The Secret of working together

Good movies with good talents and morals are very hard to come by nowadays and that implies going back to the oldies, classic movies of the thirties, forties, fifties and a few sixties and seventies. These are always fun to watch and (TCM) Turner Classic Movies serves these up daily with a brief introduction from the host and his guest for the night. It is always a delight to watch these with no commercial interruption, and on a big screen, it's almost like watching it in the theater.
A few days ago, they showed a very funny movie based in Italy towards the end of WW 11. I had watched this movie many years ago, but it was still as if I had never seen it before. But this time, it wasn't just the comedy part of it but the lesson in the plot---the strength of the human spirit and how far it can go when pooled together.

The people of the village of Santa Vittoria under their Mayor, Italo Bombolini, had to protect the one thing that held them together as a people --- WINE. The German troops who were withdrawing after Mussolini was hung were grabbing whatever they could on their way out, and word got to Santa Vittoria that they may visited, Bombolini got his men together and they decided quickly what to do about cooperative merchandise-----the wine, over one million bottles of it hidden in a large cellar must be hidden from the Germans, not all of it though, enough would be left to make it look like they were all there. Word spread and everybody got involved.

They got to work and finally moved all the wine, one bottle at a time up the winding hills to an old Roman cave. The wine moved through the hands of the villagers, one bottle passed from hand to hand up the winding hills to the cave.

When the Germans arrived, not even a revolver to Bombolini's head in private or in front of the whole village would make any of them reveal the secret. They were there, silent, going about their business, young, old, male, female, lovers, everybody, together in this resolve to save their means of livelihood and cooperative venture------the WINE.

At the end of it all, when the Germans were leaving in frustration, Bombolini offered the Captain a fine bottle of Santa Vittoria wine and assured him that there were more bottles from where that came, about one million of them. This was after firmly repeating that there was no wine left, even at gun point.

As the Captain angrily drove off, the sea of faces with firm lips broke into song and the whole village broke into jubilation and dancing led by their ebullient mayor Italo Bombolini and his previously enstranged wife. The End-------Lesson from this:


Working together yields incredible results for the benefit of all. Doing the opposite leaves people in a mess, the kind of which surrounds us (Ndi Igbo), both at home and in the diaspora.

FAMILY TIMES LAST A LIFETIME.

Family times: 1. Snowed in on a Sunday morning.
2. After church on a beautiful spring day 3.Arriving at a wedding. 4. In the park after church. 5. Parked too far. Can we go now?
6&7: Say Ch-e-e-s-e
8. Fun time at a wedding.




In this day and age when life is a bustle, there is hardly time to spend with family anymore. Over the years, even with the advent of new gadgets to make life easier, life continues to get more complicated, robbing families of quality time.
It is well known that children who spent quality time, no matter how short with siblings and with their parents as a family grow up to be stable and confident adults. They get along with each other better, and with others and continue to enjoy family time into their old age. Foundations laid in childhood lead into adulthood and sustains into late life. The memories linger as new memories are made.

Sundays used to be the best days for quality family time. During the days of the blue laws, when stores and businesses were closed on Sundays by law, families were compelled to enjoy time together, lounging in the house, going together to their house of worship, to the park or to do any fun activity to spend the day together. All of these have changed today.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend and inspiration, Arunne, who I had not spoken to for a few weeks. She was busy as usual and listed all the guests she had had recently, her bothers and their spouses,her son and his wife and I couldn't help thinking what a blast she must be having. I understand first hand what a joy it is to be with family and have fun together. It is something I get to do very often.It is refreshing, life sustaining and habit forming. The bible says in psalm-133 vs 1-----" How good it is for brethren to dwell together in harmony" (Le k'osi di nma but mbiko (nmeko) nke umu nne) To some people, it is gauche because they were not raised that way, to share, to appreciate and to build up their siblings and relatives. Some grow up keeping to themselves or to the siblings from their mother and nobody else. Everybody else is regarded with suspicion.

Recently at the thanksgiving and celebration party for my daughter for her graduation from Medical school, something happened that surprised me in a pleasant way. My children are very close in age for the most part, so they played together and spent a lot of quality time together. It is almost as if they can read each other's minds. I had forgotten how close they were until that night. After most of the guests had left, they went to a corner like they used to do and started dancing by themselves, shedding all the " maturity" and going back to little kid days. As they lined up dancing with their cousins, unknown to them, the photographer kept working capturing most of it in pictures. When I saw the pictures, they brought back memories stored away in a safe place in my mind----memories of good times, of love and companionship, memories that will never die no matter what.

Many things in life can die and are no more, but a few things live for ever. The human spirit, which can be broken at times, but nonetheless, live forever. The spirit can be repaired and brought back to good life or it can be left broken until a person dies and the spirit goes back to the maker to be sent to a permanent abode. True love never dies no matter what happens and prevails and for how long.
Sometimes, God sends his creation to the potter's house ( Jer. ch. 18 v.2, v.4) for a makeover, for his very own purpose. Sometimes, people are actually a work in progress in the potter's hand and we as people do not see it at all. We focus on trying to point at the marred vessel which is under repair and show how much better and more fulfilled we are. We make ourselves judges pointing fingers at people who we believe have failed woefully. We start preaching to them, if we are inclined to that. Others may start mocking and taunting, judging and throwing out painful words and phrases to show another what a worthless failure they are. Some will flaunt what they think they enjoy that these worthless losers can never enjoy forgetting that nobody holds a monopoly to intimacy and relationships. It is a choice whether to live as a living sanctuary or to live by the standards of the world. It is laughable when people come out and start to brag about how much more fulfilled and successful and blessed and happy they are because of their marital status. It makes a mockery of everything Ndi Igbo used to believe in including " Onye aghana nwanne ya" It is as if we enjoy throwing pepper in the raw wounds of our brethren who are going through trials, sometimes by no fault of theirs. Some of the trials and failures are actually brought by crafty manipulations by unfriendly friends who then turn around to spread and amplify the problems and point fingers. To a less strong person, it means living in shame and shying away from gatherings for fear of being humiliated further. The saddest part is when it is done by people who should understand, reminding me of an igbo proverb " Oru fulu k'aneni ibe ya kpachapu anya" Watching out and finding out why things are happening and finding ways to fix it should be the goal, not pointing fingers and building theories that hold no truth at all and trying to force it down the throat. Even with this "truths" laced with bible verses, the problem will remain intact.
It is a disgrace how we have let our lives degenerate so badly in the diaspora, becoming empty vessels always making loud noises about our accomplishments and series of titles and elitist positions, the most distinguished of which is now "the married club" Anybody outside this club especially women is useless, lonely, frustrated and the list goes on and should go somewhere and hide and die in shame especially if she was in that club and somehow fell out or got out. Whatever led to the fall out or the difficulties on even the children involved do not matter at all. They are condemned to the thrash can and written off.

No wonder our problems become more compounded with each passing day as we keep unleashing forces which are contrary to the way our people used to do things. We keep adding more bad things to the stack of things we are notorious for. Important principles of life are ignored while we chase after significance with the attainment of loftier titles, degrees, clubs and anything else which may hoist our diminishing self esteem and self worth. It becomes a rat race and it does not matter on whose face we stand to get an inch higher and feel better and more than somebody else. It is a rat race and I see no winners as long as Ndi igbo continue on the downward slide. The WIC saga is a glaring example of who we have become. Fourteen years of a wilderness journey and nothing to show for it.
The rebirth will start one family at a time. Building bonds that last. Quality time. Start today. These bonds hold even after the storm has swept everything else away.
May God help us as we heal as a people.

Chinwe E

VOLUNTEERING HAS IT'S REWARDS

l-r. Nduka Enemchukwu, Ekene Enemchukwu, Chibuzo Enemchukwu, Oluchi Udemezue pictured at Akwudo Diocesan Hospital, Nnewi during a medical mission in December 2007. All four are in one way or the other involved in the medical field and volunteered for the mission. They will do it again in a heartbeat, despite the stifling heat and other difficulties encountered. The rewaards are too many to be mentioned, they said.

One of the rewards of volunteering is the deep sense of fulfilment and satisfaction that goes with it. Giving up time and comfort to render services for the benefit of others is one of the most gratifying activities one can indulge in. It is really an indulgence of sorts.

The gratitude of the individual on the receiving end is worth more than any amount of money in the world.

When something taken for granted by many makes such a big difference in a person's life and is so deeply appreciated, it takes on a totally new meaning for example, giving a pair of spectacles (glasses) to a person who all of a sudden regains the ability to read their Bible again. Their joy, their gratitude, their overall reaction is so overwhelming and humbling that one is found totally dumbfounded that something so insignificant to some of us can mean so much to another. Some of these short stories were captured on video and a few people were interviewed. Some of these interviews will be posted on this blog in the next few days.

As the USA-USA medical mission takes off, we must keep the volunteers in our prayers as they commence on this mission of mercy. Their mission and service will touch many lives in different ways. Certain things may look very small and insignificant to us, but may actually be life changing events to recipients.

The volunteers will be on the ground delivering the services. At the same time, the donors will be there with them in spirit. It is not too late to join the volunteers by donating to the medical mission. Any amount is good enough. A very inexpensive pair of reading glasses changed a woman's life so much that she leaped to her feet and did a dance routine for regaining the ability to read her Bible again.

More to come-----

Chinwe E.

THE HONOR SYSTEM PART 2.( FROM JUNE 2007)

The Inauguration day has come and gone and reactions to it continue to appear in the news. Stories of fleeing ex government officials abound, some true, some false. New appointments are announced daily and few top officials are suddenly finding themselves out of jobs with no warning. Many of the sworn-in are sitting on hot seats as the tribunal and the Supreme court deliberate on the cases before them. Nigerians were advised to abstain from violence and seek redress through the Courts and Election tribunals and they have just done that. The track record of the Judiciary just before the so called elections leave a ray of hope that justice may prevail after all. While reflecting on the events of the past few months leading up to the failed elections and the billions of Naira wasted, money which could have been spent on improving or actually bringing the lives of Nigerians up to acceptable standards, it occurred to me that a lot was accomplished despite the outcome. In as much as many people,actually a vast majority of registered voters were disfranchised by denying their rights to vote, they were enlightened enough to express their outrage. The thieves knew it would get ugly and rolled out the army and police to suppress any uprising or protest. As the Tribunals and the Supreme court deliberate, life goes on as usual, new promises most of which will never amount to anything continue to roll out from the selected officials who were sworn in. The guilt of sitting on a stolen mandate may prick their collective conscience enough to attempt rendering some real service to the people but the job of lifting the standard of living in Nigerians will take more that a prick of the conscience. The level of decadence is overwhelming. Nothing works in Nigeria. Reliable electricity is a non existent, the roads are death traps, there is no health care system, Education has continued to head south with no sign of reversal in sight. Social services are foreign words in Nigeria where everybody fends for himself, the severely handicapped, the mentally ill, even children, everybody is in the rat race. That's why driving on the major highways and streets of Nigeria can be compared to a nightmare with the beggars and hawkers and frustrated drivers engaged in a desperate dance of survival which to someone from a normal society can be really scary but is a day to day reality and a way of life for Nigeria. In the midst of all the chaos and hardship, Nigerians still find a way to be happy through it all. Nigerians always find a way of navigating around the obstacles thrown in their way by fate and try to live life to the fullest. It becomes survival of the fittest, with many of the weak and the sick, the children and expectant mothers bowing out much too soon. The fittest are not spared untimely death, murders for hire and violence during armed robbers claim a number of victims from time to time and the security system is powerless or too corrupt to offer any hope. What are people to do especially the states where no elections took place, like in Anambra State. Somebody is in the state house, sworn in as Governor. Legally, he is Governor until the Supreme court states otherwise. That's the rule of Law. Here in Florida, when the Republican party led by Katherine Harris, disfranchised law abiding citizens and denied them their rights to vote or for their votes to be counted, Al Gore fought tooth and nail for his victory but as soon as the Supreme court ruled, he bowed out like the gentleman he is. The rest is history. Looking back seven years, people are wishing things had ended differently in 2000. Many young widows would have their husbands and their children's fathers around rather than visiting their grave sites at military cemeteries. Many heart broken mothers would have their sons around. Thousands of Iraqis would be alive even if under Saddam Hussein. It would beat what they have today. The United States would have more respect than she commands today. It is almost as if everybody is pleading with Al Gore to run for president while he was cast aside when he had actually won. Things happen for a reason, they say, destiny maybe, but who knows. For Ndi Anambra in particular, you had wanted to vote but didn't get the chance to do so. A governor has been imposed on you, there is nothing you can do about it. It will be foolish to go against guns and bullets. You have done the honourable thing by trying to vote, you have voiced your outrage, prayed your prayers. At this point, the tribunals and the Supreme court are sitting. Whatever hatches from those eggs, we will see but in the time being and whatever comes---------- I hope you dance--- -

ZEPHYR----FABLE #15------AND THE MORAL OF IT.

Fables are-----Short narratives which teach lessons or have morals to help guide humans on how they live their lives. This fable called Zephyr has a moral which fits our situation as a people so perfectly, that it will be an injustice not to share it. I will start by listing the meaning of a few of the terms used here.

ZEPHYR: means ---a slight wind, usually refreshing.

Synonyms for Zephyr include Breeze, Gentle wind and air.
In Greek mythology, the greek god of the west wind was known as Zephyr.

A Fable is usually a short narrative making an edifying cautionary point and often employing animals as characters that speak and act like humans.

Fables usually have Morals which are the lessons or principles contained or taught by a fable,story or event.

Gale-----A very strong wind.
Also any of four winds with speeds of 32-63 miles ( 51-102 kilometers) per hour according to the Beauford scale.

Zephyr (fable # 15) by Eugene Fitch Ware.

Once a Kansas Zephyr strayed
Where a brass-eyed bird pup played,
And that foolish canine bayed
At the Zephyr, in a gay,
Semi idiotic way.
Then the Zephyr, in about
Half a jiffy,took that pup,
Tipped him over,wrong side up;
Then it turned him wrong side out.
And it calmly journeyed thence,
With a barn and string of fence.

MORAL

When communities turn loose
Social forces that produce
The disorders of a gale,
And upon the well-known law:
Face the breeze, but close your jaw.
It is a rule that will not fail:
If you bay at it, in a gay,
Self-sufficient sort of way,
It will land you,without doubt,
Upside down and wrong side out.
----Eugene Fitch Ware


The above fable and the moral describes the crisis we face today in the area of the gentle breeze blowing over our culture in many areas of it. Some, if not many are scoffing at it. Adjustments must be made. The results of that scoffing manifest every once in a while and we are seized by shock for a brief moment and forget about it until it happens again. Some jump out like the proverbial nza as if to challenge their chi to a wrestling match. However, they have not accomplished anything with their bird's ranting. It all blows away with the wind. No human can hold the hand of time and adjust it like a clock.
No one has ever seen the wind. The force of the wind is felt,it can be gentle and caressing, just as it can be strong and forceful.

When blocked, the wind goes around, if it is gentle, or forcefully removes the obstacle in its way.
A gentle wind does not disrupt anything. It brings comfort and adjustment as it goes by. When
a gentle wind is turned into a gale by forces tampering with it, the consequences are disastrous to all involved and nothing is ever the same again. Upside down and inside out.

IGBO TONGUE TWISTER FOR THIS SATURDAY

Nwanyi n'ele anu ele, I n'ele anu ele ele, k'ineli anu ele eli?

A question for a woman selling deer meat----- woman, are you selling the deer meat or are you eating the deer meat?

She was probably helping herself to a piece of meat.

Another version------Nwanyi n'ele olu ene, i'nele olu ene ele, k'ineli olu ene eli?

olu means : thigh, hind leg.
ele or ene means deer, antelope, gazelle and other species of the deer family. They are sometimes called mgbada too.