the cry of the Xmas chicken

           I #remember when we came to Ghana so many years ago during the Liberian #war wahala which had Ghana taking in refugees ..so lots of #people  automatically thought we were Liberian refugees or foreigners but certainly not the Ghanaians we were!...they said we didn't 'look' Ghanaian (whatever that meant!)...we didn't know a #word of twi (my mother tongue) though ,nor any other local Ghanaian dialects..just the English that my dad and mum had raised us on whiles growing up..no one told us why we came 'back' to Ghana. .I say 'back' cos I and my older brother(he was 2) went to Nigeria #quite young(I was a baby) but my four other siblings at the time were born  in a place called Lokoja in Kwara State..at the #time we came to Ghana we were to young to #understand anything..I rember we took an aeroplane though!...lol...we got to Ghana late in the evening..we were confused cos it was very clear we were in a new environment..#people were speaking a strange #language and were looking at us like we were some alien specie!...the next day the first #local Ghanaian meal we were welcomed with was............. can u guess?waakye ofcos! .. hahahhaha...I #guess that's when my addiction to that orgasmic meal was born!..omg,I loooovvee loooovvee looovveee me some hot waakye...with all the 'accoutrements ' of cos...the browned rice and beans ,soft wele (crackling ), gari (fried ,dry ,powdery corn dough),talia (boiled spaghetti),fried fish,fried meat,boiled egg,fried plantain and dry salad..you have all that on your plate and you're in heaven .. literally!!

          For #selfish reasons  I think this meal should be made the official end-of-year  tradional dish instead of the #rice and gravy and fried chicken meal I was subjected to every xmas during my childhood days!..*wink wink*...Xmas was(still is!) synonymous with chicken...Xmas time was when #chicken sold like hot cake and I didn't  get it,even at that age ...all the streets surrounding the #market place would be lined up with giant makeshift #hencoops by poultry farmers trying to make some profit off the seasonal booming business..how did that trend start anyway?anyhome u visited during this period served the same doggone meal!.. rice, chicken,gravy and soda (affectionately called 'minerals' by everyone,in Ghana at least!),pieces of cake and some buscuits!! ...it usually happened in the homes of the #average citizen so those foods were like #gold to them... sometimes three kids had to share a bottle of soda ...luckily the bottle has demacations on it so we will mark each portion and after u drank yours u gave it to the next person..and woe betides you if you drank into someone else's portion! Why didn't we ever just use cups to share the drink and spare us the stress!...I guess #kids would be kids!

             And Xmas was never complete without your bronya shada! ..ei ,mum always got some bright rokporkpor (nylon) fabric and #every one got to sew her bronya (Xmas ) dress..mum always chose the #style ofcos..what did we know!..it was always a style with puffed sleeves,gathered at the waist with a skirt that ballooned to your knees or ankles depending on how much fabric there was!...then there was the belt which you would tie behind your back in a bow.. chale,dont go there koraa..don't forget the #shoes!.. usually white or black with buckles..maybe 2inched heels...and you had to wear long white socks with them..aargh!those socks that had a flowery 'veil' at the 'edges'..*cringe*...if you're not lucky you'll get a #cap in that same fabric to go with the ensemble... hahahahhaah...I've always hated that rokporkpor fabric since those days but back then it was what was available and xmas was such a big deal that if you didnt have a dress nor even went to church on Xmas day  it was like #somebody ripped your beating heart out of your chest and stepped on it!..I rember one time after I'd gone through the whole process of  getting a new dress and laid it out ready for bronya church the next day I got #malaria(well most illnesses in Ghana are automatically self-diagnosed as malaria!) that night... so I didn't take part in the Xmas celebrations and I wanted to die!..today I don't even bother doing anything during this period cos I simply don't see the point..i dont buy nothing..i dont #sew nothing..i dont visit nobody..i dont invite nobody over..i just live each day like any other day..i always say everyday is 'xmas' for me..I do what I have to do on whichever day I want and not wait for the end of the year!..so much pressure is put on #people who can't afford it,to be a part of a traditon they don't even understand. .pressure especially on the kids who feel left out if they can't celebrate it cos the choice was made for them...if you didn't go to church on 25th and 31st Dec you're 'branded' a pagan...the 31st Dec allnight service in the churches is a tradional affair in Ghana chale!...when I started 'looking' at this whole confusion differently I stopped going to church totally but on the 31st I'll go to church to usher in the new year with God ....eventually I stopped doing that too cos I felt like a heel!...seeing as the next day on the 1st January I'll be at the night club dancing 'with the devil'.. atleast that's how Christians saw it..my being weaned off the whole bronya thingy was not drastic but it was gradual and firm..one day I was  being consumed by it ,the #next day I was out of it!

             What does Xmas really mean to people?is it a time to #chew fried chicken and strut your new clothes and shoes and go to church?is it a time to fill kids with the illusion of celebrating the birth of Christ, as Christians put it?what does Xmas even mean?did someone really die on 25th December some 1000s of yrs ago  to be celebrated every year?do people really believe it in their hearts or are just going along with everything  cos they were introduced to it just like I was?..some churches have taken the 'celebrations' up another notch actually acting out the birth of Christ and #everything else...they'll be wearing funeral clothes to church during Easter when he 'dies' and will wear white when he 'resurrects'!..that doesn't sit well with me cos I wonder what the point of repeating that charade every year is!..I know the 'chrifes' will crucify (pun intended!) me for saying this but hey,how I feel is how I feel!.

        It's #weird to me cos it's one bible but each church interpretes it differently from the others.. very confusing,eh ?!when I was way younger, between, I think 9and 15yrs of age,I was 'steeped' in the chrife 'euphoria'...I used to write to a Christian outfit called SOON...you answered questions on the bible and when you passed you got certificates and bibles as your prize ...and I got a lot of them!..alot !. .I went to Sunday school..acted in all the #religious plays..got baptized and graduated to the adult church...I even worked hard to get into the adult choir and after I got in I quit not long after!..the whole pressure to be in church without understanding why i was being there finally got to me i think!..it's just like the Xmas euphoria. .lots of people are celebrating it without knowing why and in the process putting so much pressure on themselves and others..

              What I #care about is we should be kind to one another. .it should come from the heart not just cos we are compelled to do it according to some church rules...there are lots of people who won't do things for people who ask them directly for help but will wait for Xmas to donate some things to an orphanage. .meanwhile the orphans don't even get the items..that's another convo for another day!..let's strive to be considerate of one another. .be kind..be safe whiles we are about to enter a new #year!.. welcome it with a good heart. .we welcome you #2018!!!..thanx for reading....#shalom #gaylesgifts

GAYsm...yay or nah?

         JUST last week i called for an UBER and that meeting with the driver has generated a very #healthy intellectual #relationship between us...it's amazing how you meet all sorts of people in all kinds of #places..we have had very mind-stimulating and thought-provoking #conversations and it's such a very pleasant experience..coupla days ago he asked me what i thought about the legalization of GAYsm /LESBIANIsm, and of course i told him I'm a very open-minded person when it comes to these societal issues and wasn't for nor against it..but he persisted to know what i really thought just for 'argument's' sake.. so i asked  him what his thoughts were on the #topic..before I say what he said I'll let you #know what I told him and more!

              Lesbians and Gays are first of all #human beings with rights..just like you and I..before you get it twisted let me clear the air on something..I'm not Gay. .I'm straight as an arrow and I've never fancied my [same] sex..but I believe in the #rights of every human being and I hate it when people of some certain status feel they can prosecute other people who are in the minority 'zone';( if i should put it so)...already Gays(I'll use this to represent both #lesbians and homosexuals) feel very confused with their sexuality that's why a lot of them 'hide in the closet'...those who fully explore their sexuality and interest in the opposite sex take a huge risk .we call it 'coming out of the closet'....they get stigmatized,persecuted..some even get killed...how does one's sexual preference affect the country?????!!!!!. .how does what one does in the comfort of their bedroom affect you?...the country is corrupt from leaders to children. .the police are robbing us blind...taking bribes like taking sweets from little kids. .#people are being raped in their own homes...a new  German friend I just made got  robbed and raped by four Ghanaian gunmen in her apartment!. .the government didn't do nothing about it!...is she not a #human being?doesn't rape constitute an offence?..it is criminal,right?..adds to the 'filth' covering up the country yet nothing was done!..and  you say wetin?!!!!!...abeg go remove the 'log in your eye' and come again!
          Lots of people are frustrated in this #world and the only way to vent their frustrations is to attack the vulnerable...gays don't have a voice because they've been made to feel inferior by the hypocritical hoi polloi...so even though nowadays they are gathering their #voice to defend themselves they are still a far cry from feeling understood and accepted..why should they have to defend themselves from anyone?Adam and Eve had kids and their kids had #sex with each other,right?incest is what it is called,right?cos how else do you explain the world's #population if we are to go by what the bible says?how did we grow to be so many?think about it! The country has a lot of issues killing its people!we don't have 'trust-able' potable water..you'll have to buy bottled #water...how many people can afford to drink that all the time?!!!.and those of us who mostly drink 'sachet water' half the time have to hope and pray it is at least distilled like we've been told it is!..no jobs:lots of graduates are home doing nothing!..' The devil finds work for idle hands', they say...'an idle  mind is the devil's workshop' ,I've heard! ...or something to that effect!..some Gays found themselves in the act because some rich #gays offered them some sort of respite from the  poverty eating up the country..the gap between the rich and poor is so wide..rich get richer and the poor get poorer..if you want to tackle an issue, don't just wade into it like some guy who has chased some lady for years  to no avail and suddenly her #vagina has been made available to him to 'chop'!..start from the what caused the fire and not the smoke..'there's no smoke without fire?'..no?
       These days you can't even be sure of one's sexual preference ...even the #heterosexual men only want to have anal sex with their heterosexual #female partners...go figure!..a woman called an #adult show one time to complain about her pastor husband who didn't want vaginal intercourse with her...only anal sex...so in this case what would the gay-bashers?.or what will the gays themselves say or feel?..another lady who'd be married for just two weeks wanted out cos her hubby wanted to only  mount her through her anus!..it's really a common thing these days. .so-called heterosexual couples don't find satisfaction with each other sexually.. either there's a third #party involved (ménagè a trois ) or they have some sort of swinging parties or they swap partners. ...even your husband or wife could be living a double life;could be having a gay partner on the side in secret;how would you know!..the list is endless..it's hard to know what goes on behind closed doors... people keep up appearances a lot because society dictates what is right or wrong...yet society is not always right.
       The biggest group attacking the gays are mostly Christians..  .which pisses me off cos the bible says sinners came to be saved. .who are you to do God's work for him??he even welcomed sinners, if the bible is to be believed!..gays didn't ask to be like that..if the #bible says everything that'll will happen has already been written why then can't they understand that gays didn't have a #choice in the matter?..it was written!..the Gays are flesh and blood and bones just like all the pedophiles,rapists,sodomites,misogynists(most African men fall short here and religion enables them by using that crappy 'submission' route!),transvestites, drag-queens, transgenders,eunuchs,etc .and they all 'go to church'..i see them all the time!and some of these people hate gays!..y3 nua ni s3n 3na aanbiin??..don't come at me with that bullshit of making only the gays [be] the worms !every one should be persecuted then !Christians are supposed to be an extension of the God they claim they worship. .they should welcome everyone into their bosom...'!he who's without sin should cast the first stone!'...rember ?!!!!..people do all kinds of shit when no-one is watching!..there are people raping animals too...sometimes it's a choice born out of some uncontrollable desire,some from coercion by other people who are already 'versed' in the act..they say God is love and loves everyone and the so-called chrifes will quote you all kinds of quotes from the bible on that score yet they don't show love to their fellow human beings!..selfishness is what is killing our people..greed ,'fakery','flakery',etc is the stench exuding from the country's pores... corruption, thievery,backbiting, is what is spewing out of the country's mouth like the fetid breath of a trotromate's...lie-ing, lie-ing,lie-ing is the pungent odor emanating from the country's holes like some serious body odor from a taxi driver's unwashed pits. ..eeeeeeeewwwww!!!. .the country is sick with a lot of rot festering underneath which is going to erupt #soon like a volcano of we don't stop our bullshit hypocrisy! You know what's funny,they think prayer would solve this menace..'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God '..there's a spiritual realm and there's a 'physical' world..let's not get it twisted..give the 'devil' a break and take responsibility for your #own actions,that's why you're on this planet in your human form!
        I welcome #everybody ..all of us have our faults and shortcomings ..it doesn't make it right just cos no-one is perfect but it importantly means we shouldn't feel superior to others who have different 'demons' and we shouldn't impose our views on #people and force them to conform to it!..it's really annoying!we've got prostitutes,wife-batterers, murderers,fraudsters who are walking around freely...if society is so concerned about 'cleaning' up the #country they should persecute all of these people...firstly though they should start by cleaning up the country of all the real filth that is engulfing the whole place!..the stench  from the garbage at the Kaneshie market, for example, is unbearable!...rid the country of all the plastics that's choking up every nook and cranny..the filth that is breeding all kinds of deadly diseases!..typhoid,cholera,malaria to name a few...close up all open drainage systems..then they can now tackle 'other' issues... .'cleanliness is next to godliness' is what the Christians say..but do they walk the talk?..since they don't have anything to do with their lives,they should go into each individual's bedrooms and tell them what to do with their own damn bodies!
        Now let me tell you what my uber-driver-turned-friend told me on this topic...he feels gaysm should be legalized cos first of all any practice that society needs to legalize means people have been practicing it for ages and it's not going anywhere and might be causing 'problems' in the country..he feels it will make the gays feel accepted and they wont #hide and practice it..most gays are forced to marry heterosexual partners to keep up the appearance of  the 'normalcy' society has dictated whiles  having their gay cravings satisfied in the closet ..being gay can be biological,psychological,or learned,or even just for fun..to each his own..when people don't feel stigmatized they will open up and do things the right way..being gay doesn't make you less of a human being..it doesn't take away from your capabilities as a person..lots of gays have contributed immensely to society and the world at large..Ellen Degeneres,Elton John,Gianni Versace are just a few to mention...everything we do has pros and cons but it should be the individual's choice on what they do in their privacy to themselves..!the so-called issues we think arise from homosexuality are rather heightened by the fact that it's done in 'hiding '.e.g AIDS...people have HIV/AIDS from other 'normal' angles...people having multiple heterosexual partners is one angle,sharing infected instruments,even having sex with one unknowingly  infected partner can get  you infected..people are naturally afraid of what they don't understand and reflexively just #attack it...it's ignorance at the highest peak!..my uber-driver also talks about a doctor who sodomized a 15yr old boy who had to have surgery to correct some anomalies on his anus and intestinal tract. .this is sick cos the boy was a minor and the doctor took advantage of him..this boy might also continue with this act,who knows! ..this goes to buttress my point that these things happen from different angles and influences..'#charity begins at home'..let's start from the homes...set #good examples for the younger ones and those yet to be born will have something positive to emulate when they get here..we will be long gone but at least we would have left some good legacy behind...thanx for reading..#shalom #gaylesgifts