdom to come in and decided that I don’t like this meal but Kofi would probably LOVE it. So I asked him if he would like it and he excitedly said, “YES!” But of course I did not let the meal go without me giving a little ‘tongue lashing’ to the cook. I told her how bad that meal was and that I can’t believe that she cooked my rice in USED FISH OIL. “AND you didn’t even give me my LAST meal for free. I gave you some of our clothes.” So it was bartering situation. She didn’t know what to say.
Franchone was quiet because she saw my eyes and heard the tone in my voice. She knew that Kojo was going to bring a little stinging energy tonight, but didn’t know exactly how. We laugh today about that scene because we both know that my reputation would have been much different had I allowed that ‘flying plate’ to leave my hands. LOL!! A decade later, I am training a Cook to prepare my meals EXACTLY the way that I want them. AND without giving her the clothes off of my back. LOL!
Today, I got caught up in emails and communicating with the family on-line. The communications are all a part of the fortification process. It’s good to feel that family love; even through cyberspace and across the Atlantic. Speaking of family, YUHANNA MADE IT TO GHANA. He was even held up at Immigration in Ghana with that VISA issue. So, I will have to speak to him and get clarity on what exactly happened. Anyway, he will spend the night in Accra and then head down this way to the Coast tomorrow am. I spoke with him and he sounded very good. He was very appreciative of all of our efforts to ‘WILL’ him here to Ghana and the string of communications to make sure someone would be in Accra when he arrived. He told me that Kimberly was such a blessing to him. He said if felt like she was a Mother making sure her Son was getting home. She called him at each airport (Ethiopia, Togo, and Ghana) making sure that he got on his flights on time. At one point, she gave him HIS itinerary of the flight plans. Yuhanna told me that he sent a special message to her home phone to thank her. Don’t even get me started on MY first flight to Ghana on Air Afrique. Anyway, thankfully Yuhanna had his phone with the Global plan in full effect. I am ON THAT my next trip here. Aba telling me that he reached Yuhanna on his phone in Rwanda was the start of easing our spirits about Yuhanna’s travels across the continent.
I met with Papa Mensah today to talk about some business ventures. We bought another refurbished laptop here to replace Kofi’s laptop since Kofi said he had fallen with it and it is not working properly. But when I got here, I learned that it just needs the screen replaced. So, I told Papa that I want him to go up to Kumasi and sell this refurbished laptop and use the money to fix Kofi’s. Hopefully, he will come back with extra monies for me, but I’d be happy with it just paying for the repair. We were going to bring it back into the states and get it repaired, so let’s try this. I decided that before I would spend this OYC money on the farm land, I will try to make some extra money every chance I get. Papa is my Computer Tech Son and has stayed true to his craft. I also told him that it appears like our dream of having a computer lab will be reality soon with the contributions from our new West Coast volunteer/supporter. We will talk more on that later. But I’m sure you all could imagine Papa’s excitement about that dream manifesting sooner than later.
Kofi and I met tonight about our Monday movements. We have multiple meetings and I need to show my face in the village tomorrow. It’s not that I will be moving a lot, but meetings and dealing with people’s agendas require energy. Everyone that I meet with always comes in with their own agenda. So, it is like taking on a new project with each person that sits down with me to talk. But you all know how much I enjoy getting inside of people’s heads so, there’s my balance. LOL!
Pull ups, shower and time to hit the bed. I love traveling but it’s always so good to be HOME. And HEY, it’s only 2 am; an early bedtime for me tonight…LOL!
“I’m awake, I have worked, and I’ve been blessed. It’s Time to Take Me Home!”
Love Family.
So, today I chilled at home in Chalet 1 to get myself fortified for the upcoming week. I ate all day, so that means I spent a lot of time with Esi, who we hired as our cook. Esi is one of our OYC youth from at least 6 years ago. She was one of the students that we supported each year in school. She is preparing to go to cooking school in Takoradi soon. Esi’s sponsor is Isis, but still she is nervous that she will not be able to meet her school fees once she has started. I told her to focus on finishing up everything to get in so that we can know the exact fees. I think she feels better today about her opportunity.
I started off with fresh pineapples and oranges. Then moved on to soy beef chunks and brown gravy, rice, and carrots for lunch. Kofi was out getting gas to fill the tank for the stove, so she prepared everything in one pot on the small charcoal grill. It wasn’t the quickest meal, but it was very good. By the time Kofi returned in the evening, it was time for her to prepare dinner. She did curry potatoes, fried soy chx strips, carrots, and oranges. I had to coach her a bit, but for the most part, she remembered most of her steps and ingredients today.
My memory brings me back to a famous scene that only 3 people share from 13 years ago on the back veranda of Kohain’s house. It was to be my last meal in Ghana after 29 days of paying for each and every meal. And each meal was not that good. You see Kohain’s home had a restaurant at that time called Mabel’s Table, named after his Queen. It was a small and modest establishment with limited Vegetarian items on the menu. So we had to help them to create different meals for us. His property is called Mabel’s Table today and it has grown from that modest restaurant to a full scale guest house and motel with a two level restaurant. So, after a month of paying for each meal, I asked if we could get a complimentary “Welcome Home to Africa’ meal. They agreed and then went to prepare it for us. What that woman Suzie came back with folks… was the greasiest plate of fried rice I had ever seen. And when I tasted it, it tasted like FISH. Now family, you know I am not a violent person, but I can be dramatic at times when I feel like someone has disrespected me and/or my family.
The scene was me sitting, facing the ocean and eating. Suzie the cook was standing in between Kofi and Franchone facing me with their backs to the ocean. After tasting that fried rice, I saw myself, so CLEARLY, picking up that plate as if I was going to mash a pie in someone’s face and hurling it in between the cook and Kofi. Just clearing her that pie face of hers. I kept telling myself to exercise restraint Kojo and DO NOT THROW THIS PLATE. I asked myself, “Do you know what the family will say about you once they hear what you did to Kohain’s Cook?” Then I would think about the bill that we would get after EVERY meal and I would see me throwing that plate all over again.
I would calm myself down again and then taste that nasty fishy taste in my mouth again and the vision of the ‘flying plate’ would reappear. Now this all happened in a matter of about 2 minutes but it seemed like an hour of contemplation. I finally allowed for some wisdom to come in and decided that I don’t like this meal but Kofi would probably LOVE it. So I asked him if he would like it and he excitedly said, “YES!” But of course I did not let the meal go without me giving a little ‘tongue lashing’ to the cook. I told her how bad that meal was and that I can’t believe that she cooked my rice in USED FISH OIL. “AND you didn’t even give me my LAST meal for free. I gave you some of our clothes.” So it was bartering situation. She didn’t know what to say.
Franchone was quiet because she saw my eyes and heard the tone in my voice. She knew that Kojo was going to bring a little stinging energy tonight, but didn’t know exactly how. We laugh today about that scene because we both know that my reputation would have been much different had I allowed that ‘flying plate’ to leave my hands. LOL!! A decade later, I am training a Cook to prepare my meals EXACTLY the way that I want them. AND without giving her the clothes off of my back. LOL!
Today, I got caught up in emails and communicating with the family on-line. The communications are all a part of the fortification process. It’s good to feel that family love; even through cyberspace and across the Atlantic. Speaking of family, YUHANNA MADE IT TO GHANA. He was even held up at Immigration in Ghana with that VISA issue. So, I will have to speak to him and get clarity on what exactly happened. Anyway, he will spend the night in Accra and then head down this way to the Coast tomorrow am. I spoke with him and he sounded very good. He was very appreciative of all of our efforts to ‘WILL’ him here to Ghana and the string of communications to make sure someone would be in Accra when he arrived. He told me that Kimberly was such a blessing to him. He said if felt like she was a Mother making sure her Son was getting home. She called him at each airport (Ethiopia, Togo, and Ghana) making sure that he got on his flights on time. At one point, she gave him HIS itinerary of the flight plans. Yuhanna told me that he sent a special message to her home phone to thank her. Don’t even get me started on MY first flight to Ghana on Air Afrique. Anyway, thankfully Yuhanna had his phone with the Global plan in full effect. I am ON THAT my next trip here. Aba telling me that he reached Yuhanna on his phone in Rwanda was the start of easing our spirits about Yuhanna’s travels across the continent.
I met with Papa Mensah today to talk about some business ventures. We bought another refurbished laptop here to replace Kofi’s laptop since Kofi said he had fallen with it and it is not working properly. But when I got here, I learned that it just needs the screen replaced. So, I told Papa that I want him to go up to Kumasi and sell this refurbished laptop and use the money to fix Kofi’s. Hopefully, he will come back with extra monies for me, but I’d be happy with it just paying for the repair. We were going to bring it back into the states and get it repaired, so let’s try this. I decided that before I would spend this OYC money on the farm land, I will try to make some extra money every chance I get. Papa is my Computer Tech Son and has stayed true to his craft. I also told him that it appears like our dream of having a computer lab will be reality soon with the contributions from our new West Coast volunteer/supporter. We will talk more on that later. But I’m sure you all could imagine Papa’s excitement about that dream manifesting sooner than later.
Kofi and I met tonight about our Monday movements. We have multiple meetings and I need to show my face in the village tomorrow. It’s not that I will be moving a lot, but meetings and dealing with people’s agendas require energy. Everyone that I meet with always comes in with their own agenda. So, it is like taking on a new project with each person that sits down with me to talk. But you all know how much I enjoy getting inside of people’s heads so, there’s my balance. LOL!
Pull ups, shower and time to hit the bed. I love traveling but it’s always so good to be HOME. And HEY, it’s only 2 am; an early bedtime for me tonight…LOL!
“I’m awake, I have worked, and I’ve been blessed. It’s Time to Take Me Home!”
Love Family.
Did someone say PATIENCE?
Today it is all about picking Yuhanna and his Queen up from the airport and getting all of my stuff and the shopping goods plus their luggage to the central region. I can clearly remember that transportation from the airport to Elmina 13 years ago was $40. Today it is close to $150, with a van. CRAZY, but reality. So, I’m on the job to secure a van for us. Kofi of course tried, but they flaked out on him. Kofi Kofi Kofi. He likes to talk like, “Oh Dad, that is TOO much!” but when I send him to people to bring their price down; he comes back to me with, “they said that it is their final price, Dad.” I just smile at him and then go to work on them. Anyway, today was all about PATIENCE. We rose at 6am and I told Kofi that he had to finish the little bit of shopping that we did not get done yesterday and find us a van to get us home. AND be back at the Hotel by 12 noon because we have to check out at that time and get to the airport to pick up our peeps by 1:45pm. “OR ELSE, I’m out!!” He left at 8:30am. So, I took advantage of the time in the room to journal and type of notes for our pending meetings this week. I also got on-line a bit but ran out of credits. Skyping eats up the credits very fast, so we have to make the Skype sessions brief and to the point.
It’s getting to 11am and I haven’t heard from Kofi. I called him and he told me that he had no luck with the van and that he is on his way back. At 11:50 I called the front desk and told them to send someone up so that I could check out. At 12:10 Kofi called me and asked if he should bring the stuff upstairs or keep it outside. GOOD JOB SON, he made it. I had him get a taxi and we were off to the airport. I failed to tell you that Esther called me at about 10:45am telling me that she received a call from someone that she couldn’t hear very well. She said the only words she heard were “Kojo…Airport”. GREAT…WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! She was nervous that their flight came in early and that they were waiting for me at the airport. I told her that the only flight on their airline coming in today will be in at 1:45pm. She felt better. But I didn’t, so I tried to get on-line one more time to see if I could see the schedule. I could not, so I called Kimberly. She navigated and confirmed the time of 1:45pm. Cool.
You remember what the scene is like at the airport. There were only two other times that I sat for sometime outside the airport. Once was waiting for Adrese to arrive on his first trip to Ghana and with Nana Okofo when we were waiting for my flight. It is so interesting to watch these guys hustle people by helping them with their bags and demanding a tip. Some look like they are genuinely there to pick someone up from a flight and then you see the big smile and the chatter mouth talk start up as they grab onto the baggage cart. One after the next I watched this while I was catching up on real life with Kofi. We arrived at shortly before 1pm so we were nice and early. Well, 2pm came and we saw that his flight was delayed for an hour. Wow alright, cool because our DAMN VAN is STILL not here. Yes, I called on a guy that promised to get me a van the day before and his guy was still not here. I had to consider negotiations with a SUV to take us and all of our stuff to Brenu. So, Kofi and I talked more and more. I taught him about these hustlers and he kept asking me more and more questions about what one does once they enter in the airport and travel out. WOW, I travel so much that I forget that Kofi has never travelled outside of Ghana. He has never even seen the inside of the airport. So I took him step by step. In between I had him call our driver until the driver called us and said that he is close and that we “should not call him anymore.” LOL!!
Hey, it is 3:15pm…alright, they should be coming out soon. No Ethiopian Air yet. Check the board and it is delayed AGAIN! Another hour. I’m now getting a bit restless and tired of watching the ‘airport hustle channel’. Finally, we get through the hour and 4:15pm is here and YES Ethiopian Air has landed and people are coming out. We get the driver ready, because he has arrived and has done the serious jig because he was so late. And you know I let him tap dance his butt off with his apologies until finally, I told him that our guests had not arrived. He laughed, but clearly was annoyed with me. LOL!! Anyway, we got caught up with talking and laughing that I wasn’t looking out for Yuhanna and the vultures. One after the next I watched those passengers come out until I saw the flight crew come out. WTH!! Yuhanna WOULD HAVE to be the one held up inside. So we waited, confident that we would see him soon. I watched yet another plane load of passengers come out with their stuff right up to the flight crew of that flight. Wait now…What is going on?! I went up to the security and had them check for Yuhanna for me. He came back and said, “NOONE with the name Edwards had come through Immigration.” NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…What is going on?! I immediately called Aba and he told me that he had reached Yuhanna on his cell while he was in Rwanda. Cool. I will call. Could not get through. I had the information desk page him and his wife. I had security walk the terminal and NO ONE was there. YUHANNA WAS NOT ON THE PLANE. A Brother heard Yuhanna being paged and came over to me and said, “Are you here for Yuhanna?” I was thinking, you got a serious hustle my friend if you have a proposition for me that I will actually stand here and listen to. He proceeded and told me that he too was here to pick up Yuhanna, per Kohain’s orders. GREAT…Two vehicles to pick up Yuhanna and noYuhanna.
All of you can already guess as to what Kojo is about to do given that it is 6pm and I have dedicated my day to waiting for NOONE to get off Ethiopian Air, right? I’m OUT!!!!! I called Kohain and told him that I will put my peeps on this and we will find out Yuhanna’s deal, but I need for him to organize the ride for him from the airport to the Coast. He overstood and we left in a van that was NOT needed in traffic that took us nearly 2 hours just to get out of Accra. We reached home at 10:30 pm and because of pure adrenaline, I stayed up until my call was to come in at 4:30am about Yuhanna’s departure from ETHIOPIA. Yes, Ethiopia. Apparently, they were dealing with some VISA issues and were not allowed on their flight. We had a string of communication linkages going on between Aba, Kimberly, Kohain’s Daughter, Yuhanna’s Daughter, Yuhanna and me about his itinerary. NOONE wanted to take that trip from the Coast to Accra if it was NOT necessary. I was at Ocean Breeze so you know I was not subjecting myself to Accra any time soon. I would’ve called someone from Accra to pick him from the airport if Kohain couldn’t do it. But all in all, it appears as though we are good now. Kimberly was able to speak with Yuhanna and ease his mind that someone will be in Accra for him. I’m good. I can rest now or at least until I have to call Kohain at 7:30am to tell him to get someone up to the airport because Yuhanna is on his way here.
I know that you are thinking that it is the next day so I should just keep going with how this day is going, but you will have to wait for Day 3 Journal entry- Hoooooooome.
“I’m awake, I have worked, and I’ve been blessed. It’s Time to Take Me Home”
Love Family
It’s getting to 11am and I haven’t heard from Kofi. I called him and he told me that he had no luck with the van and that he is on his way back. At 11:50 I called the front desk and told them to send someone up so that I could check out. At 12:10 Kofi called me and asked if he should bring the stuff upstairs or keep it outside. GOOD JOB SON, he made it. I had him get a taxi and we were off to the airport. I failed to tell you that Esther called me at about 10:45am telling me that she received a call from someone that she couldn’t hear very well. She said the only words she heard were “Kojo…Airport”. GREAT…WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! She was nervous that their flight came in early and that they were waiting for me at the airport. I told her that the only flight on their airline coming in today will be in at 1:45pm. She felt better. But I didn’t, so I tried to get on-line one more time to see if I could see the schedule. I could not, so I called Kimberly. She navigated and confirmed the time of 1:45pm. Cool.
You remember what the scene is like at the airport. There were only two other times that I sat for sometime outside the airport. Once was waiting for Adrese to arrive on his first trip to Ghana and with Nana Okofo when we were waiting for my flight. It is so interesting to watch these guys hustle people by helping them with their bags and demanding a tip. Some look like they are genuinely there to pick someone up from a flight and then you see the big smile and the chatter mouth talk start up as they grab onto the baggage cart. One after the next I watched this while I was catching up on real life with Kofi. We arrived at shortly before 1pm so we were nice and early. Well, 2pm came and we saw that his flight was delayed for an hour. Wow alright, cool because our DAMN VAN is STILL not here. Yes, I called on a guy that promised to get me a van the day before and his guy was still not here. I had to consider negotiations with a SUV to take us and all of our stuff to Brenu. So, Kofi and I talked more and more. I taught him about these hustlers and he kept asking me more and more questions about what one does once they enter in the airport and travel out. WOW, I travel so much that I forget that Kofi has never travelled outside of Ghana. He has never even seen the inside of the airport. So I took him step by step. In between I had him call our driver until the driver called us and said that he is close and that we “should not call him anymore.” LOL!!
Hey, it is 3:15pm…alright, they should be coming out soon. No Ethiopian Air yet. Check the board and it is delayed AGAIN! Another hour. I’m now getting a bit restless and tired of watching the ‘airport hustle channel’. Finally, we get through the hour and 4:15pm is here and YES Ethiopian Air has landed and people are coming out. We get the driver ready, because he has arrived and has done the serious jig because he was so late. And you know I let him tap dance his butt off with his apologies until finally, I told him that our guests had not arrived. He laughed, but clearly was annoyed with me. LOL!! Anyway, we got caught up with talking and laughing that I wasn’t looking out for Yuhanna and the vultures. One after the next I watched those passengers come out until I saw the flight crew come out. WTH!! Yuhanna WOULD HAVE to be the one held up inside. So we waited, confident that we would see him soon. I watched yet another plane load of passengers come out with their stuff right up to the flight crew of that flight. Wait now…What is going on?! I went up to the security and had them check for Yuhanna for me. He came back and said, “NOONE with the name Edwards had come through Immigration.” NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…What is going on?! I immediately called Aba and he told me that he had reached Yuhanna on his cell while he was in Rwanda. Cool. I will call. Could not get through. I had the information desk page him and his wife. I had security walk the terminal and NO ONE was there. YUHANNA WAS NOT ON THE PLANE. A Brother heard Yuhanna being paged and came over to me and said, “Are you here for Yuhanna?” I was thinking, you got a serious hustle my friend if you have a proposition for me that I will actually stand here and listen to. He proceeded and told me that he too was here to pick up Yuhanna, per Kohain’s orders. GREAT…Two vehicles to pick up Yuhanna and noYuhanna.
All of you can already guess as to what Kojo is about to do given that it is 6pm and I have dedicated my day to waiting for NOONE to get off Ethiopian Air, right? I’m OUT!!!!! I called Kohain and told him that I will put my peeps on this and we will find out Yuhanna’s deal, but I need for him to organize the ride for him from the airport to the Coast. He overstood and we left in a van that was NOT needed in traffic that took us nearly 2 hours just to get out of Accra. We reached home at 10:30 pm and because of pure adrenaline, I stayed up until my call was to come in at 4:30am about Yuhanna’s departure from ETHIOPIA. Yes, Ethiopia. Apparently, they were dealing with some VISA issues and were not allowed on their flight. We had a string of communication linkages going on between Aba, Kimberly, Kohain’s Daughter, Yuhanna’s Daughter, Yuhanna and me about his itinerary. NOONE wanted to take that trip from the Coast to Accra if it was NOT necessary. I was at Ocean Breeze so you know I was not subjecting myself to Accra any time soon. I would’ve called someone from Accra to pick him from the airport if Kohain couldn’t do it. But all in all, it appears as though we are good now. Kimberly was able to speak with Yuhanna and ease his mind that someone will be in Accra for him. I’m good. I can rest now or at least until I have to call Kohain at 7:30am to tell him to get someone up to the airport because Yuhanna is on his way here.
I know that you are thinking that it is the next day so I should just keep going with how this day is going, but you will have to wait for Day 3 Journal entry- Hoooooooome.
“I’m awake, I have worked, and I’ve been blessed. It’s Time to Take Me Home”
Love Family
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