Today is the 1st of April, a day when I normally mess around with my friends, thinking up and playing silly pranks.
Not April 1, 2020, for today is not just another day when the world stands still in the face of Corvid 19, (as the damn virus is called) but also, men, previously thought to be 'all-powerful,' continue to tremble in fear of the unknown.
Today is also supposed to have also been an especially significant day for me, for it was the first time in my life that I was due to set foot on the great continent of Africa.
My plan had been to land at Nairobi airport this afternoon, have a whale of a time then go on to Ethiopia in the middle of the month.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has always been on my bucket list.
Kenya to get up close to wonderful, rare, exotic wild animals and Ethiopia because of its intriguing history and the fact that all our lives, my daughter and I have had constant queries from strangers as to whether we are from that country.
Hilarious, since neither of us has ever been there and have no relationship through our ancestors to that country. (My daughter did the ancestry thing and it revealed that our roots are in Sierre Leone. That confirms what my grandmother told me decades ago as she had always insisted that we were from the Mandingo tribe).
But this trip was not to be so I must move on, stop complaining and be grateful for what I have.
I think after my son was killed 24 years ago, the thing that helped me to heal best was learning about gratitude. I don't remember who explained to me the healing power of gratitude, but I remain grateful for whoever it was that opened my eyes.
So, for decades now, I have practiced finding things to be grateful for every day.
Even last night as I had an awful pain in my wrist and was about to feel sorry for myself, I found myself smiling instead as I remembered how painless that felt, compared to what I went through with chikungunya.
Chikungunya became my barometer for pain some years ago.
For the information of those not familiar with that disease, it is spread by mosquitos and it ravaged at least 50% of the Jamaican population in 2014.
Before I got it, I thought the most painful thing in the world was delivering a baby. Chikungunya proved me wrong.
To begin, whereas the baby pain lasts only a few hours at most, the excruciating pains accompanying that disease can linger up to a lifetime. While that disease raged through my body, there were times I could not even stand up, because every inch of my body hurt. Many days I even found myself crawling on the ground to get from place to place while wondering if I would ever walk again!
That disease is really evil as it targets every joint in the body, especially where there had been previous damage. I had heard the after-effects lasted five years, but that is not true. For as a child, both my thumbs had slipped out of the joints and my wrists damaged, when I was learning to roller skate. Chikungunya not only targeted them both during its evil reign but also, for every now and then, even last night, the severe pain returns to those joints.
Now, why did I stray so far?
Oh, I remember, I was telling you about being grateful for having had chikungunya so I know what real pain feels like thus can dismiss the frequent tinges that come with old age.
This morning, April 1st, as I enjoyed my early walk, I could not help being very grateful for my current environment which includes having a huge, closed down golf course all to myself.
Lots of birds and even iguanas love this golf course too and while I hate the reptiles, the ducks, geese, and egrets are always wonderful to have around.
I once saw a raccoon in one of the ponds but that was months ago. Maybe he still sees me but I don't see him.
Last week, I also saw the most beautiful orange and black bird in one of the trees too.
Then there is the pool that I can have all to myself when I am finished. Although there are some 30 units in my over 55 complex, the place often feels like a morgue, as I rarely see anyone else outside, so have most facilities to myself.
I am absolutely amazed at how people love to or are even able to stay indoors. I seem to have a more serious case of claustrophobia than most other people. When I see on television what's happening in places like Italy, I cannot but wonder if I wouldn't crazy having to stay totally indoors. Even when I visit cold places like Colorado and am not forced to stay inside but do so more than normal as it is so cold outside, I find it intolerable.
So once again, here I am giving thanks for everything as we go through another day when we are once again reminded that so-called powerful humans are not in control, but an invisible virus.
Ironic but true.
Not April 1, 2020, for today is not just another day when the world stands still in the face of Corvid 19, (as the damn virus is called) but also, men, previously thought to be 'all-powerful,' continue to tremble in fear of the unknown.
 |
| A pool of my own |
My plan had been to land at Nairobi airport this afternoon, have a whale of a time then go on to Ethiopia in the middle of the month.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has always been on my bucket list.
Kenya to get up close to wonderful, rare, exotic wild animals and Ethiopia because of its intriguing history and the fact that all our lives, my daughter and I have had constant queries from strangers as to whether we are from that country.
Hilarious, since neither of us has ever been there and have no relationship through our ancestors to that country. (My daughter did the ancestry thing and it revealed that our roots are in Sierre Leone. That confirms what my grandmother told me decades ago as she had always insisted that we were from the Mandingo tribe).
But this trip was not to be so I must move on, stop complaining and be grateful for what I have.
I think after my son was killed 24 years ago, the thing that helped me to heal best was learning about gratitude. I don't remember who explained to me the healing power of gratitude, but I remain grateful for whoever it was that opened my eyes.
So, for decades now, I have practiced finding things to be grateful for every day.
Even last night as I had an awful pain in my wrist and was about to feel sorry for myself, I found myself smiling instead as I remembered how painless that felt, compared to what I went through with chikungunya.
Chikungunya became my barometer for pain some years ago.
For the information of those not familiar with that disease, it is spread by mosquitos and it ravaged at least 50% of the Jamaican population in 2014.
Before I got it, I thought the most painful thing in the world was delivering a baby. Chikungunya proved me wrong.
To begin, whereas the baby pain lasts only a few hours at most, the excruciating pains accompanying that disease can linger up to a lifetime. While that disease raged through my body, there were times I could not even stand up, because every inch of my body hurt. Many days I even found myself crawling on the ground to get from place to place while wondering if I would ever walk again!
That disease is really evil as it targets every joint in the body, especially where there had been previous damage. I had heard the after-effects lasted five years, but that is not true. For as a child, both my thumbs had slipped out of the joints and my wrists damaged, when I was learning to roller skate. Chikungunya not only targeted them both during its evil reign but also, for every now and then, even last night, the severe pain returns to those joints.
Now, why did I stray so far?
Oh, I remember, I was telling you about being grateful for having had chikungunya so I know what real pain feels like thus can dismiss the frequent tinges that come with old age.
 |
| The abandoned golf course all to myself. Nice |
Lots of birds and even iguanas love this golf course too and while I hate the reptiles, the ducks, geese, and egrets are always wonderful to have around.
I once saw a raccoon in one of the ponds but that was months ago. Maybe he still sees me but I don't see him.
Last week, I also saw the most beautiful orange and black bird in one of the trees too.
Then there is the pool that I can have all to myself when I am finished. Although there are some 30 units in my over 55 complex, the place often feels like a morgue, as I rarely see anyone else outside, so have most facilities to myself.
I am absolutely amazed at how people love to or are even able to stay indoors. I seem to have a more serious case of claustrophobia than most other people. When I see on television what's happening in places like Italy, I cannot but wonder if I wouldn't crazy having to stay totally indoors. Even when I visit cold places like Colorado and am not forced to stay inside but do so more than normal as it is so cold outside, I find it intolerable.
So once again, here I am giving thanks for everything as we go through another day when we are once again reminded that so-called powerful humans are not in control, but an invisible virus.
Ironic but true.
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