In a rickety zinc shack crawling with mice and cockroaches, Theresa lived together with her younger sister, her daughter and me. Besides her daughter, Theresa had some elder children, a couple of prominent men and women, who lived in Monrovia. The men worked as CEOs and chief accountants at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), while the women operated huge businesses, one of them owning an extravagant restaurant that catered exclusively for American and European clientele.
I had always thought of robbing James Bolton, a Canadian-born millionaire, but the odds were so huge I was unlikely to succeed. My initial plan was to grab Bolton in the street at gunpoint as he emerged from a bank, snatch his briefcase, jump into a getaway car, and speed off. But after doing a little thinking, I discarded that idea. There were army checkpoints on every main route in the city, and traffic was usually jammed, crawling at a snail's pace. Bloton's bodyguards would have easily phoned a checkpoint, got the traffic to a halt, and then grab me as I tried to escape in panic.
I can't. That's what that foolish old man wants, and I'm not going to give him that satisfaction. After all, it's not his house, and we are all displaced people.”
After the ceasefire in 1990, Dorothy and her son found a nine-bedroom vacant house. The yard was choked with grass, littered with discarded clothes, papers and cooking utensils, and a mutilating corpse that a couple of dogs were eating.
In Memory of Mother, Grandmother,
Published: 29 February, 2008
The Glover Family of Kakata, Margibi County, has published a highly informative book on the Liberian Constitution, in memory of their mother and grandmother, Mrs. Hanna G. Glover.
Uncle Charlie in Dry Meat Fiasco
Published: 11 January, 2008
Uncle Charlie was not about to travel along with those whom he considered the highest 'hypocrites' from Clay Ashland. He was going to take the trip all the way back to Monrovia by way of a commercial vehicle.
I wish you 12 months of great joy, 52 weeks of excellent success, 366 days of lasting peace. 8,784 hours of good health, 527,040 minutes of God's blessings, 31,622,400 seconds of a beautiful home. I wish all my contributors and readers happy new year. Send your poems to blessingtime2005a@yahoo.com
A Man and His Two Sons
Published: 28 December, 2007
There was a man who had two sons: the older son did not obey his father and sometimes even criticized him. This made the father very sad. The younger son obeyed his dad. In fact, he would often go an extra mile. Any time his father asked him to do something, he would politely say, “Yes, Father”. Then he would promptly do what his father asked of him.
SHORT STORY, (Continued from last week)
Published: 14 December, 2007
It was well past midnight when the meeting was called to order. Fire Hearth was the chair. In fact, it was he who had summoned the utensils. He cleared his throat and declared: “Comrades, one and all, the meeting is called to order.”
The Big Hit-back How A.B.C. Took His Stand
Published: 23 November, 2007
It all started with the death of A.B.C. or Kwaku Bomfe. He was a Ghanaian migrant in Liberia in the late 1960's. A fellow in his prime of life, he was broad-shouldered owing to his paddling career in a Fanti fishing company.
The child was asleep when the rebels stormed the village with loud gunfire. The freedom fighters among us quickly hid their weapons and melted among the civilians (You see, there were several rebel groups, but the dominant one referred to itself as Freedom Fighters and since they always had their spies among us, we always made sure to refer to their rivals as rebels)
Jonathan Brown was seated at the police station incensed with himself over his insistence that Tennie got married to Charlie Wright's son. He couldn't imagine that he had taken all the insults.
Making a Mark that Last
Published: 26 October, 2007
Grand mother was blind. She had been partially blind for 15 years before my birth. It was rumored her blindness derived from her last conception. If this is true, then the child she had from that conception was my mother, Miatta. Maybe that's why Grandma was so fond of me.
No Third Party in Marriage
Published: 12 October, 2007
Martha got under the huge coconut tree and to the coal pot on which she was cooking her meals. The sweet and spicy aroma which came from her soup spread in the yard. Because she was so busy fanning the fire, she did not see Oretha entering the compound.
Musu sat quietly at the reception and waited to be called by the secretary. She had wanted to go down to find some food to eat. She had not have breakfast at home because she did not have the time to do so. She had to wake up early so as to be able to get on the bus before workers and students started to struggle for transport.
I had always suspected the Catholic priest, Father Brown, a fat, balding man of 50, of being an adulterer. I had heard him denounce adultery more than a thousand times from his pulpit but I still had very strong doubts about his character.
It happened in 1963. The place was in Killepo, a section of the Grebo tribe which became part of Grand Gedeh County in 1964. These people share a common boundary with the Putu people in Grand Gedeh County. Presently, Killepo is in the newly established County of River Gee. The Monrovia-Harper Highway passes through this region.
THE DILEMMA OF A NON-MEMBER
Published: 16 March, 2007
We republish this story today because we did not carry the byline of the author. We are sorry for this. We would like our readers to know that we subscribe to the right of intellectual property.
THE DILEMMA OF A NON-MEMBER
Published: 10 March, 2007
Up-country, where native tradition and culture is practiced and held in high esteem, and because of the great importance, our people attach to these cultural and traditional values, is why perhaps, they went about forming two native societies, namely; Poro and Sande purposely for the education of their youths on traditional matters. Unless one is a member, one is often referred to as a “sinner” by those who had already attended and graduated from these traditional schools with names attached to them by the “principal” or traditionally, Chief Zoes as head of these bush schools.
While Uncle Charlie was away, his children had dismantled his old frame house. So the whole of Clay-Ashland was on her heels in anticipation of what Uncle Charlie would do upon his arrival.
“Look my friend,” referring to the complainant, “Are you ready to go to court on Monday? If Tamba does not have your money, we will send both of you to court. Are your ready for that?”
On August 19 last year, this column predicted the outcome of the pending elections and how some of the politicians would behave before, during and after the event.
Long ago in Sinkor Old Road, a town about 45 minutes walk from Central Monrovia lived Mr. Power Greed. P. Greed, as he was generally known, was a black man with middle height. His eyes were always red and he walked with his shoulders up.
Award Winning Poet Predicts Punishment for Horsemen
Published: 17 June, 2006
Francis Perry won the Editors Choice Award in August 2005
A Liberian has published a collection of protest poems. The collection is mainly about the Liberian civil conflict and how it has affected and afflicted the nation.
CONFESSION: THE DAY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE, III
Published: 16 June, 2006
Nature had played its part and the sky had closed its mouth. The sun was now beaming gold. Soon, those who had taken asylum on their front poaches from the heavy down pour were now returning under and around the palaver hut.
THE TRIAL: The Day That Changed My Life, II
Published: 09 June, 2006
Mother was calm all along. Those who were perpetrating this cruelty against her were young men who had grown her in her hands. Jumo, for example; he was always at our house in our crux pot. Now, here he was tying mother.
There lived a man in the village of Patamu. He was handsome and very tall. He was also very wealthy. He had many wives and children. Almost everyday he threw a party at his house. His name was Sumo Yankollie. After some years, his wealth vanished and condition became very difficult for him. He could hardly find food for his children to eat.
The Snake Invasion of Killepo Land
Published: 21 April, 2006
It happened in 1963. The place was Killepo land. Killepo is a section of the Grebo tribe which became a part of Grand Gedeh County in 1964. These people share a common border with the Putu people in Grand Gedeh County.
I came through from a coma, that I had underwent for three weeks, with my temperature fluctuating. Doctors thought I was never going to survive. After five months of being in intensive care, however, I recuperated. How did all this get started? Instead of cutting to the heart of my story, I will begin at the beginning.
In spite of his attitude, Uncle Charlie was a natural lover of sports, especially children's sports. It was this love for children and the game that drove him to forming a youth under13 team.
House of Pain:Uncle Charlie Wright At The Hospital
Published: 27 January, 2006
Old Charlie Wright was a nuisance to himself and everyone else. He lived all by himself in an old frame house just up the hill after the Catharine Harris Memorial Mission, in the late 1960 Clay-Ashland.
